Juke Box Hero

When I was setting off this afternoon on my run, I decided to go in a little different direction on Slacker -- 80's hits. When this song came on, I felt compelled to sing along:

Standing in the rain, with his head hung low
Couldn't get a ticket, it was a sold out show
Heard the roar of the crowd, he could picture the scene
Put his ear to the wall, then like a distant scream

He heard one guitar, just blew him away
He saw stars in his eyes, and the very next day
Bought a beat up six string in a secondhand store
Didn't know how to play it, but he knew for sure

That one guitar, felt good in his hands
Didn't take long, to understand
Just one guitar, slung way down low
Was one way ticket, only one way to go

So he started rockin'
Ain't never gonna stop
Gotta keep on rockin'
Someday he's gonna make it to the top

And be a juke box hero, got stars in his eyes
He's a juke box hero
He took one guitar, juke box hero, stars in his eyes
Juke box hero, he'll come alive tonight

Running by a bunch of college kids, I couldn't help but think about the fact that none of them had even been born when this song came out in 1981. Which also means I'm closer to the age of their Mothers than I am to theirs. Which isn't really good or bad, it's just weird, because I so distinctly remember my days roaming the campus as an undergrad:

In a town without a name, in a heavy downpour
Thought he passed his own shadow, by the backstage door
Like a trip through the past, to that day in the rain
And that one guitar made his whole life change

Now he needs to keep rockin'
He just can't stop
Gotta keep on rockin'
That boy has got to stay on top

And be a juke box hero, got stars in his eyes
He's a juke box hero, got stars in his eyes
Yeah, juke box hero, got stars in his eyes
With that one guitar he'll come alive
Come alive tonight

Running the 7 miles from the Capitol to Picnic Point and back, I felt a lot of gratitude. To be able to run that far, even if I had to do it a little slowly and stiffly, to live in a place with such scenic runs right outside my home and work, to be able to return from a windy run to a shower and sauna at the gym...

Afterward, I met my babydaddy and my kids -- one of whom will be 11 tomorrow -- for a sushi birthday dinner. Again, I felt very grateful. For my daughter, her brother, the fact that we could all comfortably eat out together. There's no doubt that there are things about my life that are not as I would like them to be, but there's also so much for which I am profoundly grateful...