Memory Of A Song

     Have you ever heard a song and flashed back to a memory from when you were young?  I believe certain songs, when heard at the right moment, helps create a special memory that is forever stored in a file located way back in the corner of our brains.  I have several songs that when I hear them I am catapulted back in time to relive the moment in my thoughts. 



     It was the summer of 1992.  I finished up my freshman year of high school at Nouvel Catholic Central in Saginaw.  Unfortunally, I enjoyed many other things rather than school and my grades suffered because of that.  Since my grades were well below "f"antastic I had to take a few classes of summer school at Arthur Hill High School. 

     It wasn't so bad taking summer classes.  Some of my friends that aided in my dimishing grades were the same ones in my classes at "The Hill".  Personally, I think we all corrupted each other and we enjoyed it.   Before school and out on breaks we would gather in packs out in the parking lot to see who has cigarettes and some would be passed around.  Sometimes the security guard would even walk over and smoke with us.  He would never give out one of his cigarettes but he would offer his zippo for anyone who needed it. 

     One beautiful warm summer day we were tired of sitting in the classroom.  We passed notes with each other daring to just get up and walk out.  Finally, my friend Shannon and I decided to go for it.  Right in the middle of class we packed up our stuff and just blatantly walked out of class.  We went out to the parking lot for a cigarette and to decided what to do next.  Soon another friend, Erin, joined in with another girl from class.  FREEDOM!  We decided to call a friend of ours ,Scott who just graduated from another school, to come and pick us up.   We walk back to the school parking lot to wait. 

     Scott pulls into the parking lot in his pick-up.  He brought along his friend Joe.  Shannon shouts out, "SHOT-GUN!" and squeezes her way between them in the front.  Erin, the other girl, and myself climb up and over into the bed of the truck and make ourselves comfortable in the corners of the truck resting our arms on the side.  We took off.  The music was loud and we were young and carefree. 

     Scott turns down the radio and hollar's out that he has a new song for us to listen to.  He opens up the cassette case and pops a cassette into the player in the dash.  We start to hear the lyrics:

Blame it all on my roots

I showed up in boots

And ruined your black tie affair...

We all started to groan and scream, "NOOOO!  IT'S COUNTRY!  WHY ARE YOU LISTENING TO COUNTRY?!"  But Scott was persistent that we listened to it.   

     The song grew on us.  It wasn't long after that we were wanting to listen to Garth Brook's "Friends In Low Places" song.  By the time school dances came around we all had the song memorized and we would sing along, badly, with the lyrics. 

     This was my first exposure (besides Kenny Rodgers but everyone loves his classic songs) to country music.  His album "No Fences" was enjoyable.  To my suprise the album came out 2 years prior.  I still prefer other methods of music genre over country music but I can tolerate some country songs.