Listen to the Music

Listening to music is very cathartic for me. Having been a DJ for a good portion of my life, I was exposed to a great variety of genres. Of course, my many years of listening to the radio with the likes of Casey Kasem and many others like him didn’t hurt either. Sometimes I’ll just close my eyes and I’m instantly whisked away to the likes of my high school prom, me wearing a green tux and gently swaying to a Bee Gee’s song with some girl, I think her name was Karen something, at least for my junior prom. Then the song changes and I’m driving one of the over 50, yes that’s 50, cars I’ve owned in my lifetime! (Somewhere along the way I managed to squeeze in 7 motorcycles as well.)  Anyway, on the radio this time there’s a Men at Work song blaring from one of the mixed cassette tapes I recorded from a radio show. Yeah, the beginning and end were talked over by the DJ, but it was a somewhat decent recording. Even if there is a phone that rings in the middle because I forgot to take it off the hook. Some songs cause me to break down and start to cry. At times Jonell or Lydia will come over and lift one of the earpieces of my headphones to hear what it is that has me so choked up. Then Jonell will stand by my side and stroke my arm. It’s not just slow, sad songs that get to me either. I burst into tears if Atomic Dog or Don’t Rock the Jukebox is playing too. Almost every song will take me to a particular time and place in my life when I would listen to it. Music has always had that effect on me. Play Jump by Van Halen and I’m at a bar called Harpo’s where a friend of mine named Mikey is doing his karaoke rendition and leaping into the air with each place in the song where the “Jump” lyric is sung. Some songs make me think of certain people. Jump will always be Mikey’s song. Sorry Van Halen! At Last or Proud Mary? A young woman and friend of mine by the name of Cat owned those songs as far as I’m concerned. I’d play Ike to her Tina any day. It was an honor and I was humbled by the people who would come out week after week for the more than seven years I was there. Right now I’m working on picking out the music from our music library which we still have. I then plan to get a mp3 player so I can listen to my music without the need to get my computer out. I will even be able to use it like an e-reader. And because I plan to get one with Bluetooth, I can use the new Bluetooth headphones I received this Christmas. Even though I haven’t gotten any new music since 2012, I don’t think I’m missing much. Music takes me to places that my legs no longer can. Sometimes it’s not a place that I particularly want to go to because of the strong emotions they evoke. But more often than not, they are happy places, even if I ball so hard that I can’t breathe.

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