Monday Memories

"Come Monday, it'll be alright. Come Monday, I'll be holding you tight!"

"I like mine with lettuce and tomato, Heinz 57 and french fried potatoes, big kosher pickle and a cold draft beer!"

"Love in the library, quiet and cool. Love in the library, there are no rules. Surrounded by stories surreal and sublime, I fell in love in the library once upon a time."

"These changes in latitudes, changes in attitudes,Nothing remains quite the same.Through all of the islands and all of the highlands,If we couldn’t laugh we would all go insane."

Is anyone else out there a closeted (or not so much) Parrothead? I don't know if I OFFICALLY count, but I'm a wannabe at the very least.

I love me some Buffett!!

As I watched part of the televised concert in Gulf Shores last night (which, best I could tell, was pretty close to my Aunt Misti and Uncle Tony's place), I couldn't help but drift back to my first encouter with Mr. Buffett.

I was young... probably elementary school age of some variety. My dad's baby sister lived in Mobile (as did his older brother) and when we would go there to spend some time with them, it sometimes included a trip with Aunt Bri to P'Cola beach. (As an adult, I know that Gulf Shores is CLEARLY closer, so not sure why we drove that far, but since she lives right by P'Cola beach now, I guess she always had some fondness for it.)

She drove an old Celica, if memory serves correctly. Back then, listening to your favorite tunes involved a tape deck (with no playlists or skipping easily from one song to the next). I don't remember all of the details, but I do remember driving with the windows down and the ocean coming into view while Jimmy was playing.

The trips to the beach were usually a mix of fun and not so much. (I have an older brother who went along and we weren't always the best mix of personalities. tee-hee.) I remember some swimming, some fighting, and some jellyfish (though not sure they were all on the same trip). I remember my brother walking me into the ocean on a float because I was too scared to walk in on my own. (This was a rare moment of sweetness between the two of us that always stuck with me.)

But mostly, I remember deciding immediately that I needed a copy of that Jimmy Buffett tape.

I still don't know all the words to all of his songs and I've never seen him live (a real shame, I hear), but I do love his music. The songs I know are a part of my soul (some for the humor, some for the absurdity, some for the beat, and some because they are truly touching).

Do any of you have an album (or song or singer) that takes you back to a specific memory or time in your life? I'd love to hear. :)

Love & Shipoopies,
Leslie