Driving down the highway with the radio blaring, "ABC, Easy as, 123, or simple as, do re mi..." The memories came flooding back. I'm in kindergarden at Prytania Private, the class is in an old bungalow home at the lakefront and it's the last day of school. Ms. Armstrong has allowed one of the cool girls to bring in a few records, Jackson 5, Donny Osmond, and the Monkees. We had a blast; a class full of dancing five and six year olds moving about from kitchen to bedroom to living room.
Other memories came. The big wild thunderstorms that came off the lake. Watching the sky turn green and the street lights come on in the middle of the day and thinking there was nothing more wonderful. The neighbor who would open up the fire hydrant and we would play dare to see who could get the closest to the hydrant. Sunday snowballs after sweeping up grass after Dad mowed the lawn. The street sweeper on Franklin Ave. Ha, running away to Grams' house, (she lived down the block). The memory of just being a kid.
People say smells can bring back a flood of memories and they do, but I find that certain songs just bring back certain memories that an odor just can't do. I call these iconic songs, not because they are important to the music world, but to me. There are just certain songs that represent a particular era in my life. I'll bet you have them too.
