When I was a teenager I got a Walkman for Christmas. I'm not sure what brand it was and it might actually have been 2 or more walkmans that I'm remembering together.
The point is that I - like so many others spent a good amount of my life with headphones on. And just like it's trendy step-cousins, the disc man and the ipod, a walkman can be a bit of an anti-social device.
I know that they provide the possibility of instant "sharing" of music and as the Duracell commercial points out - give a girl your disc man when her batteries run out on that long band trip ... and she is yours. The anti-social part comes in when you're not one to strike up a conversation anyway .. and you end up being that creepy guy with the headphones on all the time.
Headphones and their ear-bud counterparts provide a wall of protection. They say, "Hey, I'm listening to something so don't bug me" ... besides I might be too scared to talk to you anyways. Please dear God, don't let them ask me what I'm listening to; because then I'll have to explain the whole Christian Music thing - DARN!! - I knew I should have brought something cool and introspective - like Simon and Garfunkl. Think .... THINK .... Does Rush have a keyboard player? ... it'll be to obvious if I open up with a comment about Neil Piert's drumming. All the while, Petra's Back to the Street is blaring though my head "It's just your Altar Ego .... And You Don't Even Know! ... And you won't ever grow, 'till His Spirit strikes a blow to Altar Ego".
As you can see, I wasn't always the social butterfly that I am today :-)
What got me thinking about walkmans was my walk into the building from the parking lot this morning. I was humming an old White Heart tune called "Desert Rose". It was a cool song, and as Mrs. Dash has heard a few times - I once created/coached a "human video" for a youth group that I helped out back in the days the butterfly thought he could fly on his own. While I was thinking about White Heart, I thought of a co-worker whose Aunt has recently suffered a heart attack. I said a quick prayer for her family and reflected that it was good that they are able to be with her at the end.
The night my mom died, we left grandma to stay with her and went home to get some sleep. It had been an exhausting several months and my trusty walkman had been a constant companion in more waiting rooms than I could count. Then again - I can count them ... and I can tell you where they are in the hospital ... and where the cafeteria was .... and the snack bar ... and the library .... and the chapel. I was getting ready for bed when the phone rang. After a few minutes, Dad came down the hall and told us that we were going back.
I remember getting ready to walk out the door and realizing that I didn't have my walkman. I had been spending most of the last few days listening to what I was convinced was the greatest tape of all time: White Heart's "FrEEdom". This was the last album before Chris, Tommy, and Gordon left to run their own studio and way before Tommy was backing up Bruce Springsteen on SNL. If you've never heard, you should try it.
When I stopped and ran back in the house for my walkman - not wanting to spend a night in the waiting room without songs like "Power Tools", "Bye Bye Babylon", and my personal favorite "Eighth Wonder"; Dad yelled at me that I didn't need my stupid walkman. In retrospect, he probably already knew that she had died. With that in mind, what I thought was a very insensitive comment at the time wasn't all that bad.
I don't think I used my walkman for quite a while after that.
8 comments:
wow. This is the first time I've heard all that put together with this perspective. It's amazing what will trigger a train of thought. Also reminds me again why you dislike St. Louis so much. I forget the amount of time you spent there with your mom and how it was all spent in the hospital.
Walkman's are antisocial, sometimes--however when we disagree on what music to listen to, it would be nice for you to have a walkman! I love you hun.
love you more
I listened to my walkman in my parents car as we drove around town, not because I was being anti-social, but because I was discovering music. And the music I was discovering my parents did not care for or really endorse. It is a good thing that I was listening to good music, because they would never have known.
As a parent, when my kids get into music I am going to allow them to play their music in the car, so they can't use the excuse of not wanting to listen to talk radio as an opportunity for their ipod. I will also know what my kids are listening too.
On my flight to and from Philly, I listened to my ipod and read a book at the same time. I was really trying to give off the impression to my seat mate to not bug me.
Forrest, well excuse me for wanting to get to know the person I was sitting next to a little better. :)
I used a walkman a little bit growing up, but my music collection was a little small, so I didn't have the ability to listen to too much.
I don't know if I could listen to a walkman again if I had Dash's experiences.
Sometimes life needs a soundtrack...
rico suave
1. Dash, sorry that I live in St. Louis! (j/k) I don't think I knew you guys had to be here so much. I only remember you all being in Springfield...
2. I totally want my kids to enjoy music! It is funny that they think I listen to music too loud!! LOL! I told them just wait until you are teenagers! =D But then again, I will probably be jamming to the same thing they are listening to, or better yet, "M-O-M, you're embarassing me!!"
I too had a walkman, but like Dust my collections wasn't that big. I was able to be antisocial as a teen with books. I remember going to a festival of some kind with my parents and I carried my book and read while we walked. I imagine they wanted to smack me, but they refrained.
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