I was in the grocery store the other day and noticed that "Tie a Yellow Ribbon" (Tony Orlando and Dawn from the 70s) was playing in the sound system overhead. I often am oblivious to such things, but it was like the little Tony Orlando gremlin (or something) had walked right in front of me, standing there with a smirk, making sure to get my attention. My reaction was probably somewhere between rolling my eyes and shrugging, as I nudged the gremlin to the side and proceeded around the corner to the bread aisle. There I encountered a soft voice, coming from a woman somewhere around my age, singing along. Not singing to be heard, just engaging with the song in the manner in which she does, as do many others. And funny, at that moment I was no longer annoyed (or whatever I was) at the song, as my focus was taken from that to surveying the broader landscape. In the broader/contextual view, the emphasis shifts more to meaning, and the place that those singular components hold in the big picture, And the first thing that can be observed in the wider view is that everything has a place, regardless of what I (think I) might feel about it as an individual. Once that first domino falls, as long as you keep (your self/ego) out of the way, the sense of connection to what is around you begins to make more sense. Similar to the time that an annoying sing along on a casino gig turned my whole perspective about music making around, I was drawn into a moment, the meaning of which was a reminder to me that it (whatever it is) isn't about me. Not that I don't wholly embrace that, at this point, but I do need reminding (or something) whenever I encounter an expression of popular culture, the substance of which leaves me empty. So, perhaps, my next order of business is to figure out how to get myself authentically engaged with playing "Tie a Yellow Ribbon". I can hear Erroll Garner ... I'll think about it. Meanwhile, I attended a jazz concert tonight that included the great old standard "Everything Happens to Me" and smiled as I heard the woman 2 seats from me humming along with the melody. I already play that one   :)