The Radio

I moved to Midland half way through the fourth grade, it was traumatic to say the least. I struggled with school because I was struggling to find my place in the complex social hierarchy of Thomas J. Rusk Elementary School. I charted the one and only "F" of my long and distinguished academic career in Mr. Anderson's 5th grade Math class. My punishment was the grade school equivalent of the NCAA's "Death Penalty" for recruiting violations. For 6 weeks I was in total "Lock Down". I went to school and I came home and was restricted to my room to complete homework and practice long division. No playing outside and no TV except on Fridays and Saturdays and Sundays until 6:00pm. I was in my room with books and a radio that my brother Jeff smuggled in for me.

My mom was smart enough to know that I was going to need something other than math problems to keep me occupied as I served out my sentence. So she would take me to the Midland Public Library where I could check out 20 books at a time. My taste ran the gamut of young adult literature, lots of non-fiction primarily adventurers and the history of the west. So in addition to being shaped by the rugged individualists who settled the west, my soul was being awakened by the Carpenters, Gordon Lightfoot, Three Dog Night, Carole King, and Crosby Stills & Nash. I caught these tunes through a single ear phone off of a Chicago AM pop station that I could only get good reception on late at night. Sometimes I could get the station during daylight hours because of a phenomena called the "Skip" .

I was lying in bed last night talking to Deanna and one of those old Gordon Lightfoot tunes came on and I was beamed right back to those days, I swear i could feel the frustration of being confined just like I was there again. That is what music does for us, it TRANSPORTS US across time and space, it awakens memories and passions. I also get the same miracle from smells. I swear, if I get a whiff of the right perfume, I am right back to the point where I first encountered it. Too Cool!