"And it's raiiiiiiinin' all over the wooorld."
I'm driving on some backroads in Vermont, but hearing those lyrics make me think of my childhood home in Massachusetts. More specifically, though, they make me think of snowboarding. They're from Electric Light Orchestra's song "Showdown" that came out in 1973.
It's hot as hell today (compared with our recent descent into frosty season). The sun's blaring, I'm in a T-shirt, and I'm sweating. SWEATING?! It's almost November. Leaning forward, I reach for the dial and turn up the volume. My eyes squint and my eyebrows raise. I frown and then the whole thing's over and all parts of my face return to their appropriate positions. I suppose I could've used the ergonomic button on the steering wheel...
"SAVE ME, OH, SAVE ME."
Man, I haven't heard this song in forever.
This stretch of road has real shitty service, so Spotify cuts in and out and it drives me bonkers. Rather than ragebaiting myself, I've learned to switch to a downloaded playlist instead. Randomly, I picked an old one—like, as far back as I could go on my profile.
When I was a kid, I used to get home from school and watch clips from different snowboard videos on the family computer in the kitchen (lol... family computer, as in one of them, located in a designated room of the house). At the time, Shaun White was on top of the competitive snowboard world. In 2004, he released "The Shaun White Album," which, it's worth noting, is a movie and not a record. That said, the soundtrack is phenomenal. Actually, most snowboard videos have amazing music. To this day, that's how I find a lot of new songs and artists I love.
Driving around winding corners, past blurs of oranges and browns, I'm picturing sitting in my childhood kitchen. And I'm remembering how I'd watch those clips throughout the year, longing for snowboard season. I'd picture myself in the mountains.
"There's gonna be a Showdown."
I let out a deep exhale.
Emerging from a covered bend in the road that follows the river right next to it, the sun bounces off the water and sprays the windshield with a wheat-ish golden yellow. I suck in a huge breath. I've started wondering about future meaning markers. What things from my current life will jump out at me years from now? Which songs, people, and places will send me catapulting back through time and space?
How will it feel?
Where will I feel it?
I lean forward again and turn down the volume. A smile spreads across my face and my chest falls while it lets out all the air I've been holding onto.
* * *
Do you think about meaning markers? Are there any that come to mind?
onward.
For more on this daily column, read the backstory here. And if you know someone who'd appreciate this, pass it along.