Luka

Luka was one of those stellar songs from the 1980s, 1987 to be specific. I'm a child of the 1980s, and specifically I was raised on 1980s pop music. When Luka hit the charts, it was just one of those superbly "catchy" songs, with a seemingly important message. I gave it no further thought beyond that. In 1987, I was in college, where I was discovering Eric Clapton and Tom Waits.

A few weeks ago, the NY Times published a blog by the songwriter Suzanne Vega, who wrote Luka. In her post, she describes the genesis of the song, and how the ear-catching sound for her song was produced. She also talked about the lyrics of the song, and how warily they were received in her early performances.

I gave the song a listen again, and I was blown away. I was amazed at the power of those lyrics, hearing them seemingly for the very first time. It brought a lump in my throat, tears to my eyes. The music was the same from 1987, but now the words were hitting me with their full force, and I was swept up in the emotion of the song.

Suzanne wrote about how the song eventually became overplayed, drowning out the words and its message. I guess like it did with me. Thankfully, distance and time allow all things to seem new again. I'm glad they did their work for this wondrous song.

Note: This month, I will be writing about songs.

Father Daughter Talk

My daughter has been listening to the Beatles. She likes many of the songs, and during the song I Want to Hold Your Hand, she said: "It's a song about somebody who wants to hold my hand, but not me, because there's no grown up who's in love with me." I said: "Well, I'm in love with you." And without missing a beat, she said: "Of course, you're my parent!"

Happy Father's Day!

The Balloon Flew Away

I first posted about Michael Fournier in 2002. He's the retired French Army officer trying to set the world record for the highest free-fall. The record was set by American Joe Kittinger back in 1960.

A few days ago, Fournier attempted another free-fall. He needed to climb into a capsule/gondola attached to a helium balloon. This balloon would take him to the height of 25 miles above earth. At that height, he'd see both space and the curvature of this planet.

Unfortunately, something happened during his balloon launch. The balloon flew away. The news report explained that perhaps a charge went off, inflating the balloon ahead of schedule. Still, it's a blow to his attempt.

When I first saw the headlines about this mishap, it had that "my dog ate my homework" sense. He said next time he'll bring two balloons. I say he should maybe bring some tethers as well.

Daily Walk

Since the ice rink where I used to skate at lunch has closed for the season, I've slowly begun taking walks at lunch. Call it a nod to exercise, of which I get very little. It's been a good daily routine, and I've rarely missed it.

I take a left out of my office building, and walk across the Longfellow Bridge. In my routine, I walk to Boston on the west sidewalk, which is the narrower sidewalk. When I get to the other side, I walk back on the east sidewalk, which is the wider sidewalk. The views are gorgeous, even when the weather isn't ideal.

Mileage maps show the distance to be under a mile (.88 miles, to be exact). I get the whole thing done in about twenty to twenty-five minutes. Some days I'll walk briskly, but mostly I walk normally, affecting no rush. Sometimes I'll even stop along the way and take pictures.

The walk is good for the heart, supposedly, but I've been finding that it's good for the mind. The work that I do is quite immersing, so the walk clears my head. A little brain reset in the middle day. I recommend it, highly.

100 Things About My Wife

My wife put together a list titled 100 things about me. I found the list insightful and fascinating, and it made me feel nice and warm when I saw myself mentioned. I told her that I would have to put together my own list now. When she was putting her list together, she said she had pretty good momentum up through 70 items, but after that things became harder. Of course, now that her list is publicized, she now has thought of other things to add to it.

Let me point out two things of note on her list. Item 15: Her dedication to giving up smoking was one of the hardest things she's gone through, and one for which I'm immensely proud. Item 71: The match was Italy versus Spain.

Forty (YouTube)

Forty

Forty is the "new thirty." This means I should be feeling thirty, but I promise you, I don't feel thirty at all. I feel exactly forty. And it's not just physically feeling forty. It's emotionally feeling forty. There are people where I work who graduated from college in the past two years. Me? I am looking forward to my twentieth college reunion in the next two years.

While filling out a survey earlier in the week, I noticed that this would be the last week that I could check off the box next to 35-39. Starting tomorrow, I hit the 40-44 check boxes. Mental note: Stop filling out surveys.

Long ago, when I was in high school, or maybe even earlier, I had a vivid dream. I was driving a car, and it was a hatch back of sorts. I stopped in front of a house in the suburbs, and I got out, unlocked the hatch, and in the back were bags of groceries. I remember the hatch tugging my arm up, and I remember looking around. I woke up, not finding out where I was going with all those groceries.

Sometimes, when I find myself in that exact situation (which isn't often, since we don't have a hatchback, and I don't often get the groceries), I say "I'm living the dream." Tomorrow, on my fortieth, I'll have to remind myself of this. Often.