Okay, I haven't posted my music selections yet, and I will, but it's interesting to hear what you've all (the three who responded, hint hint everyone else) selected. I can't say I'm familiar with most of it, but hell, that's why I started this blog: to learn things I never knowed.
Here's a new What Would You Bring, and I think it's a TOUGH one. Get crackin' and have your papers on my desk by... well, whenever the heck you can get to it.
What five conversations that you've had in your life affected you so much (in any way) that you still cherish them to this day? Let's say you could go back in time and record them and bring them to the Island to replay as often as you'd like. No major detail is required, but perhaps just the topic. Here are mine in no particular order:
1) My first conversation with Lisa on what is now "our usual spots" on her couch. We hadn't known each other very long, but the words just flowed with ease and there was so much honesty and revelation and it was absolutely one of the most refreshing conversations I've ever had (and she agrees).
2) A conversation I had with Amanda right before Emilie was born. Sitting across from each other in rocker/gliders in the finished baby's bedroom, we just had a very calming exchange. I can't even recall the topic(s), but Amanda often reminds me of that day and I trust it must have been lovely because she says so. I'd love to hear it again to remind myself what it was all about.
3) A conversation with Josh, a former coworker who was very much the Christian, wherein I revealed, at his prompting, why I no longer believe in god or have faith in much of anything.
4) In Hawaii last year I spent a lot of time talking with my Nana (my dad's mom), who accompanied us. I learned things like what she would have named my dad if he would have been a girl (Monica) and other such information that you just won't know until you ask. If I could compile all of our talks from those 10 days into one conversation, that would be nice to hear again.
5) Okay, I'm going to cheat a little on this one. I'd like to compile all of the conversations in which someone revealed that they loved me. It's nice to hear that from people, especially when it's totally unexpected, and I think it would provide some emotional stimulation while stranded on that Island. You need to be reminded that you are loved sometimes.
What are your conversations? Please share. Inquiring minds want to know.
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Some of the conversations that I most fondly remember were with old friends I'd not seen or spoken to in a long time. One of the best was when I called Meff about a year and a half ago. I think we talked from about 9pm to midnight, or later. It felt like a third-grade slumber party.
Another example was when my old drummer, Gary Fieldman, called me last year. He was a guy I spent a lot of time with in Boston. He had a reputation for saying things that were too abstract and bizarre for most people to understand. Everyone thought he was crazy except me. When he called me that night, we talked about Karma, the Four Noble Truths, and the Middle Way. Shortly thereafter, he wrote and UNBELIEVABLY cool piece of music called "Ratty's Loving Surprise," which you should buy from CD Baby and listen to with your kids. It's amazingly deep.
In grad school, I had many mind-shattering conversations in my lessons with my teacher, Joe Maneri. Fortunately, I actually DO have many of these on tape!
Conversations with my wife are usually on very mundane topics, like what we need to get at the grocery store, what time swimming lessons are, etc. But I always love hearing her voice; it's so beautiful and comforting. She also has a knack for cracking me up by telling REALLY stupid jokes.
Conversations with my kids are always great, but last night after school, Collin told me about the report he did on Alexander Graham Bell. Apparantly, it was a big project that he'd worked on for like a week. The teacher liked it and he was really proud. I wouldn't mind hearing that again.
Thanks for sharing, Greg. I can't wait to hear what others have to say, too.
I've struggled with this topic. It's been difficult to think of actual "memorable" conversations.
But one did stand out. It was probably in the summer of 1987 - or perhaps during my sophomore year in high school (1986-1987). The more I think about it, it was probably during Easter week of 1987. Yes, without a doubt, it was. Anyway, Meff had moved to Milwaukee several months earlier. But he would often come up and spend weekends with his grandparents. So we saw each other quite a bit. When he had his Easter break, he spent the entire week in Two Rivers. And as was the norm, we would sit and yack on the phone for hours at night.
One night we talked an especially long time. And we stated talking about "old" TV commercials and such. I started digging through my audio cassette tapes and found some commericlas I'd taped with my tape recorder - old Snickers' ads, Gary Coleman's ad about kidney transplants... We had a ball laughing and remembering this stuff. Then I found a tape of a Flintstones' episode - the one where the gang camped out in Shagri-La-Di-Da Valley - only to find out the Boy Scouts were having their annual jamboree there. I had taped the part where they sang "Old McDonald Had A Farm" in several different languages. Meff and I just about died with laughter.
At about 3:00 in the morning, my dad came downstairs. Apparently my laughing and talking had woken my parents up. He came down and yelled at me, and made me hang up the phone. Now, back in the early-1980's, if you hung up the phone and the other person didn't, the lines would still stay connected. But by 1987, you had only about 5-10 seconds before the line would be disconnected on both ends. Well, about two minutes had passed before I felt safe to pick up the phone again. And lo and behold, Meff was still on the line. For whatever reason, the connection had not been severed. So we talked for awhile longer - much quieter. That was a fun call with a lot of great, silly memories. I'd love to hear that again.
I don't remember an abundance of details about it, but I would be curious to hear the first phone call I had with my wife. We had "met" online the night before. So the phone call was actually our first real conversation with each other. We didn't meet in person until a week later. I do recall that we jokingly talked about eloping to Las Vegas when we met in person. Truth be told, I would have done it! And if I'm not mistaken, the call got pretty intimate in the end. If I am mistaken, then I'm thinking of call #2 the next night.
Well, that's two. I'll have to think about it some more to come up with three others.
presently i seem to have life altering conversations on a daily basis due to my line of work with so much one on one time but i will list the first five that come to my head:
1. my first conversation with my husband about our life's goals. by the end of the conversation we both realized that simply all we want to do is love people, give patients there space and support them in there community.
2. my last conversation with my dad before he died. we talked about the amazing day he had at that fancy golf course in kohler where the pofessional golfers had some huge tournement (i can't stand golfing, it is an environmental nightmare) however he was so full of joy, and i've NEVER seen him like that, so for me to hear and feel his excitement brought me so much joy.
3. my conversation with a strange eccentric african man from nigeria on the train back from san francisco to chicago sitting in coach. it was one of those experiences where i am not sure he was even a human, he could have been an alien that downloaded thousands of years of information in me. he was purely angelic. i can't remember anything we talked about but i will never forget him. after we parted i felt as if i have been taken care of and a sense of fear has lifted. undeniably since meeting him i have felt comfortable with letting life unravel, surendering to being a karmic puppet and finally understanding that the course of actions we take are not anything we control but are a product of nature.
4. the last conversation i had with one of my best friends who was termninally ill with a very rare form of cancer, right before he died he told me he believed in angels.
5. all my conversations with my bestfriend colleen because in the end we both believe that "everything will be okay".
The one where my first husband found out about K.
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