I got this cassette tape for my birthday in 1993.
That was 28 years ago at a skating rink in my hometown.
It still plays. It has a little bit of that stretched tape warble. Which only makes the nostalgic lump in my throat harder to squeeze air past. In either direction.
And then there are these lyrics to the song called Sweetness Follows.
It’s these little things, they can pull you under
Live your life filled with joy and wonder
I always knew this altogether thunder
Was lost in our little lives
Oh, but sweetness follows
God, I hope so. Living for this moment instead of mourning the moments behind us or wringing hands over those yet to come feels impossibly absurd most of the time.
Yet it’s all we can do.
-JG
PS: Thanks for this precious gift, Helana. Jay, thanks for borrowing it from me. Seriously, that you asked to borrow this started one of my dearest friendships.