In follow up to the last two weeks’ stories, which were written by my daughter Haley and son Jeremy, this week’s story was written by my son Madison. It is the third and final story in the series of stories guest written by my children as their Father’s Day gift to me.
Title: A Day In the Life of As the Story Goes
Author: Madison Gallagher
It’s late afternoon on a warm summer day, and I’m riding in the car with my dad. We just got done with another one of the hikes on his to-climb list, Lassen Peak. Timing was key on this particular trip, due to the long drive, so to make up time we rushed the hike. Once we got back to the car I got comfortable and settled in for the long trip back. I find myself looking out the window and daydreaming about anything and everything. There’s a lull in the radio between songs and in that moment was true peace. Then a couple of notes from the next song played and that peace flew out the window when my dad pipes in with:
“As the story goes…”
The song was ‘Heat of the Moment’ by Asia. He first called out the name of the song and then dove into the trivia bits. He told me that he had this album on cassette tape and played it so much that it burned out the tape. Despite my peace being disturbed, I drifted back off to stare out the window wondering how he could listen to an album that many times. I wonder how many times I’d have to listen to an album on my mp3 player to make the mp3 player burn out. As I ponder that life mystery the song ends and a new one fades in. This one takes him a little longer, but the inevitable still happens. First he calls out the name of the band, Genesis, and then:
“As the story goes…”
This time the song was less important than the members of the band, specifically the drummer/vocalist. It was a man known most famously in my eyes for doing the soundtrack of Disney’s blockbuster hit “Tarzan”. Phil Collins. We went back and forth about Phil (first name basis) for a while, and then he mentioned how Genesis was also where Peter Gabriel got his start. (Editor’s note: The music video for early Genesis hit, “Supper’s Ready” is wild. You get to see Peter Gabriel’s theatrics and a wide array of colors and psychedelic imagery.) It’s starting to seem like the music scene back then was just a small group of people who all just played in each others’ bands. I turn back to look out the window, knowing full well that the song is ending and another music fact is coming up soon. And seemingly as soon as the song starts he calls out “Ramble On – Zeppelin”. I figure I can play along this time and ask what fact he has about this band. “Well,” he says “As the story goes…”
**About 20 years later**
It’s a cold, dark morning on the road. The sun seems to be as sleep deprived as I am, or maybe that’s just my imagination. I think about the logistics of sending some astronauts up to the sun with a fresh pot of coffee. As I’m meticulously planning out this mission in my head, a new song came on my playlist. I glance in the backseat and my baby daughter is still snoozing away, but I know I need the practice if I’m ever going to live up to my old man. I decide to quietly start telling her a random fact about the band:
“As the story goes…”
Conclusion:
We love you, Pops! Happy Fatha’s day!
To view the video of Supper’s Ready, click here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QVyfj7-mHqs
Thank you Madison for a great story and some wonderful memories. And thanks for keeping up the story telling tradition.
And a very special thank you to all three of my children for this wonderful Father’s day gift. I love you all. You are the best kids any father could have.
So now you know. Come back next week for a brand new story of rock and roll history right here at As The Story Goes.
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AS THE STORY GOES 