The Sweetness of the Past

Songs have bizarre ties to memory. There are songs with such strong nostalgic attachments it takes me by surprise.

For instance, the other night I was on the elliptical at the gym. Dashboard Confessional's "Screaming Infidelities" came on my iPod shuffle mix. I was thrown back, way back, to senior year of high school. Graduation and uncertain possibilities circled the horizon. But that night my friends and me.

We sneaked into Point au Roche State Park.We made a fire (somewhat miraculously, given our lack of scout skills) on the beach and roasted hot dogs and marshmallows. It must have June because the the air was warm and smelled like summer.

On the drive back, in Kara's van, the song came on. I remember the windows were down and the wind shooting through our hair. We all stopped talking and just sang along. Like really sang. I don't know why. It's like that song at that particular moment hit us.

So, when I hear "Screaming Infidelities," I think of that night. Friendship. The promise of the future and the sweetness of the past. And the feeling that things were changing. For good.

I think the memory is so poignant because we have all gone our separate ways. Some of us talk on a fairly regular basis. Some I haven't talked to in months and months. It's weird how you can have these intense bonds with people and then all the sudden you only remember them when a certain song plays while you're working out.