Loose Leaf Notes

I got an inspection sticker for my car today. When I arrived at the United Muffler shop in Floyd yesterday morning there was a line of cars with expired April stickers waiting to be inspected. My sticker had expired too, but the mechanic wasn’t available until the afternoon. So I made an appointment for 4:30 and got a “get out of jail free” business card. “If you get pulled over by the cops show them this card and tell them you have an appointment,” he said.
I have a special fondness for Floyd’s United Muffler. It’s where I was when I first discovered that I actually do like country music. I had been living in Virginia for about 15 years at the time. Originally from Massachusetts, not liking country music was part of my identity, so it was quite a revelation when I discovered that I did.
I was waiting on a new muffler when it happened. The Country Music Channel (CMT) was on TV showing music videos. Song after song gave me shivers, made me tear-up, smile, or feel like dancing. It was a refreshing change from rap music, I thought, and I especially liked the original use of lyrics. I didn’t actually go out and buy country music CDs after that (until the Dixie Chicks came along), but I found myself tuning in to the country music channels while driving in my car, for a change of pace.
Right here should be the end of this little story. But I had to go back. My car failed to pass inspection! It was because of a burned out “3rd brake light” bulb, which sounds about as useful as a $2 bill. I had to slink home with a prominently posted “no ghost/ghostbusters” type sticker on my car, and then slink back the next morning while trying not to be noticed.
There’s no longer a TV in the United Muffler waiting corner (it’s too small to call a waiting room), but all was not lost because I had to finish the interview with U2 that I had been reading in “Spin Magazine” the day before.
After reading, I turned to a page titled “Top 40 Best Albums of the Year.” Boy, am I out of touch. With band names like My Chemical Romance, Secret Machines, Snow Patrol, and Comets on Fire, I had only “heard of” 9 bands out of 40 on the list. My odds were even worse on the 10 best current albums list. I didn’t recognize one band. I found myself checking the date on the magazine to make sure the issue was of this decade, or not a hoax. Then I looked around for something familiar, like “The Rolling Stone” magazine maybe.
It took me 15 years to like country music and 2 days to get my new sticker. I’m good till May 06. But maybe my taste in music is outdated.