Aaaah, memories

Some of you are aware of this.  Those who are not, I bought myself a new toy last week.  I get a lot of use out of portable music devices going back to my youth, when I bought my first cassette Walkman at age 18 (that was 1985, so the idea of having a walkman in school was still verboten).  As a result, I was pretty much guaranteed to need to replace them about once a year.
 
I really hope I don't have to do that with this puppy.  Since it has no moving parts and a rechargeable Li-Ion battery, I'm feeling pretty optimistic about it.  I even went so far as to get the extended 3-year warranty.  It sounds awesome and I finally have a pair of headphones that string around behind the neck, which I've wanted for the longest time.  It's nice and light and holds 4 hours of MP3's.
 
Why am I telling you all of this?  Well, if you've been to Christine's and my house, you've probably seen the almost 1,000 CD's we own.  There are so many memories wrapped up in these discs, when I play them they take me back to important events in my life.  For example:
 
"Ray's Blues" by Dave Grusin from The Firm soundtrack will always remind me of my Papa.  The day my Papa passed away, I sat in a dark apartment and played "Ray's Blues" for hours.  The simple piano opening reminded me of my Papa: a man who didn't need a lot, who just loved his wife and family more than anything.
 
Nothing Like The Sun and The Soul Cages by Sting.  These two albums, along with all of my Springsteen and Genesis albums, are the soundtrack of my early 20's, years in which I was living on my own, working at Dofasco, playing slo-pitch 5 nights a week and golfing when I wasn't playing slo-pitch or working.  Nary a care in the world.
 
The soundtrack to The Fugitive, which I found in the HMV on Sparks Street in Ottawa.  I spent the summer of 1994 working for the Federal Government and spent many a sunny Saturday walking through downtown Ottawa with theat soundtrack blasting in my ears.  One of my all-time favorite movies.  And a soundtrack from one of my all-time favorite summers.
 
So many more.  I suspect I'll come back and write some more as I rip more CD's (relax, all my song-ripping is legit, for those in the audience concerned about those things).
 
Later.