I have a stack of miscellaneous mix cd’s from a time in my teens back when I thought I was pretty hot stuff. It’s mostly what I like to refer to as my “riot of sound” period. Each song clashed brutally into one another rather than with the melodic ebb and flow of a truly masterful mix tape. As I listened to a mix cleverly titled “08/03/00 Mix” I began to drift back to the first memories I had of those songs I think what amused me the most is how many of the songs I associate with people. Everybody has their own theme song. There have been so many wonderful, talented, beautiful people in my life I’ve been able to love. It’s really easy to forget about the good things sometimes. So while I lack the linkage to make this a downloadable mix I just wanted to dedicate my own entry to the people past and present who have left some indelible memories for me. Thank you for being in it, you really don’t know how much you mean to me do you? Here is how I feel about you (in no particular order just like Miss America):


Chris J



Geggy Tah - Thank You



I think through the years you’ve been a little of everything to me. You took my thirteen year old self in stride and gave me more credit for maturity than I really deserved. It’s because of you my brother doesn’t dress in plaid anymore. (well at least not all the time) and his hair isn’t cemented to his skull with a side part which made it vaguely reminiscent of a cross between Ted Koppel and a 1980's Ken doll. To risk being extremely sentimental your possibly one of the most intelligent and gifted people I know. Thank you for drawing me all those roses through the years. You know how much I loved them.



Adam R



Fear Factory - Obsolete



I think this reminds me of you because it was on the first cd I listened to that was yours. I was given it to give back to you, which I did. Then it was stolen from your white grand am because you have almost always managed to live in the ghetto. You purchased the cd again and it was promptly stolen from your car again. Why? Because you lived in the ghetto. I never did manage to find out what was in that bucket in the basement of your first rented house where I met you for the first time. I’ve never stopped throwing Nintendo 64 controllers at your head because regardless of your opinion on the matter poking me in the ribs during battle mode IS cheating. You can be a doofus sometimes but I’ve always been proud of you. I remember the first talk you gave as an MS. You came all the way down to my house (1 ½ hours away) in a horrible snow storm just so I could watch you. You’ve come such a long way - don’t stop. I miss the letters you used to send me. Poi! Poi! Adam Poi! Poi!



Dominic S



Rusted Root - Send Me On My Way



I’m surprised it isn’t a Bjork song either. But really more than Bjork the two bands, well three bands really that I remember you for are Dave Matthews, Phish, & Rusted Root. I remember you playing this song in the mornings while getting ready for service when I spent the night with Angelina. You’d have finally woken up after your three alarm clocks had been blaring for a solid ten minutes and turn the stereo on so everyone in the house could hear it clearly wherever they were. You know I can’t remember ever hearing your parents telling you to turn it down. (I loved your house) I just remember you singing in a warbly tenor along with it while you hop stepped into the bathroom to do whatever it was you did in there. I miss your alligator and your geometric paint job. I miss hanging out with you till two when Angelina passed out at ten otherwise leaving me to my own devices. I miss your mixes - they were always the best. But we always have Bjork Dom, always.



Arnie S (My Brother)



Depeche Mode - Never Let Me Down Again



Arnie my sweet little lemming, It was Dave B. who really got you hook line and sinker-ed into Depeche Mode and like every interest of yours you dove into it headlong. It reminds me of when you pimped out the stereo in your maroon Buick and the system required so much electricity your alternator couldn’t handle the demand and blew up, starting an engine fire. Depeche Mode has always suited you because of your sincerity. I remember when we were out in your car we’d turn on the stereo to a decibel level just below a Boeing 747 and sing until our voices started to crack from the volume. Your subwoofer was a good substitute for a back massage. I miss listening to you telling me about your day at the shop. It’s because of you I can explain how brine solution works in a water softener. I also miss being your sounding board - I know you needed one and I think I needed to be one too.



Andrew John Rogers M



Less Than Jake - Jeremy



“Little Turtle, What! What! I love you so! Buht-I-lub-u, buht-I-lub-u!” You were always Gap meets sk8tr. I miss your monkey arms and the silly impressions you used to do. I know you secretly wanted to trade places with me and be Arnie’s brother but we can’t all have what we want. I don’t talk to you very much now, we’re just passing acquaintances at conventions but you made everything so much fun Andy. You were so sweet. I still have the poem you wrote for me:



“...I want to give you a great big hug,
I’d crush you like a little bug...”



Oh Andy you had the gift of the bard! I’m sorry I never made it to your wedding and I hope whatever your both doing now is making you blissfully happy.



Brian E



Les Miserables - Castle on a Cloud



You had one of the most lovely voices I ever heard. When you were in a good space there was no one I would rather spend my time with. You’re the only person who ever really liked my singing voice and one of the few I could feel comfortable really belting it out with. I miss your A.D.D. piano playing and that crazy hat you used to wear dancing - which I have to admit was even worse when you and Arnie wore the matching feathers in the brims. I miss the bouncy way you kept rhythm when you danced and you’ll always be my favorite partner for the meringue. I can’t sing Castle on a Cloud anymore without you. I wanted to save you, but you have to want to save yourself first.



Dawn S



The Specials - Rudy



You still wear black and white checkered accessories. Whether it be shoes, belt, t-shirt, purse, or forehead. I always thought having a best friend meant I’d have to find an opposite to balance my crazies. You amplify EVERYTHING because we’re so similar. I wouldn’t want you any other way. I love your frank and often disgusting conversational material surrounding medical proceedures. I like when you smile and look like a really tall four year old. I liked skankin’ to Op Ivy in the car with you even though sometimes I feared for my life( as you were driving at the time). And I adore how we could make my cousin go into fetal position with the right topic during one of our Chin’s nights. I miss our Chin’s nights.







It’s an eclectic but not extensive list. There ARE more of you but this is getting to be an obnoxiously long entry.

“Lament who will, in fruitless tears,
The speed with which our moments fly;
I sigh not over vanished years,
but watch the years that hasten by.



Look how they come, - a mingled crowd
Of bright and dark, but rapid days;
Beneath them, like a summer cloud,
The wide world changes as I gaze.”



- William Cullen Bryant



Lapse of Time