Bob Seger says:Turn the Page

We all continue to turn the pages

The great Bob Seger released his classic tune, Turn the Page, in 1973.

At that time, I had already turned the pages twenty-eight years. The pages back then seemed to stick, frozen in time -- creating moments in time that lasted forever.

Now, at the age of 76, the pages move faster. It feels like a hair blower is attached to the electrical socket in the wall, and the switch on the apparatus is turned to high -- the end of the blower directed toward the final chapters of my life, the pages now blowing by at a much faster pace.

Back in 1963, a walk in the park or a cruise down Main Street in my hometown seemed to last forever. Maybe it was a moment in high school when I stared at the clock awaiting the final bell to ring -- releasing me from my assigned desk, freeing me to the outside world and the endless possibilities and the exciting "hours" ahead.

No worries. No mortgages. Instead, nothing but special moments ahead. I'd crawl into my jalopy, turn on the radio -- instantly, a Duane Eddy instrumental roared through the speakers, maybe accompanied by some annoying static, no Sirius XM  back then -- just a single channel selection to punch for the tunes of the day.

My friends are waiting, just a mile ahead -- all of them mingling at the A&W Drive-in. No plan in place for the rest of the evening for any of us. The minutes on the time clock would click slowly -- plenty of time...plenty of time to do whatever.

We all would be in bed by 10 o'clock on a school night, 11 on a weekend...midnight if we were getting straight A's. No cell phones, no video games. A peek at the Ed Sullivan Show to see a kid with the swivel hips performing Love Me Tender.

Stopped at the local tavern the other night. It was Karaoke Night -- all singers and non-singers were out in full force. Suddenly, a long-time friend walked to the stage, picked up the microphone, and proceeded to bellow out Seger's Turn the Page.

For six minutes, I listened to my friend sing. 

I realize the song is about the plight of a musician as he or she makes their journey down the road:

Out there in the spotlight, you're a million miles away

Every ounce of energy you try to give away

As the sweat pours out of your body

Like the music that you play

Later in the evening, as you lie awake in bed

With the echoes from the amplifiers ringing in your head

You smoke the day's last cigarette.

Remembering what she said

But as I continue to listen to my friend, the meaning of the lyrics, from my point of view, settles in. My friend at center stage, all the people in the room, all the characters I have met in my life, are all turning the pages in their lives. 

We are all in different chapters of our lives.

For those lucky enough to continue to turn the pages, remember we are all reading the same book: The Book of Life.

Here I am on the road again

There I am, up on the stage

Here I go, playin' the star again

There I go

Turn the page -- Bob Seger

By the way, my friend did well.