Music of my life

Today, I opened up the windows and cranked up the music on my drive into work.  I rarely do that, usually relying on sports radio, music turned down to an "acceptable level", or some comedy.  But, today, I needed that extra 'charge'.  I think it's interesting overall how unbelievably powerful music is.

Yeah, I know I'm not breaking any new ground, there, but this is my blog I'll write whatever I want - lol.

Over the years, pivotal moments had musical soundtracks whether it be early memories of listening to a tiny radio that I 'won' through my MS Walkathon pledge drive while driving through a nameless, Dairy Queen only town in some distant part of the country in the middle of the night (our family trips almost always involved a very long cross-country drive) hoping to grab the red light signifying "stereo" over the normal find of "mono" pulling in classical stations wondering why I couldn't sleep in a car while my brother and sister snored soundly next to me, to the first "song" I ever shared with a woman, to my first petrifying piano solo at SMU.  Memories become sharper in hindsight, certainly, elevating certain sounds to encapsulate entire memory threads (as pictures do - but that's another thought entirely) - maybe even changing the memories slightly with the emotional color painted by someone else, if I'm completely honest with myself.  And, not that there's anything wrong with throwing down an emotional crumb trail back to a time of my life, it's just not 'pure' at the point.  I wonder what memories are, though, pure as is anyway.  Tangent.  Back to focus.

Oddly enough, things like this (how music impacts my life) were never fully fleshed out in my head as a complete statement.  It's only in brief moments like this morning when I suddenly am faced with some tiny thread that I pull at only to discover an entire sweater on the other end, that I realize my life built something I only saw in fragments previously.  For example, figuring out that I like spreadsheets and thinking it a new discovery until going back in my life and realizing that I used to handwrite lists in table form that could only be called "spreadsheets" by todays standards.  And, I'm mostly separating the playing of music from the idea of music as a soundtrack for life, too.  But, I'll still travel down memory lane.

As a child, I was volun-told that I'd learn to play the piano.  But, like other early experiments (gymnastics, anyone?), this died on the vine the instant my parents "allowed" me to quit.  I chose to then get involved in band, yet the instrument of my dreams (the trumpet) was not available for rent from my school, so I had the *cough cough* SLIGHTLY larger Baritone/Euphonium thrust into my hands with the assurance that the larger mouthpiece would help me learn how to kiss better.  OK, I have to give an affirmative nod to that one, but still - do you know what it's like carrying a bookbag and a freaking huge instrument down the street back home after school?  I ended up playing euphonium from 4th grade through my senior year in high school.  Yes, I played well by the end of my euphonium career, but - other than the aformentioned kissing prowess - I use none of those skills today (I could read music already, I never have to do a perfect march stride in my day to day, and the toe roll is definitely not an employable function while walking around normally).  Fortunately, though, I did eventually pick up piano again.  In fact, for me it was a pivotal point - attending summer camp one year, a guy I respected played a piano solo one night and it moved me so much that I lept back into piano, taking as my first course of action the learning of that song.

***** WRITERS BREAK *********** I need a break from this blog so I'll finish it off later.  If you want the rest, you'll have to check back later :-)