Hallelujah Hatrack

After work yesterday I was driving home, which of course is something that I typically like to do after work, I heard Journey on the (kick ass) Sirius satellite radio.  “Where Were You” was the song and I cranked the (kick ass) system in the
Durango and rolled down the window (Well, I didn’t actually “roll it down” I actually pushed a button.  I haven’t rolled down a window since I drove a Plymouth Duster in high school) and let the rest of the drivers on I-84 who had also roller…, er, opened their windows hear the boys from San Fran belt it out.  I’m pretty sure that some of the people in the
Parkville section of
Hartford may have heard it as well, that is if they could hear it over the Snoop and Fitty Cent they like to bump to.

I knew that when I got home I had to cut the grass because a) it had grown as high as my ass and soon I’d have to cut it with a machete like I was traversing though
Nam, and 2) we are expecting our weekly weekend monsoon and home landscaping would not be possible for the next few days.  When I cut the grass I like to listen to music and I obviously went right for the Journey Time 3 box set (courtesy of my brother in celebration of my thirty-something-ish birthday a few years ago). Disc 2, since it contains the songs put out by the Perry/Rollie/Schon/Vallory/Smith line-up, which was my favorite, after Rollie and Schon came over from Santana and before they kind of pussed-out.

Anyway, I’ve heard that certain of the 5 senses have a better ability to invoke memories than the others, and I believe that I’ve read that smell is #1.  During the grass cutting I had three of them going pretty strong and this brought back many nice memories.

Hearing – Listening to that music brought me back to simpler, and daresay, better times.  I liked college but I loved high school, and this was music that I listened to during those times.  Also, this was a band that I saw in concert.  A lot.

Touch – Last night was humid, by
Connecticut standards (although, by the standards of my youth in
Maryland – where every day was 96 degrees and 98 percent humidity – this seemed like a nice spring evening) and I had broken a nice sweat.  A wiping my brow and beads dripping off my nose type of sweat.  Any time sweat drips from my nose I am reminded of summer football double sessions in the
Maryland heat and humidity mentioned above.  Although this was the toughest physical activity that we’d ever gone through (and probably many of us haven’t gone through anything like this since) we loved every minute of it and I recall thinking that we would look back fondly on this gridiron torture.

Smell – The cut grass.  Again, freshly cut grass and hot sticky weather bring back thoughts of hitting and getting hit and knocked onto the ground.  Over and over and over.  The absolute best character building experience of my life.  Period.

When I was done and the mover and trimmer were put away I sat on the ground, put the headphones on, and lay in the grass.  Sunset, slight breeze, and the “Lights” and “Stay Awhile” medley.

Heaven on a 25 year delay.