AFN The Eagle

Do you live in a place that doesn’t have a big selection of radio stations?  Or, possibly, just not many radion stations that cater to your native tongue?

I live in a place like that and I don’t have satellite radio…not even sure they do satellite radio in Germany.  But, what we do have is the Armed Forces Network (AFN).  AFN pipes radio and television out to Americans stationed around the world.  It’s nice and brings a little home to us.

Today as my son and I rolled up to the Ramstein Air Base gate, a song I haven’t heard in a while came on the AFN The Eagle radio station.  I turned up the volume and sang along.  The line was long to get on base, and as we moved along slowly, I looked at the people in vehicles around me.  What I saw going on around me made me chuckle.

Everyone.   I mean everyone in the vehicles surrounding ours…they were all singing the same song that I was singing.  Synchronized singing between, maybe, 10 vehicles.  Our lips all moving in unison.  It was strange, and funny, and oddly good and comforting.  I’m not sure any of them noticed…they were too busy belting out the lyrics of the radio tune.

I should mention that we were all middle-aged.  I didn’t see any youngsters in the other cars.  After all…this was a song for people in their 30′s and 40′s.

What song was it?  Against All Odds by Phil Collins.

And, so, I leave you with a morsel of that song to chew on…

“How can I just let you walk away,
just let you leave without a trace
When I stand here taking every breath with you, ooh-ooh
You’re the only one who really knew me at all…”