I love music, and I often look to music to give me direction. It’s like an audible signpost pointing me the right way. This week I needed my soundtrack more than ever. It’s been a terrible week because I’ve been sick with a terrible cold. I’m now enjoying the dry cough phase of my cold, so I apologize to anyone who has shared a public space with me today because I’m certain you heard me hacking.
Needless to say, I’ve needed some winks this week, and after looking really hard, I found them. Exhibit A, yesterday, when I was driving to pick my kids up from school, the theme from the Rockford Files came on the radio. This is a priceless soundtrack gem, as it immediately transported me back to the days of black and white TVs sans remotes, 45 records, and sun-sensor glasses. I texted my husband as soon as I parked at the school. “Things are looking up — just heard Rockford Files theme,” I wrote. He texted back a picture of James Garner (Rockford) with some fashionable ’70s chick. Enough cannot be said about a husband who gets your kitsch sense of humor (future blog post).
In addition, I’ve heard ABBA’s Dancing Queen more than once this week, which is my official diva-kick butt-I’m awesome sauce anthem. When I hear it, I feel like there’s nothing I can’t do. I remember dancing to this song at my wedding reception with my matron of honor’s baby. He’s now 16, but I’ll always remember him as the only dance partner I’ve ever had to carry. He’s also the only dance partner I’ve ever had who wore a light-blue jumpsuit and a diaper. (That may change when I become a senior citizen, but for now that’s how it stands.)
Then today while driving, I heard a favorite Buffett tune I had not heard in ages. A little background here, Jimmy Buffett is a therapist to me. This man has written a song about every emotion you can have, and his lyrics are genius and fun, which is a hard combination to pull off and not be annoying, but Buffett does it beautifully. His music has guided me through some of the toughest times in my life — infertility being one of them (we’ll get to that in another blog post). Needless to say that in my book, there’s nothing a Buffett song can’t fix.
So today as it rained, yet again, (seriously, if this doesn’t stop, everyone is going to grow webbed feet, begin quacking and pooping on each other’s driveways) I heard Buffett’s song Good Guys Win. I cranked it up and began smiling because this is the kind of song you should hear in a movie when the David character is about to kick the Goliath character’s butt (lots of butts today, folks). It’s a song for anyone who tries to do the right thing and adhere to life’s basic rules (in particular the golden one), and it would also be perfect for any After School Special (that’s for you Gen Xers).
The second verse goes as follows:
“Trouble all around us.
Dirty tricks at every turn.
Seems that we historically
refuse to live and learn.
You start to wonder if all hope is gone,
you would be wrong.”
Someone give this man a pulpit, because he is preaching the truth that we need. I know that things seem bleak in this world, especially if you read, watch or listen to the news. I know that there are days when winks of goodness are hard, nearly impossible to find, but we have to believe that they’re there. We just have to.
There will always be jerks, liars and haters in this world. Our job is to rise above those jokers and do the best we can. We’re going to make mistakes, and that’s okay. It’s okay because we’re living and learning, just as Pastor Buffett says we should do.
Though I’m grateful that this is the song that ended my week because the way things were going, it looked like Pink Floyd’s Comfortably Numb was going to be a better bet, I’m even more grateful that I listened for it. I was open to hope, and it came to me.
Good guys (and girls) do win. It’s hard, but it does happen “just when you think it won’t happen again.” Thanks, Pastor Buffett. Amen.