Heck, John....... That's just the way mind works!
Sometimes, especially when I'm in a good mood, melodies just pop into my head! Usually, it'll be just a single classical melody that'll repeat itself over and over again. Then, sometimes, it's good, old rock and roll! And with that, one leads to another......
Inevitably, I have to either go to my music collection and pull out the actual CD and give it a listen...... Or, if it's not in my collection...... I'm compelled by forces far beyond my control to go out and get a copy! If I don't, it just keeps playing continuously in my head...... Kinda like when Patrick Swazye kept singin' "I'm Henry the 8th, I am" over and over to Whoopie Goldberg in "Ghost"!
OK........ So that you'll all know that I realy am crazy....... I'm going to share an honest-to-God true story with you all...... I'm copying this from an e-mail that I sent recently to a lady I met when I purchased a CD from her on e-bay...... It was one of those "had-to-haves"...... She was curious as to why........
So here is the letter......
Back in 1981, I was going through one of the many valleys in my life...... I was starting my own business as a Manufacturers' Representative in the Automotive Aftermarket. I had been counting on my wife's income as an RN to help keep some of the bills paid - but she filed for divorce. She didn't want the house so I was trying to keep it - $860 a month was pretty hefty 20 years ago. To add to the fear factor, I didn't have my old hiding place to run to when I got scared - a dedicated alcoholic, I was not even one year into the program. (Last September 1st, I celebrated 21 years of sobriety!)
Many times during this period, I was way down in the dumps........ Not knowing what to do next. Not even wanting to go on. Every time I hit one of those low points, a little melody would pop into my head........ There was something in that melody that seemed to bring me strength...... To lift my spirits....... To give me the courage to go on.......
Strange thing was that, as soon as the crisis would pass - so would the melody leave my head. Couldn't bring it back - not to save my life. It only popped in when it was needed! When I tried to recall the melody - about the closest I could come up with was one from "Lawrence of Arabia". I had seen "Lawrence" only once, twenty years earlier when it first came out and I was 10 years old......... When I was in my teens, I would sit in the living room, late into the night, with my head resting on my arms over the top of the stereo - listening to the music from "Lawrence of Arabia" over and over again! For some strange reason, I always identified with the character of Lawrence that I had seen in the movie......... And, after all, I did look a little like Peter O'Toole - slender, blond hair, blue eyes....... Only real difference was that he was so tall and I was short. Later found out that the real T.E. Lawrence was - like me - only 5'6"!
Anyway........
This happened so many times. Then there came a day........ I was about 2 years into the business and was dead broke....... I mean DEAD BROKE........ I was ready to give everything up. Nothing left to fight with.........
I had one last chance. I was representing a company called California Cushion; they made car seat cushions and seat covers. I had an appointment with the Buyer at Venture Stores - they were a chain of discount department stores here in Missouri, Illinois and Kansas, similar to Target or WalMart and had about 40 stores at the time....... I was well prepared! Samples of my product and other manufacturers
