Ain't no stopping us now

Something amazing happened today. It was the sort of thing that, as it happens, you can't believe it's happening. It started small and built up to a final triumph that defied all odds.

I don't drive to work very much anymore. The recent gas price run-up motivated me to try out the bus. And I liked it. So I bike or drive (depending on the temperature) three miles to a Park & Ride spot, then enjoy the remaining commute while reading the paper or listening to music.

But I've got errands to run this afternoon. So I set off in the trusty Civic before 7 a.m., with 19 stoplights blocking my path.

The very first light is the worst. 79th and Quivira. From what I can gather, Quivira lights are synchronized beginning about 6:30 a.m. So the lights do their thing based on time, rather than traffic. One might sit at the east/west 79th and Quivira light for a couple minutes. Not today. I had an easy left turn onto Quivira. Good start.

Next up is 77th Terrace and Quivira. It can be a toughie. Just depends on whether an apartment dweller is leaving the nearby complex. Not today.

75th and Quivira. Red light. But right turn on red! And I roll on.

Green lights on 75th at Flint, Nieman, Switzer and Frontage. That brings us up a small incline to the I-35 interchange. Two lights. The first passes with no problem. The second, a left green arrow, I sail through and onto the highway. It was then I could feel something was brewing. The feeling you might have when a pitcher reaches the 6th inning with a perfect game.

I calmed myself on the highway. No need to worry for a few miles. Stay loose. Keep the expectations low. I mean, really, is making every stoplight even possible? Stop it! Don't even think about it or you'll jinx it!

The I-35 run reaches its conclusion with nary a slowdown. This is too easy. Something has to break. I exit at West Pennway. Down the ramp and, good grief, a stoplight. And two cars waiting. Quick, veer right and take the alternate turn down to Southwest Blvd. The Boulevard light is green roughly 15 percent of the time. Somehow, miraculously, it's green today. Left turn and downtown is here. The tension is palpable.

I navigate the Broadway & Southwest Blvd. intersection with no trouble, turning right onto Broadway. Up the hill and over the Burlington Northern railroad tracks. I can't help but pause and consider my predecessors. Those who've gotten this far, only to have a stoplight crush their dreams. And then, I see it. Broadway and Pershing. A red light. Two cars waiting. See, I allowed myself to dream too big. As Tom Petty once said, "God it’s so painful, something that’s so close and still so far out of reach." (See my last blog.)

But wait. The skies are opening. The clouds parting. A green arrow! Cars begin to move just as I arrive. My hands release their death grip on the steering wheel. I can see Crown Center!

Now, I hesitate to tell you what happened next, because it's almost unbelievable. A Netflix video sits in my passenger seat, awaiting mailing. Dare I stop at the Main Post Office? That would require making it past the IRS building stoplight, a left turn at the Kessler stoplight, a drive through the mailbox drop-off lane, a right turn back onto Pershing, then a u-turn at the Kessler light. (Yes, you read that right, a u-turn!) Bottom of the 8th inning, two outs and I'm thinking of throwing a trick pitch to Derek Jeter?

But I'm just arrogant enough to try it. Drunk on my own success. I don't deserve for it all to work. But it does! And now I'm staring at the Main & Pershing intersection, one of just three remaining stoplights. I'm already looking ahead. Grand & Pershing. The light is green, but I can see the crosswalk light number is in single digits. That means the pale green light will soon change to a shade of red. I bear down, ready to accept whatever fate the stoplight gods bestow upon me. And they smile. As I pass through the intersection, the light turns yellow.

Tears of joy well up in my tired eyes as I arrive at Pershing & McGee. Many a time, a single office worker has blocked the right lane here, obstructing my entrance to the parking garage. Today is my day. It's wide open. I turn right into the garage and, honestly, I don't know what happened next. I must have parked the car and walked up to my office. But I don't remember it. All I recall are the fireworks and the ghosts of commuters past cheering my homecoming.

And I remember I had to wait for the elevator.

I read the songs that make the whole world sing

I would wager that most people don’t pay attention to song lyrics. To that point, I reckon the majority of Americans think Bruce Springsteen’s “Born in the U.S.A.” is a tribute to the country, rather than a scathing commentary on the treatment of Vietnam veterans upon their return from war.

But the great thing about music is a listener can take as much or as little from a song as he wants. For my wife, the words aren’t so important. As a result, her favorite Springsteen songs are “Pour Me A Drink Theresa” and “Spanish Johnny.” (Don’t bother Googling them. Those are her titles for “I’ll Work For Your Love” and “Incident On 57th Street.”)

Me, I love the words. They’re why I enjoy Springsteen so much. Someday, I’ll come up with a list of my favorite Springsteen lyrics. Until then, here are 10 of my favorite song lyrics, in no particular order.

“My biggest mistake was loving you too much…and letting you know.”
The Band, “Don’t Do It”

“God it’s so painful, something that’s so close and still so far out of reach.”
Tom Petty, “American Girl”

“You make me feel so close to home, so far away, like nowhere else I’ve ever been.”
Kenny Loggins, “Too Early For The Sun”

“You don’t need a penny just to hang around. But if you’ve got a nickel, won’t you lay your money down?”
John Fogerty, “Down on the Corner”

“She gets a long letter, sends back a postcard. Times are hard.”
James Taylor, “Mexico”

“We never even said a word. We just walked out and got on that bike. And we rolled. And we rolled clean out of sight.”
Bob Seger, “Roll Me Away”

“I started a joke, which started the whole world crying. But I didn’t see that the joke was on me.”
Bee Gees, “I Started A Joke”

“Poor man wanna be rich, rich man wanna be king and a king ain’t satisfied till he rules everything.”
Bruce Springsteen, “Badlands”

“The only baggage you can bring is all that you can’t leave behind.”
U2, “Walk On”

“No matter how close to yours another’s steps have grown, in the end there is one dance you’ll do alone.”
Jackson Browne, “For A Dancer”

There’s at least one person reading this and screaming, “Where are Bob Dylan and Neil Young?” Well, John, I figured that list was best left to you. In the meantime, perhaps the peanut gallery has other lyric suggestions. I’d love to read (and hear) them.

Resolute on resolutions

I don’t make New Year’s resolutions for the same reason I don’t take seriously weather forecasts or annual job performance plans. (Sorry, boss. My proudest work moments of 2008 involved projects we weren’t dreaming of in January.) Fact is it’s impossible to know what will happen tomorrow, much less six months from now. Rather than worry about the next 12 months, I prefer to be thankful for the past 12. Things like:

• Fold-in driver’s side mirrors on our Irish rental car

• Orange biscuits at the Hallmark Café (and Crown Room pancakes)

• Amazon’s MP3 Daily Deal. Great way to try new music.
  

• The choir at St. John the Baptist Church in Kinsale, Ireland.

• NBC’s “Chuck.” (A show that would be better titled “Sarah Walker”)

• SNL’s Digital Shorts

• Chrissie and Tom at The Olde Bakery B&B in Kinsale, Ireland. Finer proprietors you will not find.

• The opportunity to run on untouched snow-covered roads.

• Killarney National Park before it opens to car traffic.

• All seven Bruce Springsteen concerts. But especially the second night in Dublin when he came within a few feet of Rachel. (Her look was priceless.) And the Houston show with Father Tom. And meeting Dave and “Tree” in St. Paul. And the KC show with my dad.

• Watching Avery and Gwyneth needle each other the same way Candice and I did at their ages. And knowing what the girls don’t…that they may spend the next few years wishing for their own rooms or their own toys or whatever else, but in each other they have a best friend for life.

• The lunch-time running crew at Hallmark

• The chance to stand in the outfield and watch Neil Diamond at Fenway Park

• That my brother found someone who will endure him for the next 60 or so years.

• Facebook. (I never thought I’d say that. But it’s been very cool to reconnect with old friends and classmates.)

And the basics, which didn’t seem so basic in 2008. Health, employment, family, friends, faith and a wife who endures me. Seems like the sky is falling anytime we open a newspaper or turn on the television. And I’m sure it feels like the sky IS falling for many people. Jobs lost, retirement funds depleted. But I do think everyone can find something to be thankful for. If not, perhaps a resolution is in order…