Thursday, September 15, 2005

80's music

The strangest thing has happened in my life lately. It's 80's music. And it's everywhere.

It all started when Jose, a quiet Domincan busboy at work, walked up behind me with the bread basket singing, "What's love got to do with it?" by Tina Turner. Now, I had barely heard this boy utter 2 words (in English or Spanish) so you can imagine my shock. He was not singing to me and did not care whether or not I heard his singing. It was as if an All 80's All The Time radio station was rocking on in his head and he was an unknowing transmitter. I began to quietly sing "who needs a heart when a heart can be broken" as I walked past him to take an order.

Well, you woulda thought it was Christmas morning! Jose's eyes shone! He had found a fellow child of the 80's. Now, in my defense, my parents forced my brother and sister and I to believe that there was no other genre of music other than Soft Rock until we were in high school and began falling socially behind our peers. Soft Rock had been like another sibling to us, so when Jose headed upstairs to clock out, I was about to dab a small tear as he serenaded me with "Lady in Red" (although I imagine that the lady in the song was wearing an evening gown instead of a tuxedo jacket).

April, who cannot understand one syllable of English if it is spoken with a foreign accent, has finally found a common ground with some of our employees now. When Jose and his brother Luis fill up the water pitchers and softly sing "That's what friends are for", April has a hint of smug understanding on her face, as if to say, "Ah-ha! I understand you now!" She no longer has to squint her eyes, crease her forehead, and lean in til her eyes are even with their lips, frantically trying to comprehend each word. When it's to the tune of an 80's ballad, she's all over it!

Our friend Pablo just let me borrow a cd, too. I thought maybe it would have some reggatone, meringue, or maybe salsa on it (as he is working with me on speaking better Spanish). When I put it in my new cd player tonight, April and I giggled. Phil Collins wailed, "Take a look at me now" followed by 18 other tracks of classic 80's tunes. Ahhhh, let the good times (soft rock 'n) roll.

1 comment:

studpace said...

I don't know where I'm goin
but I sure know where I've been
hanging on the promises in songs of yesterday.
An' I've made up my mind, I ain't wasting no more time
but here I go again, here I go again.

Tho' I keep searching for an answer
I never seem to find what I'm looking for.
Oh Lord, I pray you give me strength to carry on
'cos I know what it means to walk along the lonely street of dreams.

Here I go again on my own
goin' down the only road I've ever known.
Like a drifter I was born to walk alone.
An' I've made up my mind, I ain't wasting no more time.