The Free Spirit

Ghosts of the Past; 1977 (Part Two)

Think back to 1959, just for a moment. Eighteen years had passed since the year 1959 had come and gone, and the world was such a different place. The grandchild of rock n' roll had taken over the music scene in the present day, but no one ever forgot true rock n' roll — there were callbacks to it all the time. 'Old Time Rock and Roll' by Bob Seger in 1978, for example. In 1971 in London, two men called Isaac Tigrett and Peter Morton founded a restaurant called the Hard Rock Cafe, which would grow to include a hundred and eighty restaurants, almost twenty-five hotels and over ten casinos across the world. Nashville became known as the birthplace of Rock n Roll and became themed as such. It was obvious that rock n' roll was not dead, and that it was a reminder of days that have long gone. This new tacky, touristy idea of rock n' roll was only an echo of what it truly was.

Fast forwarding back to the present day. Don and I had caught our flight to the Florida Keys and got checked into a resort that had individual small cabins, and we put our things down in our cabin, changed, slathered ourselves up in sun cream and went on a walk on the beach. Oh, it was so beautiful. The sand was constantly warm and bright, the water was crystal clear and more turquoise than anything I had ever seen before. I don't think I had ever seen water so blue in my almost forty years! It was so warm and so sunny all the time and the tropical atmosphere given off by the resort, constantly playing tropical music or Jimmy Buffet, made it a paradise like I could never imagine.

On the third night, we went down for a tropical dining experience that had a tiki bar and a dance floor. The band playing was singing Jimmy Buffet songs and when they played 'Come Monday', Don took me by the hand and brought me to the dance floor, where he held me close to him as we danced to a song that came to be the song of our adulthood. 'Just Your by Dion and the Belmonts was the song of our rather youthful marriage, while 'Come Monday' was the song of our mature adult marriage. As we were dancing and as I lay my head on my husband's shoulder, the singer of the band took a break between verses while the band continued to play. "It's been a wonderful evening for all you lovers out there, and I want to wish a very special happy anniversary to Don and Catherine, who have come here to celebrate twenty years together," the singer said, and I picked up my head and looked at Don, who was smiling.

"Donald!" I exclaimed, and he chuckled and gave me a kiss.

"I love you, baby," he said to me. Oh, it was wonderful. Fruit cocktails on the beach at sunset while my wonderful husband held me in his arms reminded me of how much I truly loved that wonderful man. Looking back, I felt so foolish for thinking that perhaps I didn't want to be married to him twenty years ago, but once I came to my senses and fell in love with that wonderful man, I forgot all about those silly thoughts.

On the fifth day, we were relaxing by the pool and I caught Don staring at a man lounging on the other side with a strawberry blonde woman. "Take a picture, you'll remember him forever," I told him.

"Somethin' seems oddly familiar about that guy," he said. "I can't put my finger on it..." I lowered my sunglasses and took a look for myself, noting the man's slightly curled thinning brown hair, clean shaven face, narrow frame and thick prescription glasses. They were the 70's-style frames with the thick, straight too and rounded frames. He didn't look like someone I knew, but somehow, that man was so familiar to me.

"It does, doesn't it? I don't think we know him," I said, sitting back on my lounge chair. Suddenly, the guy got up and made his way to the bar.

"I'm gonna get a drink, ya want anythin'?" Don asked me.

"Another Tequila Sunrise would be nice," I said, and Don went to the bar. It wasn't very far from us, so I was able to hear everything that was said.

"Tequila Sunrise and a Piña Colada, please," Don said to the bartender, and he waited as the strangely familiar man got to the bar.

"Can I get two Rum and Cokes, please?" he said in a somewhat familiar southern drawl. Don waited a moment before saying anything to him.