Taking the Purple to Pasadena

I think most people have songs that transport them back to a certain time (Alice in Chains, Man in the Box or Hootie and the Blowfish, Time)…or even specific day (Glenn Madeiris, Nothings Gonna Change My Love For You). Songs that remind them of someone special (Paula Abdul, Straight Up or Dep Leppard, Love Bites or Aqualung, Brighter Than Sunshine) or someone that they’d rather forget ( Alanis Morissette, You Outta Know). I could do this for the entire entry and affix names and dates to the songs. My memory in this case, is THAT good. There’s a singer that reminds me of a friend (Katy Perry) and two that make me think of my family (Harry Chapin and Pat Benatar). Jean Jeannie by David Bowie conjurs up ‘horsey rides’ on my daddy’s back when I was a toddler. AC/DC, Back in Black brings up thoughts of getting ready for soccer games and the Sugar Hill Gang makes me ache for friends that are no longer my friends for one reason or another. The entire list of 80s tunes represents my teenage years.


I’ve also realized that places do the same thing. I OFTEN (several times a week) have dreams about my high school. Although in my dreams it’s uber big and complicated and I am always lost and I ALWAYS fail my classes and forget my locker combo. (SO the opposite of what really happened.) So now when I pass the school when I am home, I am filled with apprehension and tension rather than the confidence that I felt (well, academically anyway…well, except for Government class and Physics…and Calc) when I was actually there.

I find that I try to be in a place that makes me feel good. Like Evanston. All three of my boys were born in Evanston Hospital. But long before that (well, at least with numbers 2 and 3), I was a Wildcat. Every time I breathe the Evanston air, it’s like I’ve been injected with pure glee. It’s one of the places where I feel I am not a shell or a poser, where I feel completely energized.

• A soccer field is another good spot. I think about the ‘glory years’ and smell the sweat and the oranges that we invariably got at halftime.

• The library calms me down in a heartbeat. Geek alert: I totally enjoy looking through the dewey decimal numbers for a specific book that I want. I should have been a librarian.

• Another of my happy places is the Salvation Army. All of the recycled stuff…all of the clothing organized by color. Satisfies the OCD part of me.

But back to Evanston. It’s so damn different now. The ‘downtown’ is built up, Dave’s has moved. Due to connections I made ‘way back when,’ I’ve been back more times in the past year and a half than I have since I’ve graduated. There’s a sense of Jeni Marr there. Jeni Marr still existed. If you knew me in high school, you’ll probably understand that. Those that have just met me…I hope someday you get to meet her.

I know it sounds relatively ridiculous to allow a place to define ourselves…but I kid you not. I have yet to find the key to tapping into the sense of joy I get there…and to trap it once I again head back north. Mile by mile, as I head from Cook to Lake County, I can feel the elation seeping out.

So I just applied for 12 jobs there. Maybe I’ll get to be an active Wildcat again yet! And listen to my playlist of 80s one hit wonders on my ipod while I’m commuter between the counties on the train!