DANCING TO THE BEAT . . . OF A DIFFERENT DRUMMER . . . .

I bet you'll never guess what I've been reading. Rather than finish any of the titles (well, I did finish Atwood's Moral Disorder) I mentioned in a previous post, I went and added something new to the "Mix." Drum roll please . . . (brrrrr . . . . bomp) . . . Anita Diamant's The Last Days of Dogtown. Hey, I have my reasons. Even though it's not a title I would have ordinarily sought out on my own, I'm actually enjoying it.

Now, take a guess at what has been spinning around on repeat in my cd player (told ya, I'm old school, no mp3 player or ipod for me). You'll never guess, so, let me just tell ya---Steely Dan, The Definitive Collection. What?! I love Steely Dan. How ya gonna hate soft rock classics like, "Rikki Don't Lose That Number" "FM" "Do It Again" "Hey Nineteen" "Peg" "Babylon Sisters" and "Reelin In The Years"?

Strangely enough, even the hubby is with me on this one. We were on our way to dinner when I ripped the newly ordered Steely Dan from it's packaging and shoved it into the car's cd player. Before the music could kick in the hubby was shoutings, "Hey, put it on Deacon Blues! I wanna hear some Deacon Blues!" Of course, I'd been only too happy to oblige (smile).

So, what's that all about? Well, in part, those songs bring back memories. No, not of Memphis, the place I call home. I'm talking memories of some of the other places I've lived like Mountain Home, Idaho and Grand Forks, North Dakota. Keep in mind, I grew up a military brat who got bounced betweeen Memphis and some fairly isolated Air Force bases. Yes, for the first 17 years of my life, I lived something akin to a schizophrenic existence.

But to be fair, I think even if I had spent all of my life in the Bluff City, I still would have danced to the beat of a different drummer. My tastes in literature and music and most other things, are typically all over the place. And if the crowd is saying the "in" color is "orange" you can bet I'm gonna show up in "red" or "green." Hey, I'm not trying to be contrary, "different" is just what I do.

What about you? Is there something you enjoy or do that sets you apart from most of your friends and/or loved ones . . . something that would cause many of them to say, "Huh?" and look at you right funny if they knew? If so, go ahead and 'fess up. I mean, assuming that it's legal and won't it won't get you fired and/or excommunicated.