The Song and Embers
“Where words fail, music speaks.” – Hans Christian Anderson
There is something magical about fire… The shadows it creates as the flames dance off the crackling wood and smoldering ash. It is something primal and raw, one of the very simplest and yet one of the most powerful and possibly destructive forces in all the world. Tonight was the first night I had to enjoy a fire in my backyard as I sipped on my glass of Booker’s bourbon. Booker’s seemed so appropriate a choice for tonight, as I wanted something on my palate that was as raw and powerful as the flames that spewed forth dozens of sparks that danced across the night sky. The fire and a glass of bourbon are a custom of mine on the warm (or warm enough) nights, that are also accompanied by music. I love music… It is incredible how something can bring so much emotion – happiness, rage, laughter, love, sadness and hope – just to name a few. I think music, for me is about the emotion, but it is also about the memories that you can tie to any number of songs. Riding in the car with my father, listening to Majic 105.7, dancing in the living room with my mother to just about anything, crying over one lost love or another as the words on the radio spell out the pain in my heart. Now, normally, I like to pop on some Frank Sinatra or Dean Martin on Pandora. It just seems right when enjoying a glass of bourbon to listen to the greatest of crooners sing about love immortal and the like. But tonight, I went with something a little different. I consider myself one of eclectic tastes when it comes to music, so I can listen to just about anything and appreciate it for the artistry and the blood, sweat and tears that went into it. So tonight, I am listening to the Pearl Jam channel. It’s really something that I have been hooked on as of late, the 90’s grunge rock stuff that makes me think back to the days when anything was possible and I was going to conquer the world out of high school. It makes me smile because I want to pass that love of music and that attitude on to my children. So here I sit, taking the last sips of another legendary bourbon and listening to Eddie Vedder’s soulful voice ring through the night. I can’t help but smile as the song and embers drift through the air and start me thinking once again…