I feel like a child who has just learned that Santa Claus is
not real! My whole life has probably
been filled with opportunities and drama which I didn’t have a clue was even
possible. For all I know, I could have
been a trail blazer of sorts in something, but wasn’t, because I was too naïve,
or chicken. It’s possible that I could have
lived a life oblivious to pain, disappointment, and a few insecurities if only
I had the smarts to know I was being had.
It’s also highly probable I might have even “gotten” many a joke that I
politely laughed at, as if I knew what the whole thing was about.
Recently I have adopted a new habit of getting into bed with
my IPad and earbuds and listening to my new best friend, Pandora. I have found myself drifting off to sleep to
ocean waves, rain storms, ballads, and love songs which all seem to trigger
nostalgia and sometimes tears. With the
help of my earbuds, I have been able to decipher the words to most of the
songs. Many are old songs to me, but for
the first time in my life, I can literally hear clearly and understand the
words of those tunes that heretofore have only been somebody mumbling, with a
beat.
Some of my favorite music of the 70’s and 80’s tended to be
the ballads and folk songs made popular by John Denver, James Taylor, and
Peter, Paul and Mary, along with others.
As I would drive into Atlanta every morning, I would set my dial to WSB
750 to catch the traffic report and then find a station that had some good
music. I always liked the “elevator
music” of WSB FM and some of the country stations whose call letters I have
forgotten. As usual, I could hum along
with the music, but didn’t have a clue what the words were that were being sung
before God and everybody.
Now, I’ve learned a thing or two since the 80’s. One of them being that the entertainment
industry is rife with not only subliminal messages but downright obvious
proclamations about a culture that, shall we say, isn’t one I was very hip
about. I’m here to tell you that my very
favorite folk singer, John Denver, was accused of promoting some nefarious
activities with his “Rocky Mountain High” which he vehemently denied, so I believe him. Some have even said that “Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds” wasn’t what I
suspected and “The Candy Man” was all about some kind of candy making the sunrise,
not the Candy Man!
Therefore, now when I plug up myself at night, I lay awake
devouring every word of my favorites, listening for something that probably
isn’t there, but because I know that SOME of my favorite little ditties were
tainted, I’m paranoid. Sometimes, it
takes me two hours to finally decide to give it up and turn on the rain sounds
so I can get some rest. I can hear my
children snickering now!
