The Load-Out / Stay

by Jackson Browne
.But the band's on the bus
And they're waiting to go.
We've got to drive all night and do a show in Chicago.
Or Detroit, I don't know.
We do so many shows in a row.
And these towns all look the same...

Please, please stay, just a little bit longer.
We wanna play just a little bit longer.
If the promoter don't mind, and the union don't mind.
We can take a little time and we'll leave this all behind
Singin' one more song.
. +++++++++++++
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In 1980, my life was full of change. I went from the comfy confines of Herbert Mills Elementary to Hannah J Ashton Middle School. My sister was in her Senior Year at RHS; my brother graduated in 1979. My parents also managed to fit a divorce somewhere in there, too.
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During that time, one of the things I remember most is my sister's music rotation of Jackson Browne, Tom Petty, and The Eagles. I'd sit on the silvery beige shag carpet and load layers of LP records on the turbtable and just listen to "The Long Run", "Running on Empty" and "Damn the Torpedoes" for hours on end.
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1979 had also been the year of the 'Naked Taco' at our house. Mom prepared all the ingredients for tacos: chopping tomatoes, onions, and lettuce, grating cheddar cheese, and browning ground beef. She'd place the ingredients in separate Tupperware bowls and everyone would eat dinner whenever they got around to it.

Also, my father worked Third Shift in that year before mom and dad's divorce. Sometimes he'd be awake for dinner, other times he wouldn't. Being a night-owl myself, I understand the stresses that go along with working the graveyard shift all too well.
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Still, the breakdown of the family unit had already begun. My big brother Ron went to Miami University in the fall of 1979. He became homesick every time we took him to the Greyhound station downtown. One time, I remember the entire family packing into the station wagon and taking him to the station. It must have been the fall of 1979, during his first Freshman quarter. He had his shaggy red hair and a large burnt orange down-filled jacket and a duffel bag full of freshly laundered clothes.

Mom just said, "Don't look back," to everyone in the car as we drove away from the bus station.Then, my sister graduated a year later, going to Ohio University. Soon after, Ron transferred to Ohio university, too. Most of his friends were already going to OU, so that was a good thing for everyone anyway.
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In that year, my father decided to leave - he'd been unfaithful to mom for quite some time, and I guess there was a last straw in there somewhere. I ended up being one of the only of my friends who had divorced parents. For me, it just meant a longer Christmas with two sets of gift wrapping to rip apart. It also meant weekends with Dad.
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I wasn't bothered too much by it. Ryan and Jason Vaughn or Mike Poirier or Bryan Donahue would come over and spend the weekend at my Dad's apartment, over in Carnaby Village. Our weekly road trip was usually to an OSU hockey game.
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My big brother Ron often says he feels guilty for not being there for me during that time. In all honesty, that didn't bother me half as much as his reluctance to make it back home for Chistmas nowadays - when he has more control over the things that get in his way.

Still, in this time I've become closer to my sister and I've always been close to my mum. For all of that, I should be thankful - and I am.