When it Owns You

It was a warm spring day - the kind you dream about all winter. My parents were test driving an Audi sedan. They let me take it for a spin by myself - seriously, WTF we're they thinking? I raced to my buddy Brock's house to pick him up and cruise town looking all impressive in the new, albeit not owned, car.

The Audi boasted one of the best sound systems on the market - a Blaupunkt receiver and fancy array of big and small speakers. I felt cool being able to say the name "Blaupunkt" again and again - like I knew it all my life when in fact I had known it since leaving the Dealer earlier that day. In the world of guys and High School, you had to be able to spout off the best names in car stereo equipment or risk being left out of about 80% of the conversations.

Anyway, the memory is real simple. Brock's mom had him finishing something, so I waited in the car. I opened the sunroof (a new thing in those days). The warm sun poured in. I tuned the radio to my favorite station called Z92 (92.3 KEZO) and cranked that Blaupunkt as loud as it would go.

The song "Who Are You" by The Who came on. I put the chair back, closed my eyes and let the sun beat down upon my face (ref. Led Zeppelin). I had always liked this song but on that day, I allowed it to completely own me. I felt every note, every instrument - Townshends thick guitars, the heavy drums, the guttural screams of Roger and of course, the synthesizer. I'll always remember how it sounded on those speakers, how the song totally surrounded me.

I heard the song "Who Are You" coming into work today and it took me back to that Audi on that warm spring day in Nebraska. About the car, my parents didn't buy it - they bought a different Audi - one without a Blaupunkt, but with an 8-track. Now I can't recall for sure, but I believe a tear rolled down my cheek as we rolled out of the dealership in the car with the 8-track.