Sue's News

Transported by Song

August 25th, 2010

I was in the car the other day and heard a song that rarely comes on the radio, Billy Joel’s Stiletto (from the 52nd Street album, released in 1978, the year I was born). Instantly, I was transported back to London and my student days…and the most fond and clear memory I have of those days is writing (with pencil and paper, and a cup of hot tea) at Suzy’s kitchen table. (She was my landlady and flatmate.)

(I brought a bunch of tapes (yes cassette tapes) with me, and Billy Joel made up the bulk of them. I found myself listening to them quite a bit when I first got there. His songs, his accent reminded me of home; living abroad, I found I needed ways to connect with home to help me live as far away as I did at such a tender age.)

I had everything ahead of me…I knew I was embarking on something, but I wasn’t sure just what that was. (I wasn’t even writing plays at that point, I was doing short stories…a precursor to be sure.)

Catching the end of the song the other day made me nostalgic for a simpler time, but also made me realize how far I’ve come. It was nice to go back, though… if only for a few moments.

–Sue

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