You live with all your faults…
Was driving home through the rain Tuesday evening and The Goo Goo Dolls’ “Slide” came on the radio. I was instantly 17 again, convinced I knew all there was to know about the world and was capable of going out and claiming a piece of it for myself. I have no idea why (especially considering the meaning behind the song), but the it always reminds me of my best friend at the time, Melissa. We used to bomb around Irondequoit, drinking Starbucks (am pretty sure we were keeping them in business), driving to the lake to sit on the rocks and contemplate the meaning of life or to hop out of the car and dance in the pouring rain (how we warded off pneumonia I’ll never know…).
And then just as quickly as I was transported back to 17 with Melissa in the car next to me, singing along to the song at the top of our lungs, I was 30 again, alone in the car with no idea where Melissa was, what she was doing and a nagging ache in my heart remembering how she disappeared from my life, decided that I was no longer worth her time and friendship with no explanation. Not necessarily something you want to experience on the drive back from your grandmother’s funeral, but important all the same.
No matter where I am or how old, “Slide” will always bring back vivid memories of that brief interlude in my life during which Melissa and I faced the world head-on with John Rzeznik singing in the background.
