Pas, Sons, and Pop Songs

On a spring night twenty-five years ago (months after I first came to the US), I drove back to school from Yosemite. Pop songs played from the car stereo. Enjoying the energetic tempos, I bobbed my head and pumped energy into the engine accordingly. My father, who had traveled overseas to visit me, sat next to me and refrained from frequently telling me to slow down. My hardworking father had never continuously listened to pop songs for this long. In the back seat, two friends cheerfully sang along. Further back, a car shot high beams into my rear-view mirror, pushing me to drive even faster to escape the glare--until the car started flashing and revealed itself to be a police car. Someone advised, "Stop the music!" I turned off the music. Minutes later, I was given my first speeding ticket.

Three days ago, it's an autumn night, and I drove my younger son back to school. Pop songs played from the car stereo--my older son had just given me a CD of his newly-released album. Enjoying the energetic tempos, the younger son and I chatted enthusiastically about the older son's music, and I drove carefully. I had learned to just let others pass when they shot high beams into my rear-view mirror. My phone rang. "Can you turn on the speakerphone?" I requested, and I turned off the music. The call was from the father of the host family who kindly took care of me when I first came to the US. He called to rave about the album. Here is a Spotify link to the album, IN 20: https://open.spotify.com/album/4dOSoAKRqmutpXv3tIBKpY. (One's Facebook account and password can be used for Spotify login.) It's an enjoyable gift.