As we were passing through Cleveland on I-80E my ears finally popped and I could stop saying "huh?" to my wife. I was telling her how I have to ask my mom the next time I visit my family why it is I like driving so much. I know that I used to fall asleep the minute the family car started to role but as we heading to and then back from the Moe.down music festival in Turin, NY I then continued to wonder to myself what exactly it was that makes me love to drive and think. I almost always have music playing (which does help lubricate the psyche) but I think it might be the constant humming of the tires on the road or the perpetual rushing of the wind on the other side of the window just beyond my left ear. I also wondered why some of my best ideas and thoughts come while I'm driving but when I sit down to write at a desk or the computer the thoughts don't come as freely or escape me completely the minute the garage door goes up and the tires stop rolling and I slide into park. yes, most babies like to be rocked to sleep and I think in this situation "rocked" has sort of a double meaning that I didn't see at first until I just typed it.

I did though manage to scribble down a few notes as I raced along at 85mph so I could remember to remember this thought and lasso it before it scurried away as the garage door went up. The word "rock" can mean many things. It can be something hurled in anger to cause pain. It can be a description of a motion to calm someone (or a baby) down. It can be used to describe a type of music that is designed to liberate or be used as a tool for self-expression. In the song "Rainy Day Women #12 & 35" Bob Dylan used rock's cousin "the infamous stone" as a double meaning to simultaneously describe the merging of rebellion, oppression and self-expression. I've never hurled a rock at someone but the other two certainly apply to my life and made me think of one important aspect music serves in my life and especially in hindsight of the 1,323 miles I've traveled in the last three days.

I determined awhile ago that music is more than just a way to escape. For me it's a way to understand the world around me and most importantly the music I love (or hate) serves as a mirror to examine myself, if that is, I am willing to turn around and as they say "face the music" that I often only want to relax to or get lost in and not dig deeper into by asking the more difficult why's and how come's. As we traveled, my wife and I scanned all the channels of our XM radio and when even the least favorite pop song came on there was something in the song to show me something about myself. For example, my wife forced me to explain why I don't gravitate to a Pink song but immediately connect with a Patti Smith song. My answer came after a long silence (that hum of the tires really helped) and I will hopefully share my response with you at a later time.  Until then I have to figure out when the next road trip will be so I can get back to that lovely hum and seductive whoosh against the window.