I was surprised by Rich, the best husband in the world, with
2 tickets to Vegas this month to go see Elton John. When I tell you that it was
the top thing on my bucket list, you’ll probably think, ‘really’? I would have
thought meeting the Queen of England, going to Ireland with Kevin, or going to
Paris with your husband. Sorry boys and your Royal Highness, Elton was number
one. Let me give you a little neurophysiological reason why: The limbic system.
The limbic system is a set of brain structures. I won’t bore
you with how cool the hippocampus, amygdala, or anterior thalamic nuclei are,
or all that the limbic system does. It’s all very deep in the brain and over my
head (or in my head). These remarkable structures of the brain are why we have
long-term memories that we can think back on, and help us to function socially
with all the stimuli that come at us in our lives. Have I lost you yet? It’s
the place where our emotions, good, bad, and ugly are signaled with other
influencers like the endocrine and autonomic nervous system. It’s related to
how we survive, feel fear, anger, love, pleasure (related to food or sex) or
what motivates us consciously and unconsciously. The amygdala will determine
‘what’ memories will be stored in the brain. Thanks a bunch amygdala for
storing the Tag Team: Woomp, There It Is!!!!
I was 8 years old when I first heard Elton John’s sing ‘Your
Song’. Within the next few decades, he’d sing a dozen ballads that would hook
me on an emotional level. I was in 2nd grade math class the first
time I heard ‘Crocodile Rock’. After we finished our math lesson (which I hated
and was thoroughly clueless) our teacher would play 15 minutes of music on the
record player as a reward. (For those of you born earlier than 1990, a record
player is an electric disk playing machine turntable that went round and round.
It had a long handle with a needle on it to play a vinyl record.) We could
dance in the back of the math room or sit at our desk quietly and enjoy the
music. I didn’t understand fractions, but I could dance. Guess where I was?
Elton’s songs brought up complex emotions and the pleasant nostalgia of my
youth. When I heard ‘Philadelphia Freedom’, my radio was playing while my dad
was putting up shelves in my bedroom for my beer can collection. (Don’t ask. It
obviously was an unconscious way to relate and connect with my dad by
collecting beer cans. Lots of kids did it in the 70’s. Okay, boys did it.) Oh
lordy, I am truly dating myself here!
I realize that for all the years that my brain has
identified with Elton John songs, 40 years later, you’d think I would know the
words by heart. I don’t. His
ballads are both brilliant and ridiculous. There are just enough words in each
song of the chorus that I could track with, the rest of the song I’ve been
making it up.
I have a gift for talking people into things they would
never think to do on their own (I talked Rich into dressing up as a clown for
Kevin’s birthday, even got him to dress up and sing Elvis in front of a large
group of people), but my all time favorite thing I talked someone into doing
was dressing my little brother Mike up as Elton John for Halloween. Why? My
brain stored Mike as Elton John as a positive, fun, creative memory. I sowed
sequins on the back of my long brown fur-lined coat and gave him big glasses.
He totally pulled it off. I think my brother Rich was the Frito Bandito that
year. I remember a picture of the 3 of us was taken, and I’d give anything to
see it again (I’m not sure Mike would like to see it again).
When the night arrived, I got my groovy on. I wore hippy red
platform shoes to go with my hippy top. It was so much fun to be in Vegas to
see Elton. We drove to Caesars Palace Coliseum. However, we were given the
wrong directions where to park. We pulled into VIP parking and Rich told me I
should get out of the car so I wouldn’t have to walk so far. It was a nice
thought but a bad plan. I got out and off he drove to find the Coliseum parking
lot. Once inside, I realized that we never said where we’d meet up. And he
didn’t have his phone with him (really, Rich, it’s 2012!). There were thousands
of people everywhere and it was 20 minutes until the show started. I found a
place where I could sit (to take the load off my feet, what was I thinking?). I
also didn’t have the tickets. So do I wait or walk over to the Coliseum? Will
he think to come and find me back at the VIP area or will he expect me to meet
him at the Coliseum? I like playing chess, but I’m not good at thinking 5 moves
ahead. I just didn’t know which move to make in the moment. So I said a prayer
and tapped into my inner Zen. I sat there and told myself not to panic for 10
more minutes. “Try not to think of missing the opening number Kim, it’s gonna
be okay, breathe!” Exactly 10 minutes later, Rich comes running through the
crowd and finds me. I was so happy to see him (he was happy I wasn’t mad at him
for forgetting his cell phone).
We got into our seat with a few minutes to spare before the
opening number. I thought for sure that Elton would open with Benny and the
Jets (the first few piano notes of that song are epic.) No, in true Elton John
fashion, he came out in a floor length gold sequined cap and played the ‘The
Bitch Is Back!” It was perfect!!! The crowd went crazy. My limbic system was
never so happy! (By the way, Benny and the Jets, was the second song).
There were a few mindful thoughts that I had during the
concert: Elton still had it!!! He played to his strengths. His voice was strong
throughout. However, he used back up on those high notes that he was no longer
able to sing. It was seamless and you didn’t judge the 2012 Elton from the
1970’s Elton. He played to the crowd (almost 95%) songs we all wanted to hear.
The other 5% were songs I had never heard before. But it was what he wanted to
play. Good for you Elton; life gets boring doing the same thing over and over.
Do what makes you happy. He also engaged the crowd and allowed them to come on
stage with him (yeah, I’m sure they paid for it). He went up to the audience
and high-fived every person in the front row. He truly was having fun when he
could have been a complete diva. Speaking of diva, never piss off a gay man
with hundreds of millions of dollars. At 65, he said he didn’t give a shit what
people thought of him. I hope I can get to that place. He spoke his mind and
Madonna and Celine got a sassy tongue-lashing. He took the time to thank each
and every person on stage from the band to the back up singers. His crew has
been with him for decades-he must not be that bad to work for. He talked about
some of the meaning behind most of the songs. I love a good story. Hearing it
from him made those songs all the more special in my limbic brain. He talked
about how Ryan White changed his life to raise awareness and money for AIDS
research. He honored his friends, Princess Diana, and Liz Taylor, and co-writer
Bernie Taupin. You could tell he genuinely valued the friends how have stood by
him through the years.
And while he sang, a DJ could have been saying, “And this
one goes out to Kim.” ‘Someone Save My Life Tonight’ and ‘I’m Still Standing’
are anthem songs (I can’t believe I’m still standing after all these years). My
limbic brain say’s good for you for taking the lyrics to heart: You know, I’m still standing better than I
ever did. Looking like a true survivor, feeling like a little kid. And I’m
still standing after all this time, picking up the pieces of my life without
you on my mind. There were so many songs that my brain could put a date and
memory to. But when Elton started to sing, It’s
a little bit funny……..from ‘Your Song’ new neuropath ways were being laid
down in my cortex. I started to cry with Rich sitting next to me, hugging his
arm. From the first time I heard the song at 8 years old, until now, 48 years
old, it never was so fresh, meaningful, or special.
Thank you Rich for finding me in the crowd and for blessing
me with a wonderful opportunity to be stirred in my soul. I enjoyed my evening
with you and the gifted piano man. And you can tell everyone ‘Your Song’ is our
song. xoxo
(Video posted on Facebook....hope it works. For you Rich!)
