I’ve started watching Ally McBeal reruns late at night. I never really liked this show but I’ve somehow gotten sucked into it. Anyhow, I think it’s rubbing off on me because I had this strange theme song playing through my head all day.

Certain songs are tied to people or places for me. When I hear them, I’m teleported through time and I’m back somewhere in my past with that particular song defining the moment. Today, for whatever reason, I’ve had the song Fool in the Rain by Led Zepplin in my head. I’m not a big Led Zepplin fan, I haven’t listened to this song in years but today, for whatever reason, it’s been my theme song.

Well there’s a light in your eye that keeps shining
Like a star that can’t wait for a night
I hate to think I’ve been blinded baby
Why can’t I see you tonight
And the warmth of your smile starts a-burnin’
And the thrill of your touch gives me fright
And I’m shaking so much, really yearning
Why don’t you show up, make it all right, yeah, it’s all right, all right

And suddenly, I’m back in highschool. I’m at home in our kitchen with Steve and we are making fortune cookies. I’m not sure why we decided to do this, but I suppose I found some recipe about it and so we spent a Saturday afternoon writing silly fortunes for our friends and teachers, then folded them into a pastry dough and cooking them. If I remember right, they turned out truely inedible. He did, however, bring over a mixed tape for me. (Yes, this is back in the day when we used to listen to cassette tapes. It was a given that you’d make a mixed tape for your girlfriend. Some sort of teen age rite of passage I think.) I remember that one side was a best of Pink Floyd and the other was the best of Led Zepplin a la Steve. I hadn’t really heard that much from either group so it was all pretty much new to me. But Fool in the Rain just jumped out at me. It was one of those songs that clicked.

This may be a bit silly but bear with me.

I remember that after Steve left, I ran into the living room and turned up the volume. (Where were my parents? I have no idea but for some reason I was on my own with no one to complain about my crazy music.) He had left behind this green knit sweater and I found it. I then proceeded to dance around the kitchen with this sweater doing my best to sing along at the top of my lungs. I so remember this it’s scary. Dancing and singing and just being so happy and giddy that I felt like I would burst.

I have no idea what happened to that tape but today that song just came back to me. Maybe I heard it on the radio or someone was humming it – I really don’t know. But as I was walking down the street to lunch, I found in pounding through my head. I found myself walking to its beat and smiling. Some of my giddiness must have slipped out because people kept smiling at me. One young man even tried to strike up a conversation with me, saying I had a great smile and asking what was making me so happy. I wanted to tell him it was my theme song but I was afraid he’d think I was a bit looney.

Of course, he wouldn’t be that far from the truth, would he?