Music: Beauty in Believing

I’m not a musician.  I can’t read music.  I can’t play a note.  I can’t sing.  Well I can, but you would pay me to stop.  I promise.

But, I LOVE music.

This is one of the several things that Mike loved.  He was a music fanatic.  He loved country music but he was a huge Michael Jackson and Prince fan too.  It didn’t really matter what it was, he loved almost all of it.

Music does so much for us.  Sometimes we can relate to a story in the words.  Sometimes a melody just makes us want to dance.  Sometimes it can make us laugh.  Music is good. Before Michael passed, Darius Rucker’s version of Wagon Wheel had been released.  Mike loved that song.  So it was fitting in the weeks and months after he passed so many of us would find solace in that song.  It would come on the radio when we needed it the most (I’m sure he had everything to do with that, just like my pennies).  When we needed to cry, when we needed strength, when we needed him, it was there.  It is “Mikey’s song”. I have memories of several other songs – some I can’t even describe here because the words are obscenely offensive – but one memory sticks with me.  We had this large birthday party for my brother – so many friends and family members were present.  And karaoke.  Mike was always good for a little karaoke.  This night we were having a blast and he went with Tracy Lawrence’s “Paint me a Birmingham”.  I was mortified.  I marched up and told him to stop.  We were having so much fun and he was going to sing this sappy song.  As usual, he refused to listen to me and sang it anyway.  It is now one of my favorite memories.  So, I actually hear this song more than “Wagon Wheel” when I need it most.

And the day I went to sign the lease for my rental house when I needed him the most, he gave me Sara Bareilles’ “Brave”.  I remember driving to the lease office, full of nerves, and that song came on the radio.  I smiled and I let a tear travel down my cheek.

You might be thinking that it was just coincidence.  Maybe so.  But I find beauty in believing. So, much like my pennies, this music thing helps me know he is right there by my side.

Do you have any fun Mike music memories?  I’d love to hear them!

~Melanie