Farmers Weekly Review

By Nick Reiher

It’s no big news that certain songs evoke memories and feelings – both good and bad — for one reason or another.
I have no idea why the Fifth Dimension’s “Up, Up and Away” immediately transports me to a time of riding my green Stingray bike with the angel bars and banana seat through the streets and alleys of my Northwest Side Chicago neighborhood.

It’s not my favorite Fifth Dimension song. That would be “Aquarius/Let the Sunshine in,” the one where my part is harmonizing the phrase “mystic crystal revelation” with the guys.

Nor is “Heaven Is a Place on Earth” my favorite ‘80s tune. But Belinda Carlisle’s ethereal song brings me back to the early days of my time with the soon-to-be in-laws in southern Minnesota, especially as we celebrated Christmas in the cozy family room.

To be clear, we didn’t all sing this around the Christmas tree, or even on the way to last-minute shopping. Just an odd portal to a warm and fuzzy time.

Not all the musical evocations are like snuggling in a poofy bathrobe in front of a fireplace. “Feels So Good” by Chuck Mangione and “Dust in the Wind” by Kansas remind me of my final trimester of my freshman year in college.

After 13 years of Catholic-controlled education, that first year of college was liberating, shorts and T-shirts around the residence hall, attending classes as the mood struck. It was not the finest of my class hours, and my first-year GPA reflected that.

I got a D in “American Government and Politics,” taught by one of the best instructors I ever encountered. But even he could do only so much when one doesn’t attend class. You know that nightmare where you get to a test and know nothing on it? That was real. And I was late, too.

Thankfully, after realizing how much of my grants and loans I had wasted that first year, I turned it around and managed to have a decent college career.

If freshman year in college was a shock to my system, the first years after graduation was a crystal-clear revelation I was on my own: No school, for the first time since I was 5. It was the early 1980s, and the job market was not good.
I found freelance work, learned to shoot and develop my own photos, and then was lucky enough to get a job at the Northwest Side Press in Jefferson Park. I still consider the editor there one of the best, if not the best, teacher I’ve had in the business.

Unfortunately, since I had my sights set on working at the New York Times or a Chicago equivalent, even this was not enough to stave off a major depression, later exacerbated by the stoopid 1984 Cubs.

So, their WGN theme song, “Jump,” became a nauseating reminder for years. And other songs from that era would bring me back to that low, low time: “Words;” “Against All Odds;” “Hello;” “Hold Me Now;” and, not coincidentally, “I Guess That’s Why They Call It the Blues.”

These brought me back to dark times for a long time. Too long. Especially since, thankfully, I have had some bad times since, but nothing like those.

Then, as it can do now and then, Facebook actually provided some context. I don’t know who said it, posted it or whatever. But basically, the post said go back to a weak time in your life and show how strong you are now.

Now, when I hear one of these songs, I think about how much stronger I am now. The lessons I have learned. The family and friends I’ve been blessed with and enjoy the successes I’ve had since then.

Context. Appreciating growth. Realizing strength and successes. That’s what I feel now.

And I realize bad feelings I have are there only because of what I attach to them. Instead, I try to see them as the beginning of growth.Oh, “Little Drummer Boy.” That took a loooong time to get over. I think it was fifth grade. Practicing for the Christmas program in grade school. Every … Single … Day.

Now? Bring it on, Boy. Bum, Bah, Bum, Bum.

Nick Reiher is editor of Farmers Weekly Review.