Things happen over the course of a lifetime that lead to unexpected events -- memories you’ll never forget or that leave you with a scar you touch when its attached memory comes to mind. When I hear a particular song, sometimes it takes back in time. Once there, I get to enjoy that bit of history again.
It was 1976 and after washing my AMC Gremlin, I drove out to the Colonial Parkway so I could crank up my music as I waxed it. I was about halfway done when a Pinto full of girls pulled in to the same overlook to spend some time giggling at me before they laughed and pulled out. I kept my attention on the task at hand and a short while later, the driver of the Pinto returned without her friends.
She got out of the car, walked over, and apologized for her friend’s rudeness then took a seat on the grass and started asking me questions until I opened up a bit. She listened to my life story, then I listened to hers as we got to know each other. At some point, I pulled a blanket out and spread it on the grass so she'd be a bit more comfortable. I was allowing myself to go with the flow of events, as this encounter was unexpected.
With the waxing complete, I closed the car’s doors after rolling down the windows so we could still hear the music then I joined her on the blanket. As evening came upon us, the sunset gave us a beautiful tapestry to enjoy as we kissed. We’d gone from people who didn’t know each other to something more. I remember the song playing when we kissed for the first time, Moonlight Feels Right. She had wonderful strawberry blonde hair and as I caressed her face, I’d run my fingers through it.. so soft. We stayed there for another few hours, enjoying our time bathed in the starlight, until a cop came up and informed us, we weren’t supposed to be there after dark.
It was a different world then; she gave me her phone number, which I promptly lost, but then she had given me something to remember whenever I hear this song. That’s probably better in the long run, anyway.
488, 363
