Thinking of Islands and the Power of Music

First published on Facebook: Monday, May 5, 2008 at 8:44pm

I was listening to music in the shower this morning, as I like to do, and "All These Things That I Do" popped up. I have not heard this song in forever, but I still knew all of the words.

It's an interesting thing with songs and how they can take you back to a distant or not so distant moment. On that journey, you realize how strong our memories are and the impact that people have had on our lives. This always makes me feel better, especially because of the person that song reminded me of.

Suddenly I was a naive nineteen-year-old girl once again, working at Chapters and feeling so grown up even though it was only my first summer spent away from home. That song was big that year, and whoever was in Music - probably Sean - always played it at night. It must have been a Sunday, 'cause Jes was working the later shift. We had spent most of the day on the tills together, and it was just the two of us again. Like most Sundays, it was dead, so she felt free to sing along to that song. I think it was the first time that I actually understood those words, and I loved that feeling.

What I find most surprising is that that is not the first time I have thought of Jes this week. Kim bought some dark chocolate earlier this week and shared it with me, and I remembered that Jes ate only dark chocolate 'cause her boyfriend was vegan and she felt less guilty about dark chocolate 'cause it had less milk in it. Jes was a great person, and I really looked up to her. We haven't kept in touch, but that's probably why she's still such a great person.

There's this great quote in a Stephen King novella - I think it's from The Body - that used to be one of my fav quotes. If I had the book again, I would add it to this record in the right format, but I'll have to just summarize. Basically, it's about how friends come and go in and out of our lives like busboys in a restaurant. I think it goes on to comment on whether or not that's good or whether or not some people are different. But I like being reminded of that. It helps me heal and that helps me grow.