for those about to rock

it was kind of like

the time that my dad took me to great woods (back when it was still great woods) in late summer to see john fogerty to celebrate my graduation from high school. we had front row seats, and, in fact, my dad and i ended up standing for the entire performance right before the stage, close enough that i was able to rest my hands next to one of the pa's. my dad -- confident, outgoing, a bit of a smart-ass (yep, he's where i got it), but given to a distinct reticence at times -- had a cool, reserved head bob going for much of the show. but my dad -- also a vietnam vet -- always really dug on the song 'fortunate son,' so much so that justin and i sort of imbued our thinking on the song with his character (we call the growling d flat 5 chord fogerty uses in it the 'bob keane chord'; for the same chord, see also 'bad company' by bad company, another bob keane fave), and so when the band finally kicked into the tune's chug-a-lug intro, a funny thing happened. suddenly, my dad seized up, pumped his fists and starting yelling "yeah, john!" in a strained voice i had never heard before, his eyes fixed rigidly on fogerty, but seeming to stare through him at something beyond, something i knew was immeasurably far away but that i sensed perhaps came to loom close, as though he were seeing it through a telescoped lens. it was a little scary. it was also one of the moments in my life i felt closest to my father.

sitting in the cool late summer air last night at the baseball field in cleveland circle, watching my friend jay play in an amateur league game, sipping just-cold-enough miller lite out of a big 7 eleven cup, i savored that special feeling i get as a by-product of baseball being a game of pauses. it's sort of a reserved state of mind, a relaxed near-but-not-quite detachment; a certain contentment with letting things unfold as they will. but when jay, who's a great friend that's had a tough time of things in life lately, got up smacked a relatively lifeless pitch just over the right fielder's head and hit second base running with a strong chance for third, i found myself feverishly animated, screaming. "yeah, baby!! gogogogogogogo!!! you got it! you got it!" in a voice i've rarely heard or at least have rarely noticed coming out of me. jay made it safely to third just as the weak throw from right plunked in front of the third baseman. "yeah, jay!!!!"

it was a simple, benign feeling of happiness for my friend, but for whatever confluence of factors, it surged through me as unbridled joy. a nice feeling to have in the twilight of summer.

posted by jomilkman @ 7:42 AM