My first time visiting DC, I was a senior in high school. I was privileged to travel with several other students as part of the Close Up program.
We met our state senators at the Capital. We ate in Chinatown. We visited monuments. We shopped at the Disney store in a Mall (I was still more kid that pre-adult). We exchanged life experiences with kids from other states.
The trip made an incredible imprint on me. It was my first taste of the big broad world. Like climbing a mountain and touching possibility. I wanted to bottle and hold that possibility in my pocket to bring home and breathe in now and again when I needed to feel the breadth of it all in my chest because life was pushing in around me in ways that only teenagers can feel. I settled for a Goofy t-shirt.
Witnessing people who seemed filled with power. Who impacted the world beyond themselves in ways that wowed and inspired me. And ate ethnic food. And did business under ceilings that were more artistic than anything I'd ever been under before. My neck hurt from looking up all week. I didn't want to miss a nuance.
I was twitterpated. In some ways, the trip felt like I should have gotten a passport stamp - it was foreign and so, so delicious to me.
On our last night before returning to Iowa, there was a party / dance that kicked off with a talent show. I was entirely too timid to sing or do anything in front of all the other attendees.
This girl who was wallpaper until her mouth opened sang this song, all sultry-like. I remember being wowed by the sophistication of being sultry as a teen, and having the guts to display it amongst strangers.
It has represented new horizons on my playlist ever since. Daring to expose facets of myself and try new things. I could sing this now in front of people. While slinking across a piano if wearing the right dress. Back then, it was a window shopping only song.
The song ended. The dance began. The Alabama kids requested Leonard Skynard. The Minnesotans and Iowans replied with Quiet Riot (a la We're Not Gonna Take It). It was a magical dance, in a teenage sense.
It was absolutely a heartrending descent from a mountain to return to Iowa. I later ascended that and other mountains again. I ended up moving to and working in DC in my early 20s. I'll share that story some other time.
This evening, enjoy some Fever. Today's weather brought about Spring fever in my world. I hope you have a fever that is hard to bear also.
Peggy Lee - Fever
No comments:
Post a Comment