(Cheesy) Pop Songs of the 80s Sing Stories from My Life

How do we know the difference in our lives between story threads that are going to be dropped, and those strange, mystical instants when a little detail, a golden moment stands out in the text?

I have selected cheesy 80s pop tunes to accompany three auspicious plot developments in my life. What's better than the obviously-not-really-stringed-instrument synths, the ensemble super-songs, the soundtracks, the tender vulnerability, and the bordering-on-naive lyrics of the 80s to represent the awe a person can feel when they reflect on the twisty root systems that have somehow led to the blossoming now?

As a gawky teen, I'd flip through my textured, brown photo album, peer at the faces of my classmates, and fiddle with the sticky cellophane just to hear the noise it made as I peeled it back.  While scrutinizing how each of us were placed on those fuzzy choral risers, I counted the years I'd known each kid. Much to my chagrin, I was usually the tallest. These days I think the wide-banged kid-mullet I sported at the end of grade school is more disturbing.

The first page of that photo album was the class picture of Our Redeemer Lutheran preschool class of '85. This class 8x10 was different because each person had their own photo. It was the year my mom foolishly gave me an eye-stinging home-perm that is responsible for my continuing aversion to the notion of curls; while scanning the page, I'd often confuse my picture with another curly-haired girl in my class. That is the same picture I saw of my sister-in-law when I first visited her home. When I met Ana again-- for what I thought was the first time-- I recall looking out from behind the one-hour-film counter from my position at cash register one, and the immediate warmth expressed in her gesture of hello signaled to me that this was a person I was going to love.

This one's for you, hermana ;)

Much art has been created to explore the small choices that alter people's lives; I think of the sunny June, end-of-8th-grade-band-trip that hooked this F Hornist and that trumpeter together like Construx as we went from middle to high school. Walking that mile back to school side-by-side with my fiery, ambitious Angie changed my life.

Love you, friend!

Ryan and I have been together a long time, married almost nine years, long enough that people don't frequently ask us how we met. Most times I just say that we both worked in Fred Meyer Photo Electronics, but here is the truth: a young Colleen, while being cash-register trained, saw Ryan saunter by in hounds-tooth pants and spent a moment in cosmic drool mode, thinking a thought very unlike any she'd had before, that she would make this man hers.

And then the moment passed. I spent a year alternately pining and second guessing before my quarry succumbed to love for me.

Ryancito, this one's for you!

And, as the 80s labor to regain their street cred, I hope the sentiments that defined so many songs and films of the era-- the pressing into the moment, the overly-romantic longing, the searching for eternity in the gaze of another, and the ache for human connection-- return in full force, because 80s pop is the type of refined sugar that really does a body good.

1972 (Anniversary Mix)

Who knew that 1972 was filled with such positive, poptastic energy? This mix is sending golden summer goodness through my veins like a tasty hefeweizen, causing me to throw on lps I haven't given a proper listen to since I first got my fingers grimy with record bin dust.

My parents got married in '72-- my mom's color choices were yellow, green, and orange-- and my fair-haired father donned a white tux (detailed in black) with a pink cummerbund. My mom's three brothers took my dad camping the night before...and he awoke to find himself very near the edge of a cliff. Those sneaky brother-in-laws. I hope my parents were filled with optimism as they took "the plunge" into commitment; it's wonderful to see that they still love each other after 39 years!

In putting together this mix for their anniversary, I could feel the love and hopefulness radiating from the artists. Many of these people faced life-diminishing challenges and yet chose to channel a generous energy into their fellow humans. It's hard to imagine a time when trying to love the world wasn't viewed as cheesy, naive, or far-fetched. Today's pop radio, with it's distinct lack of abstract thinking, stands in stark contrast.

I've decided to hop in my time machine (it looks like a phonograph and time travel is achieved in the same manner as Superman's in Superman I) and spend some time experiencing the pop music of the 1970s. Please consider tagging along! I've got an extra suitcase.

Mike & Sue 1972

1. "Let's Stay Together" - Al Green

2. "I Saw the Light" - Todd Rundgren

3. "Song Sung Blue" - Neil Diamond

4. "All This is That" - The Beach Boys

5. "Got to Be There" - The Jackson 5

6. "Crocodile Rock" - Elton John

7. "Top of the World" - The Carpenters

8. "Garden Party" - Ricky Nelson

9. "Mary Had a Little Lamb" - Wings

10. "I Believe (When I Fall in Love it Will Be Forever)" - Stevie Wonder

11. "Happy Xmas (War is Over)" - John Lennon & Yoko Ono

Wedding Music

I am sure that somewhere back in time, most of my ancestors danced and sang at weddings; it turns out that my DNA has been aching for me to move my feet, clap my hands, and sing with other people.
 
My dear brother, Brendan, had the good fortune to fall in love with Wambui, a Kikuyu woman who has a laugh that bubbles up like spring water. My family met her mother, aunt, and youngest brother a year ago, before the two were engaged and we immediately liked them. We didn't really know what to expect when it came to our two cultures participating in a wedding ceremony, though. We knew that traditional approaches in the US and Kenya are very different, but there hadn't really been a chance to talk about these things since they live in Nairobi.

On the eve of the wedding, after the rehearsal dinner, we congregated at Wambui and Brendan's place to surprise the bride. Many Kenyan family members and friends had arrived that day, and their home was filled nearly to the brim. With serious bridesmaid power (yea Jackie and Daphne!) we were able to play a couple of games, including one where all the young women cover up in kangas, and the groom has to figure out who his bride is just by looking. The joke is that the first woman the groom picks is supposed to be the one he marries. To Brendan's embarrassment and everyone else' amusement, he picked me first; his face went a nice shade of beet. It took him four tries to figure out which one was Wambui. Baba Wambui is a funny guy, so he made Brendan explain why each woman he incorrectly picked should not be his bride, starting with me.

After that activity, we got in a circle and Beatrice (Wambui's cousin) led us in singing two different call-and-response style songs; she did a great job off-the-cuff! I was lucky to be standing next to Nyokabi, who has serious dancing skills, so I stared at her feet, clapped my hands, and tried to pick up the Kikuyu lyrics. In one of the songs, family members get called on to come dance in the middle of the circle of singers...I was surprised when I got called. Luckily, middle schoolers have taught me how to let go of inhibitions, and I got myself right in there to do my best.

There was so much love in the house: hugs, genuine joy in the meeting of relatives that hadn't seen each other in years, last meetings recounted with astonishment at how much time had passed, friends reunited across continents, and spilling over onto my family an open-hearted welcome of kinship. We weren't just plugging Brendan and Wambui into new families, we were stepping into an extended family for all of us! I felt as much acceptance, without question, as I have ever felt in my life from a group of people. There was no awkwardness, no sense of trying to fit in (even if my dance moves aren't all the way there yet). What a blessing! Surely a sign of God's presence in the midst of people who would normally be nothing more than strangers. I count myself beyond lucky to have so many new friends and family.

On the day of the wedding, I felt joy pulse through me as I was blessed to take part in singing Kikuyu wedding songs to the bride and groom. My mom recorded the video below. I hope you can feel the love, too.