Goosebumps
October 6th
The volume has to be on an odd scale number on my car stereo. I don't know why, it just has to. Maybe it is because even numbers are just so square, and I feel rebellious while driving and listening to good driving music. Good driving music is actually easy to find — I have a couple of favorite radio stations that play adult album alternative format — a mix of adult rock, singer-songwriters, world and country/folk music. That music, an empty road, wind in my hair, and my car eating kilometer after kilometer is pure bliss. And the statement above about the wind is a lie — I do have hair on my head, but they are already so thin that no wind will disturb them much.
Once in a while, a song comes up that changes the already-felt bliss into something even more so. A song that I already know well, maybe I haven't listened to it in years, but from the first chords, I recognize it instantly. And then the goosebumps start. That happened today as I was driving home from the airport — “Girl from the North Country” by Bob Dylan started playing on the radio. I turned the volume up to 19, even though the scale goes to 20, but as I mentioned above I cannot have an even number on display on my stereo. After ten to fifteen seconds, I had to tighten the grip on the steering wheel and take my foot off the gas. Goosebumps that came over my skin from hearing for the first time in a long while this amazing song, were so strong that it felt like my muscles were cramping. I had to concentrate on listening and enjoying the song, and on safety behind the wheel as well.
After I got home, the first thing I did was to put the whole record “The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan” on. And for the first time in many weeks, or months even, I just sat down and listened. Without interruptions and looking at my cell phone, or doing anything but directing my whole attention to the music. And I felt perfectly happy and harmonious with everything around me. That astounded me — there are some many things going around in my life that are difficult and troublesome that I surprised myself by forgetting about them for a while. I guess that's how it works — finding small pleasures like listening to a good album without interruptions to get happiness and temporary oblivion from what surrounds us.
