I'm just sitting here watching the wheels go round and round. I really love to watch them roll...
Driving back down from LA this past week, I was listening to John Lennon's "Watching the Wheels" on the radio. I believe it was KPRI but that doesn't really matter. The song sent me into a spiral of memories of when I was 16 years old living in San Diego and many of the people who made impact on me. It is amazing that a song can throw you back in this way.
People say I'm lazy dreaming my life away...
Hearing that song, made me think of the great rock writer, Paul Williams and his experience being a part of John Lennon and Yoko Ono's "Bed-in". I had the honor of meeting Paul when I was 16, prior to his bicycle accident and hearing many of his great stories of interviewing Bob Dylan and Brian Wilson. I remember sitting on the floor of my friend's apartment stapling copies of Crawdaddy! to get ready for mailing at a time when the magazine's budget was near it's lowest. I remember feeling that I was a part of something greater but also the normalcy of the occasion.
Emma Dennis, a budding rock journalist for the current incarnation of Crawdaddy! who also just happens to be Patrick Dennis's daughter, wrote an amazing piece on her blog, Whimsy in Dive Bars, about her first meeting with Paul which brought me to tears.
People asking questions lost in confusion. Well I tell them there's no problems, only solutions...
Thinking about Paul prompted me to think about the other individuals who helped shape me into the music-loving, community oriented being that I am today. I thought about Jackie Starr, a spunky musician who lived here in North Park, who I can directly pinpoint as the reason that I love the Pixies and Elvis Costello. Listening to Frank Black while petting her cat on the floor of her living room (I guess I spent a lot of time sitting on the floor as a teenager), I could only imagine the doors that were opening regarding musical influence. After I ran away from home (a story for another time), I continued writing Jackie. Yes, the handwritten letter type of writing. I am not sure if she realizes the impact that she had on me, but I still want to thank her.
When I returned home in the wee hours of the morning, I searched online for my past. Finding Jackie on facebook it made me smile to see her happily married in Massachusetts.
Surely you're not happy now you no longer play the game...
I also thought about Veronica Boyer who assisted in my escape plan and was a true friend. It was her floor that I sat on while stapling Crawdaddy! magazines. She introduced me to Guinness and the close knit community that is the San Diego Music Scene. I remember going to shows and walking through shops downtown with her. She always made me feel like I belonged and never treated me like I was just a kid.
I remember her telling me that she was moving to Washington state, where I never heard from her again. I tried to look her up but have been unsuccessful. I hope that one day I will get the chance to tell her
No longer riding on the merry-go-round. I just had to let it go. I just had to let it go.
Friday, October 2, 2009
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2 comments:
Sara~ I too feel the same way about that song.. having my own trip down memory lane every time I hear it!! What you said about Veronica, I miss her too, I have looked her up on FB, but no luck... She would let me crash on her couch or the extra bedroom in her apt. at I think it was 1st and Upas?? So long ago... So many great memories of you and I too, being maybe the youngest people to get to hang out at Java Joes ~Afterhours~ And too see all that went on ;)
Talked to my friend Shelly, who lived with Veronica before she moved away. This is what she said..'I know she had family in the Vegas area so she may be there. I have not asked Carlos or Jon Edwards though, they may know something.'? Hope this helps, unless you have already done that?
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