Real Friendship

I have never forgotten the time my friend and I were driving in the rain, after school in our junior year of high school in her dad's old Ford Fairmont (Google it - yes it's the first image that comes up) - a crazy old car. This was when cars had tape decks with big clunky metal buttons that required muscles in your fingers to compress. Actually the entire car was made of metal, I think. Anyway we were driving in the pouring rain and listening to - you betcha - "The Stranger" on cassette and it was the first time I'd heard the song. I'd already been familiar with Billy Joel for a long time (God bless you) but hadn't heard some of the older material (I was well acquainted with songs from the Innocent Man album and 52nd Street). So this girl I'd known for only a few months but who was quickly becoming my best friend of all time - I mean I just thought she was the coolest thing in the world (you know how it is when you really admire someone?) - pops in this cassette and starts singing along "Well we all have a face that we hide away forever; though we share so many secrets there are some we'll never tell!" And the lyrics combined with the rhythm of it hooked me right away. It was in keeping with all the thrill of a new friendship, a ride in a classic car in the rain, and the mystery of getting to know someone. She is still one of my favorite people in the world and as we get older it seems remarkable that we have such a close connection. We simply enjoy the same things, with high standards for what is magical in life we both possess an appreciation for the classics. I consider Billy Joel one of the all-time classics. Very few people have real friendship like this, and Billy Joel's music is something that she and I have always shared; it has always been part of our bond. Thanks Billy.