(Yes, that’s the back of my minivan — after an exceptionally eventful carpooling episode.)
If the minivan’s a-rockin’, that’s because a bunch of pre-teen boys got ahold of my Spotify account.
And, just what would you expect a carful of 12-year-old boys to put on their playlist? Hip hop? Maybe Top 40? Nope, they went vintage — as in, the Spice Girls’ “Wannabe” and “All About That Base” by Meghan Trainor and …. Don McLean’s “American Pie.”
Yup, I said “American Pie.”
“Really? You want to listen to that song?” I asked, incredulously.
“Yes,” said the 12-year-old who requested it. “It’s a good song to sing along to.”
And they did. All six of them. At the top of their lungs. Clapping their hands and slapping their knees. They really jammed out. On every tune. It was in the 90s, but they rolled down their windows and cranked up the music to levels that caused my internal organs to vibrate. Their goal was to get anyone in the cars stopped next to us at red lights to pay attention — maybe even sing along. They got their wish when a sporty yellow car carrying two 20-somethings pulled up during “Wannabe.” They smiled and chuckled at the boys rocking out, and the young woman in the passenger seat started waving her arms in the air and dueting with them.
The boys laughed hysterically.
So yeah, I shell out about $35 every week for gas and rack up hundreds of miles on the odometer. But it means getting to be a part of that joyful lunacy* — which is priceless.
*Joyful Lunacy…. That’s a good band name.
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