I wanted to wish a Happy Valentine's Day to the love of my life: MUSIC.
She's been treating me extremely well lately. Because of her, I'm currently in my bunk on a bus in Denver, Colorado resting up for my 8th show with The Last Bandoleros and Sting on the 57th and 9th tour. As wonderful as my relationship with MUSIC sounds, it wasn't always this way. Her and I have quite a history, but I remember it like it was yesterday.
When I was young, I watched a rerun of the movie, "Big" starring Tom Hanks. There was a scene where Hanks' character and his boss come across a huge piano mat that you could play with your feet. They both played "Heart and Soul" (a.k.a. the theme for the movie). When the tune was over, the boss says, "Chopsticks" and the two immediately go to town on that song. This was the moment when MUSIC first called to me. I've always heard her on the radio and such, but this was different. I could see how expressive and creative she could be.
I knew I had to pursue her to see if we were a match. Prissy, my oldest sister, had received a toy keyboard as a gift. She and I would press a few keys and buttons just to make noise. Coincidentally, that toy piano happened to be in the living room near the T.V. I turned it on and tried to play. Sadly, the movie scene was over and I wasn't able to rewind it back then. It was the first time I had ever heard those particular tunes and I couldn't remember how they went. I almost gave up, but instead, I tried to play a song I was familiar with; one I had heard many times: The Star Spangled Banner.
I started singing it and tried to match the notes on the piano. After finding the first note, I found the second, then third, and so forth. It was like an extreme game of Simon. I had made it three quarters into the piece when my parents came up to me. "Who taught you that song?", they asked. "No one." I responded. "Someone had to have taught it to you. How do you know it?", my dad barked. I said, "I just learned it", then dismissed him as I continued. I was almost to the end when I realized that I had the attention of my entire family along with some visitors. When I finished, everyone in the room was in complete awe. Even as a kid, it didn't seem that difficult and I wondered why they were so amazed.
I was completely infatuated with MUSIC by this point. I never left her side. I sought out teachers and learned new instruments just to get to know her better. She was all I thought about...well, I thought a lot about football too, but that was never serious. I digress. I joined the high school band to spend more time with her. I joined musical groups. It was a joyous life. I thought the honeymoon would never end.
As life would have it, circumstances changed. MUSIC became very high maintenance. I would spend so much money on her for musical gear, sound equipment, yet she was never satisfied. Not only that, gigs stopped paying what they used to. I was broke and had poor self esteem. I felt like a loser. I said some terrible things to her like, "I'm a nobody because of you! I was smart enough to be anything, but you dragged me down! I wish I never met you!" I couldn't stand all the fighting and needed some space. After years with her always by my side, I decided to leave her.
I was determined to turn my life around. I got a job at a gym, worked my way up to management, and eventually supervised three buildings. I actually had health insurance for once. My dental plan was fantastic. I was financially stable to the point where I would forget when I got paid. I had a beautiful girlfriend and we talked about our future together. This was it. This is what the good life is supposed to be all about. I had it all, yet, I was absolutely miserable.
I missed MUSIC so much. I thought about her day and night. Even though we had a lot of bad experiences, when times were good, they were great, wonderful, fantastic. I felt like a shell of myself without her. I had made a terrible mistake and I knew what I had to do.
I dusted off my instruments and called out to her. She was there in the blink of an eye. I told her how sorry I was for leaving her when things got hard. I wasn't strong enough to handle it. She expressed how she knew she was asking a lot from me too and she understood why I had to go. With tears in my eyes, I promised her that we would push through any obstacles that came before us. As long as we had each other, we could accomplish anything. And just like that, I left my new life behind to be with MUSIC once again.
That was about four years ago. Today, I'm exactly where I'm supposed to be and happier than I've ever been. I know the format of this story is a little hokey, but genuinely speaking, I truly learned that money isn't everything. People have dreams for a reason and you can never go wrong by pursuing them. If you have a good heart and fight for your happiness, you will find your Valentine; just like I did.
