25 or 6 to 4------25 years later.....

With tongue-in-cheek being the operative mode here, there are things that are very disappointing to a "just turned 15 year old".

For example, his first girlfriend breaking up with him. Via a letter. Can anyone say "Dear John"?

So, how does one deal with this news? Just like I would on any other night, problem or no problem.

I jammed.

My definition of "jamming" was to sit on the floor by the stereo, legs crossed, and purposely rock back and forth to the beat of the music I listened to in my headphones. I could jam for hours on end about any time.

This night, however, jamming was more than just one of my favorite things to do; it was therapy.

A regular jam could go 'til midnight, 1am, occasionally later. But this night was different.

For two reasons, I ended up rockin' away the night listening to the Tommy TuTones and Human Leagues of 1982 until 345am.

Reason #1---The night before, my brother and I came home from a visit to North Carolina, and being he preferred traveling at night (so did I), we pulled into Beaverdam around 345am. It was weird to walk in the house about the same time as Dad was getting up to get ready to leave for work. So, my body clock was in perfect position for that night.

Reason #2---As the hours progressed I believe I remember myself thinking that this night, this jam, would be different, would be memorable. And it was, as I remember it tonight, exactly 25 years to the hour. It finished off one "era" and started another one, and, all the while, it was the music that helped me, that gave me pleasure, that helped me through.

Before that night and in these 25 years since, music has played a powerful part in my life.....

---songs that I couldn't stop listening to...

---songs that make me cry...

---songs that immediately take me to a place in my past, as in, this song reminds me of "fill in the blank".

---or, maybe just a few hours driving down the road, made much more enjoyable by scanning the dial, trying to find the best song on the air at that moment.

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Now, you may be thinking; this sure sounds like a major watershed moment in your life and it was all about losing a girlfriend before going to 10th grade???

In the case of 25 years ago tonight, you are absolutely right!

In the case of scanning my 40 years, it's the perfect microcosm of the role music has played and continues to play in my life, its events, and my emotions.

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I STILL sit cross-legged. Right now in my recliner; sitting up in bed, and, more than anywhere else, in my office chair (which elicits many, many comments from co-workers who notice it).

I will always enjoy a good jam; whether via Live 365, my IPod, music I can listen to at the office, CD collection, et al.

Heck, Chicago even wrote a song about that night 25 years ago. As the lyrics noted:

....sitting cross-legged on the floor; 25 or 6 to 4..........

And, about 10 minutes later at 345am, the jam ended and sleep ensued.

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What helps you celebrate good times and helps you live through the tough times?

For me:

---God's presence via the Holy Spirit
---having time alone with my music
---my family.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I think I hear "Eye of the Tiger" for the third time tonight. Back to rocking on the floor. :)