Closing time - open all the doors and let you out into the world

The theme of the day yesterday was "rocking out to my old jams."  Between eMusic and iTunes, I downloaded a lot of Red Hot Chili Peppers, Radiohead, Everclear, and Sublime tunes, and then wound up staying up entirely too late watching VH1's "Top 40 One Hit Wonders of the '90s," which only reminded me of some epic-ly great songs I'd forgotten ("Closing Time," anyone?).


And man...I still know all the words to "Scar Tissue" and "Santeria" and "Santa Monica."  I drove to Ames, windows down, music blaring, singing along with the sun shining.  It was fairly well perfect.  It's amazing the power of music - to affects our emotions, to change our perspective, to dig up old memories.


I've been thinking about life a decade ago - 16, just got my driver's license, driving my dad's '94 S-10 (or my mom's '99 Malibu, if I got lucky), obsessed with trying to be in a rock band, and with trying to get with the same 5-6 girls who I liked (in revolving door fashion) all the way through much of junior high and high school.  I remember spring days, windows rolled down, blaring 94.5 (or 107.5, depending on whether the memory was before or after the big switch), Houston's best alternative rock serenading everybody I drove past whether they wanted to be serenaded or not.  I'd get home, eventually (in the days of $1/gallon gas, I drove around aimlessly a lot more), and get out my guitar...it was time to pretend I was Weezer, Third Eye Blind, the Red Hot Chili Pepppers, Everclear, Led Zeppelin, the Beatles, Rolling Stones, and Cream all rolled into one convenient package.  I mostly substituted volume for tonality or skill when it came to my guitar playing.  I even jammed with two of my best friends; we had a "band" (originally Apollo 18, then Heina)...by which I mean we would have tried to have a band if we could have found a drummer.


And then, 8 years ago...closing time.  They opened the all the doors and let us out into the world, the Class of 2003.  Some days, I feel like I'm getting old when I think about how the junior high youth I work with in confirmation were starting kindergarten when I started college. But then, I think - my life is just getting started.