Nothing about my first week in the Twin Cities ever smacked me upside the head quite as hard as my first rush hour.
I drove Cedar to 494 to try to get to 35W, to drive from Burnsville to Vadnais Heights for an interview.
And 494 during the morning rush hour is still a cardio workout.
Back then? In a barely roadworthy car, learning the few rules that the road had?
I flipped on WLOL. This song started:
The buildup, in my memory, went hand in hand with the traffic, the weaving and ducking and lane-changing, built up around me, mirroring the mental frenzy I’d just merged into.
I’m sure my blood pressure and heart rate still rise when this song come on, anywhere.
I first heard the Beatles on a day my mom kept me home from school. I wasn’t all that ill so I was puttering around my room when the WABC DJ announced the song by a new British group. I assumed he meant “beetles “ when he named them. It was, absolutely, the best, most original music I’d ever heard. I Want to Hold Your Hand. Indeed.
Funny, doc. Good story. WABC? Is that NYC?
When I was young, my mom would get my dad to take me with him on house calls or visits to the hospital. Then I could cool my heels inside dad’s VW (Beetle) listening to the radio (AM) while he took care of business. I first heard the Beatles, “I Want to Hold Your Hand” like you, sitting outside a house while Dr. Dad was inside. I can still point out that house in my hometown.
JD: yes, I lived in Connecticut. Big music stations were WINS and WABC, home of Cousin Bruce Morrow, who as of a couple of years ago had the 60s on 6 Sirius channel.