June 29, 2012

I have been listening to so much Tom Petty lately I feel like I'm constantly starring in at Tom Petty video. I've also read all I can find on wiki sources and studied lyrics and from what I can tell I think I might be developing a crush on Thomas Earl Petty. I also think I might be going crazy (this morning in particular) but that might be because I've been listening to so much Tom Petty.

This is of course all in the name of research for our next Rooftop Concert Show a week from today. It's a Tom Petty show called Heartbreakers & American Girls: The Songs of Tom Petty and the stage includes members of Neon Trees, Fictionist, The Moth & The Flame, The Devil Whale, Book On Tapeworm, The Lower Lights, Paul Jacobsen and the Madison Arm, The Blue Aces and includes Sarah Sample and Ryan Tanner.


There was this moment I had, while driving an incredibly beautiful Highway 12 with my children, when we reached a stretch of highway where both sides dropped off to thousands of feet below to a red rock canyon. My fingers were sweating on the steering wheel and my speed slowed to a near crawl, when I diverted my eyes off the road to see the almost-unbelievable scenery my stomach would jump inside my throat. 


"I've got a room on top of the world tonight and I ain't coming down." Tom sang through our stereo.


And this song combined with the wild landscape and the intensity of the situation made for such a thrill inside of me I will never forget. I felt fueled by love--for my children, for this world, for overcoming fear, for independence and yes, for Thomas Earl Petty himself.


I sped the car up (just a bit) and started screaming with joy. 

And my kids clapped like they were watching the best show ever.