When I think f songs as "the soundtrack of our lives," for me, some of the songs just have such a powerful association with a period in my life that I will always associate them with that time.

Many years ago, when I got divorced, I was awarded sole custody of my two sons, who were 8 and 14 at the time. It was a time of emotional overload... joy at being released from a destructive way of living, mourining at the loss of what had been hoped for and worked for, extreme financial hardship and the first three or four years of extremely unstable times for my sons and their Mother. There were giddy days and depressed days, all mixed together into a Mulligan's stew and music was always playing in the background. Three songs are so strongly associated with that time that when I hear them they bring back that crazy mix of memories. Two of them were healing and comforting songs... Why Worry by Dire Straits and Everybody Hurts by R.E.M. We listened to those recordings a million times, not with any conscious attempt to calm the storm, but just because they are good songs that spoke to us in subtle ways. The third song was Me And Julio Down By The Schoolyard by Paul Simon. I still really like that song, although it isn't necessarily my favorite Paul Simon song. But, my youngest son Aaron had a great friend for a couple of critical years in his life named Javier. Javier would come to our house and visit, and they'd head over to the schoolyard across the street, and that song would keep running through my mind.
Javier was a great kid... probably my favorite of all Aaron's friends, growing up. He was very intelligent and serious about school until they both went in to highschool. Javier got in with a rough crowd from the neighborhood where he lived, and suddenly Aaron wasn't cool enough to bother with. I don't know what happened to Javier, but I don't think he followed his dream of becoming an electrical engineer. I always felt bad about that. And I wonder about him, every time I hear Me And Julio Down In The School Yard.

Jerry