Mambo No. 5
In 1999, when we decided to move from Northern California to San Diego, we were given a wonderful gift from our friends, Cheryl and Alan. They let us live in their garage apartment in Long Beach, CA, while we looked for a new home in the Southland. Nat was 17, Owen was 13, and Grandma was still with us. Dave was working out his contract in Washington with FedEx, and my job was on the move. I was the HR Manager for a web-based telecom company based out of Novato, CA, opening offices in Irvine and anywhere else where we thought we had a customer base.
During the month-long search for our new home, Cheryl and Alan afforded us the luxury of a home from which to set our sights on a new life. We were grateful then. I’m grateful now.
That summer was hard, and fun. Hard, because we didn’t know where we would land. And, fun, because that’s what we did. We took every opportunity to learn about our new environment, and made the most of it. We were very lucky people, and we knew it.
Tonight’s song was at the top of the lists, and when Nat, Owen, and I were traveling the freeways of Southern California in search of our next home, we listened to the radio at a decibel level uncomfortable for the average family. Why did we listen to music so loud it could have drowned out oncoming sirens? Because we were having fun, and we were on an adventure that had the possibility of being a jumping-off spot for so much more. We knew it, and we were bonded together in this new endeavor.
When I asked Nat tonight if he remembered the song, he said, “Oh, my god, I don’t ever want to hear that song again.” My response was, “Yeah, I get it, but we had fun, right?” He smiled, and said, “Yes”.
I know he remembers our trips up and down the 405 freeway, when the song came on the radio, and all three of us would begin the “dance”. We would do the car-dance, the physical gesticulations so familiar to people trapped in a speeding vehicle, searching for the future, barreling toward the unknown, full of melody and rhythm, full of laughter, full of hope. We were, indeed, all of that.
Song for the night: Mambo No. 5, Lou Bega (We didn’t have YouTube to give us visuals for the song back then. We were at the mercies of our imaginations. I was a mom, my kids were man-children. I’m sure their visions were different from mine. Ha ha ha. ”Hoochie-mamas” were okay by me, because my kids were lovin’ life. I loved being there with my boys, singing, and bopping along with them in the car. We were an amazing sight, and an amazing family.)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vaw-9WElAjc
Ah, I have some good memories of being in the car with my girls when this song was popular.
You’re such a fun mom. We couldn’t even listen to the radio in the car with my mom because she said it was a distraction. She’s not a good driver, so she was right to keep it off.
When my son and I went on our 10,000 mile journey driving to CA and back again to the east coast, we listened to a lot of music. The craziest was a kid’s CD of VERY stupid camp songs My almost ten-year-old was old enough to appreciate these as pure silliness. Our favorite was “We’re here because we’re here because we’re here because we’re here…” repeated ad nauseum to the tune of auld lang syne.
Good times. Thanks for reminding me!
Gotta love car dancing!
And, as I have personally observed, you are a great dancer, Linda K!
Car dancing with two boys who are over six and a half feet tall is a really funny sight!
Have you noticed how many of our new beginnings start with a great car story?
why is it that all it takes is a 3rd person in the back seat to make it a party?
miss you, linda k. gimlet