Dickness

About a month ago I wrote a post about my trip to Boston to see a Celtics game with my brother. Well on Sunday I made yet another voyage to the state of my birth again with my brother who was also born in the Bay State. The last post focused on the thrilling game between the Celtics and the Lakers and the return of Kevin Garnett from a case of influenza. For this game the Celtics were playing the Pistons instead of the Lakers and Garnett is currently out with a knee injury. It figured to be an easy Celtics victory despite Garnett’s absence, but obviously the Pistons had other plans. The Celtics played horribly so I will focus this post on the trip with my brother, focusing mainly on the car ride.

We live about two and a half hours away from Boston. We drive about two hours and take a train the rest of the way. My brother’s taste in music is vastly different than mine. If I am being honest I pretty much hate everything lately. I really do not even listen to music much these days which is a bit depressing to think about. I had not really thought much about it until I just posted that last sentence. Anyway my brother has satellite radio in his car and he pretty much keeps it on three or four channels exclusively. Pop hits from the 90’s, 80’s, 70’s, and a few other stations, but mostly those three.

Before I get to the stories about the music I have to tell you a story about a strange occurrence on the ride to Boston. I glanced over at the car next to me and I shit you not it was Teddy Kennedy. Yes that Ted Kennedy, the Senator from Massachusetts. He has been under the weather recently so of course I was surprised to see him driving. I thought I was hallucinating at first, but the car license plate was from Virginia and it said Chappy1. It would make sense considering a senator would spend much of their time in the Washington D.C./Virginia area. I told my brother, but we had already driven past him. We tried to slow down a little, but it was too late. We could not really slow down too much on the highway and if it was Teddy Kennedy it may have startled him to see a car slowing at that rate to look at him. It may have just been a strange coincidence, but I want to believe that it is true. If so Teddy is doing better than I had previously believed and that is welcome news.

Because it was Sunday the pop hits from the 70’s channel had a top forty countdown and I was surprised to find that I was somewhat obsessed with finding out the top forty songs from February Twenty Fourth Nineteen Seventy Three. We missed the first twenty five or so, but every time my brother went to change the station I asked him to change it back so we could find out what the next song was going to be. Of course if I wanted to I could look it up online, but that defeated the purpose. It was fun to experience it in real time, without commercials, and find out what song was coming next on the countdown. I was not born yet so even though I had heard many of the songs before I really had no idea what was coming next. The countdown was certainly an eclectic mix. Superstition by Stevie Wonder, You’re So Vain by Carly Simon, Jambalaya by the Blue Ridge Rangers (Jon Fogarty was the singer, I had never heard of them before. I am not sure if they were post Creedance Clearwater Clearwater Revival or a side project of some kind.), There were some other various songs that slip my mind at the moment, but I know Rocky Mountain High by John Denver was number ten and number one was Killing Me Softly by Roberta Flack. I am probably leaving out some more interesting ones, but I can always search for the list tomorrow.

As much as America’s Top Forty with Kasey Kasem held my attention it was not the only interesting music from the journey. There was all sorts of music from the eighties which my brother made me listen to with great delight. Usually I can find some way to enjoy this sort of music in an ironic way. Much of the music from the trip I have since forgotten, but two songs stick in my head for different reasons.

“Caribbean Queen” by Billy Ocean

She dashed by me in painted on jeans
And all heads turned ’cause she was the dream
In the blink of an eye I knew her number and her name yeah
Ah she said I was the tiger she wanted to tame

If that is not fantastic writing I do not know what is, yes I know I am leaving myself open with that comment. I was really debating embedding a YouTube video of the above-referenced Billy Ocean song, but against my better judgment I will not do so. You all know how to search YouTube. Hell here is the link you will thank me later. After watching the video it just might be the greatest music video I have ever seen. The audio and picture are not in synch and the picture quality is about as bad as anything I have ever seen, but I think you will all agree that the video still holds up after all these years.

At the end of the first quarter I left to use the bathroom and when I came back I was at the other end of my section. I was not that far away, but I looked around and did not recognize anyone. My brother was nowhere in sight. I was not that far off, but somewhere I had lost my way. It is an apt analogy for where I am currently in my life. In the end I found my way back to my seat and shared the story with my brother with a laugh so hopefully that is a sign of things to come.

“The Promise” by When in Rome

I actually enjoyed this one for some reason. I cannot quite explain why, but I think this lyric sums up my thoughts on this post and the blog in general.

I’m sorry, but I’m just thinking of the right words to say. (I promise)
I know they don’t sound the way I planned them to be. (I promise)
But if you wait around a while, I’ll make you fall for me,
I promise, I promise you I will.

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