Music

Last night I sat with my father-in-law and his two brothers as they went on a journey back in time through the music of their childhood. Close to 11 O'clock I started to fade, but with my bedroom full of girls playing games I figured I better brew some coffee to stay up, the older men were no where close to fading. Little did I know that for next two hours I would get to enjoy the sounds of the sixties in their entirety, literally. From the Zombies, to a band with "Grand funk" in their name, Crosby Stills and Nash, and the bands they played with before becoming "Crosby Stills and Nash" and so many other bands that I can't even remember. But the most enjoyable part of the night was sitting and watching the faces of grown men, doctors and an electrical contractor, as they went through their play lists from the past, and the immediate smiles that came to their faces when the tune began, and the air drum session that ensued. What a gift to have such memories of listening to music together, to remember the immaturity of adolescence with a smile on your face, there is something about music. What songs will I be listening to with my brother and friends? What will we be singing along too? It was a joy to be the spectator of a reunion of rock, and brothers being brothers again.

Friends old and new

Now that I am 24, my closest friends no longer live within 5 minutes of me, our lives are what one might call "more grown-up", wives, jobs, pets, babies, etc... Now there are new "friends" in my life, and the lives of my more established friends. This is not a bad thing, actually I quite enjoy developing new relationships. I guess I can just count it as one of those stages of life.

I am reading Band of Brothers by Stephen E. Ambrose. He follows the 101st airborne division, Easy Company, from training at camp Tocoa to Hitlers nest. The bonding that took place at Tocoa amongst the men created an incomparable bond between them. In no way do I want to minimize the training of those men by comparing them to a current situation, but I will always be much closer to the men/boys that I grew/matured with, the ones I shared life with, the ones I had my first of many deep discussions with. When speaking to my closest friends about new found friends, we will alway say, "He is one of us." Much like those men of Tocoa, the bond between friends of old will not fade quickly nor the respect.

Random post, but I am extremely thankful for old friends and new.

-goodnight

"old friends, sat on their park bench like bookends..."