7 Songs that Remind Me of You

I have a playlist full of songs that remind me of people. I call it "for the spirit".

Gooey by Glass Animals

She was my first crush on a girl after I accepted that I was queer. We talked about hanging out, but when I told her that I had never smoked weed before, it was a powerful excuse to have a sleepover. Technically neither of us were allowed to, but she snuck me in after I hid in her backyard for an hour. There was fresh paint on her back porch that stained my shoes and the ass of my jeans, but I didn’t care too much. I was happy to be there.

After her parents went to work, she tried and failed to make a gravity bong with a Gatorade bottle. She rolled a joint instead, and this was the first song she played after we started smoking. My head was reeling more than anything, and I smiled and giggled more than I talked. That was my first mind-altering substance besides coffee, and I didn’t realize something could make me feel that good. She bought me a Jimmy John’s sandwich, and I showered before I left to get rid of the smell. I wanted to believe it was like a date. I hope she’s doing well.

My Girl by The Temptations

My best friend in 8th grade. He was new to South Florence, transferred from a private Christian school, and we hit it off quickly. We had Drama 2 together, so we were rehearsing for performances together all year. I don’t remember what we would talk about, but I remember the vibe. Sarcastic and goofy. Insinuating at times.

We were safety buddies on a field trip for Drama 2 to perform at an arts festival in Savannah, GA. We spent the whole day there, and we went home after it went dark. At night, we were allowed to walk and shop on the boardwalk by the river. There were street performers everywhere, and we passed by one black man in an otherwise quiet section, singing this song with a deep, rich voice. My buddy started singing along, walking around me in a circle like he was serenading me. It was so cute that it made me blush. I just thought he was an awesome, beautiful friend. That was a wonderful day.

Can't Help Falling In Love With You by Elvis Presley

My great aunt, rest her soul. She died of a heart attack in 2020. Her favorite artists were Elvis Presley and Dean Martin. She could talk about those men for hours. She told us that her favorite food was Mexican, so we took her to Margarita’s for her birthday. She told us at the end that she didn't like the food and that she meant that Taco Bell was her favorite.

La Bamba by Ritchie Valens

God, that reminds me. Margarita’s used to be called La Bamba, and some of their furniture still has the old name written on them. They had to change their name after some Florida restaurant sued them for having taken the name first.

Margarita’s is owned by the family friends of my father. He moved to South Carolina with 3 men from their California hometown in the 1990s. They started out with landscaping together and doing odd jobs, and now they’re business owners. The 2008 recession almost killed those dreams for all of them, but they held on strong.

I went to the La Bamba restaurant every Thanksgiving and Christmas for most of my childhood. We were always invited to their big family feast, and I would help my mom make a green bean casserole. My dad’s friends had kids my age, so we played together and we would dare each other to eat random concoctions of spices and sauces. I think I had a better Spanish vocabulary at that age than I do now.

All Star by Smash Mouth

The boy who grew up across the street from me. He had a trampoline in his backyard, and his dad would pop the Smash Mouth album into the CD player while we jumped. Eventually, we started acting out scenes that we thought matched the lyrics. I don't think I had internet to know what the actual music video looked like, but we made up what we thought it should be, and we pretended that there was a video camera pointing down at us. We practiced our choreography for many days, and I think we even performed it for our parents.

When I got accepted into the larger friend group of the neighborhood boys, we would shoot at each other with BB guns in the woods behind a nearby housing development. The boy and I "dated" for 3 days when we were 10 or 12. When he "cheated" on me, our friends watched me chase him into the woods and beat his ass.

One time, his dad invited me to sleep over at his house when his kids weren't home. My mom didn't trust him.

Somewhere Over the Rainbow by Judy Garland

My maternal grandmother. My Nana. My only surviving grandparent. She helped my mom raise me until I was three years old. She was diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer's when I was 9 and she's lived in a home ever since. I don't remember the last time we had a conversation. Before her diagnosis, she had beds in her apartment for me and my brother. She told us we could spend the night whenever we wanted.

I associate this song with her because one of her favorite films is The Wizard of Oz. She had a black and white television as a child, and “There were only 5 channels.” She didn’t realize that Dorothy’s slippers were ruby until she watched the movie on a colored television.

Old Demons by The Dear Hunter

My friend from across the world. Someone who I can start texting again and pick up right where we left off. I met him in my sophomore year of high school, when he was an exchange student there. We had gym class together, and we friended each other on Facebook, but we didn’t actually talk much in person. We started texting every day and became best friends after he transferred to another town. I went to visit him the day before he flew back to Bangladesh. We met at a Sonic, and we ate together at a picnic table. I have a picture of us hugging and smiling, and both of us have our eyes closed.

We’ve had many plots over the years to bring him back to America. I still believe it will happen someday. One way or another, we will see each other again.

That’s all, folks!

This could possibly be a series. Subscribe if you like reading/listening to my stories!

As a personal update, I now have access to WiFi where I’m staying! This means that I can edit posts from my computer, which is much easier for me and my achey hands. Good things coming soon, I think. I feel a spark of creativity!