Monday! Aug 18 2003 // 1:45 pm //
loves horses
Somehow the radio station on my clock radio shifted to XRT. I must have bumped the dial or something. Anyway, this resulted in a wake-up call from Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers playing the 1989 hit, Freefallin’. It’s jarring first thing in the morning to hear the sentimental lyrics of Mr. Petty when you’re expecting to hear the soothing voice of Bob Edwards. Especially that song. It seems innocuous enough, but I have a strange connection to it. When I was a kid, I believed the song was about me. My dad used to tell me it was, and I believed him. I’m sure it was simply my young brain running too far with it. He probably just said the song was about me, meaning the song reminded him of me. Nevertheless, I was so convinced that I told one of my elementary school teachers all about it, and they crushed my dreams by telling me the truth. I can remember walking around with the notion that Tom Petty was writing songs about me, but the really weird thing is that I can’t remember when my dad first sold me the line, nor can I remember when I realized it was all untrue.
update: Okay, so if you read this, it makes no sense. What really happened is this: I can’t remember which elementary school teacher it was, or really if it even was an elementary school teacher. I can sort of remember an adult with some degree of non-familial authority. I can sort of remember the look on their face. Or, at least the feeling it gave me. I’m not even sure if they said anything - they could have successfully communicated the awful truth in just a look. I may have known instantly.
One thing is clear: I need an editor.
