A youthful remembrance....
Music played
in the background at the party. A
soundtrack playing half noticed and casually acknowledged with the occasional
lyric sung and some part danced to by some of those gathered at the event. The
music creates an atmosphere that is familiar and welcoming to the group
gathered. Sounds become louder or
dampened depending on one’s proximity to the sound source.
I remember a
party that we tagged along to once. My
friend knew some people who were having the get together at a house and we were
allowed to attend. The major attraction
was that there would be live music from a rock band.
The band
members didn’t all show up so the band never played. There was a novice guitar playing kid who
played “Ain’t Talking Bout Love” by Van Halen on an electric guitar as the
organizers tried to decide how to salvage the evening. The kid was learning the part so he started and stopped often and would start repeating the opening riff again.
My buddy and
I looked at each other.
“Why does he
keep playing that riff?”
“Probably
doesn’t know anything else.”
We had
gotten semi wasted before entering the place and decided we would go back out
to the car we arrived in a sip on our beers.
We were a little tired, bored and drunk.
We went to a safe haven away from the strangers, our car.
The party
people started playing CDs to fill the silence which appeared after the kid
with the guitar stopped his noodling.
The music swirled skyward.
We only
stayed about another hour but the memory stuck with me over the years as it was
another adventure during my teenage life.
We would never
visit that particular place in time again.
