Raise your hand if Luther Vandross is responsible for your conception...
Walking through PUBLIX today, I found myself in the canned goods/foreign foods aisle standing next to a middle-aged well-dressed woman. No, that's not the good part of the story. It made my day when she started singing along with whatever easy listning R&B hit that came on over the PA. She wasn't yelling the song like a crazy person or anything, just pleasantly warbling along just above sotto voice with what's-his-name. Though not my fave song, it made me feel really good that she took such unselfconscious pleasure from what is essentially just supermarket ambient noise.
I imagine that hearing an "oldie but goodie" made her feel pretty good. Who can't call up memories of the skating rink when the Cranberries or some such comes on the radio? My unfortunate memory is having a crush on Joey Russel and wearing what I thought was the height of fashion, a belted tee-shirt and shorts. My father assured me that it was a fetching ensamble, but I didn't know at the time that his idea of lookin' good is restricted to anything a 50 year old english professor would wear. Think cowboy boots, long skirt, belted oxford. Maybe throw on a colorful neckerchief to bring things together. He insists that my brother needs a thick stack of turtlenecks to survive the Boston winters and fit in with all the cool kids. Oh, Lord. I digress. Some dude made fun of my belted tee sending me to the girl's bathroom in shame. Jennifer Berringer, in a moment of kindness, brought me up from the depths by positing that I did indeed look fabulous and Joey was well within my reach.
So maybe supermarket lady had a better memory attached to the muzak. I'd like to think it was of makin' love to her man down by the fire. Yeah, that's definitely why she was smiling.
I imagine that hearing an "oldie but goodie" made her feel pretty good. Who can't call up memories of the skating rink when the Cranberries or some such comes on the radio? My unfortunate memory is having a crush on Joey Russel and wearing what I thought was the height of fashion, a belted tee-shirt and shorts. My father assured me that it was a fetching ensamble, but I didn't know at the time that his idea of lookin' good is restricted to anything a 50 year old english professor would wear. Think cowboy boots, long skirt, belted oxford. Maybe throw on a colorful neckerchief to bring things together. He insists that my brother needs a thick stack of turtlenecks to survive the Boston winters and fit in with all the cool kids. Oh, Lord. I digress. Some dude made fun of my belted tee sending me to the girl's bathroom in shame. Jennifer Berringer, in a moment of kindness, brought me up from the depths by positing that I did indeed look fabulous and Joey was well within my reach.
So maybe supermarket lady had a better memory attached to the muzak. I'd like to think it was of makin' love to her man down by the fire. Yeah, that's definitely why she was smiling.