The other night I was driving home from Taekwondo and was listening to 92.1 WFNX and a song from my past came on - Bones by Radiohead, a track off of 'The Bends', the incredible album that vaulted them from relative obscurity to the mainstream, and in the process, superstardom. What a gem that album is. I think the last time I heard that song was 1996 or so, just one of those great songs on a truly great album that immediately conjured up a specific moment in time - I was 25, just moved to a new city, right before the days of cellphones, email, and the entire dot com explosion, brimming with excitement and promise.
I think every single review in the history of Radiohead has made reference to lead singer Thom Yorke's voice as 'haunting' and I would have to agree. Bono said on more than one occasion that Radiohead is the best band on the planet, and not sure if they were influenced by U2 or it's the other way around...
What I love about Bones, and why I think it resonated with me then and even more so today, is that it is, essentially, about living life with passion:
I don't want to be crippled-cracked
Shoulders, wrists, knees, and back
Ground to dust and ash
Crawling on all fours
When you've got to feel it in your bones
Now I can't climb the stairs
Pieces missing everywhere
Prozac painkillers
When you've got to feel it in your bones
And I used to fly like Peter Pan
All the children flew when I touched their hands
We all get old, vulnerable, and incapable of doing the things that made us who we once were - so it is a reminder to live life with an unbridled enthusiasm - feel it in your bones - because it will all fade, so carpe diem. The line about Peter Pan and 'All the children flew when I touched their hands' is simply beautiful, one of Radiohead's very best, and how the positive can impact and influence others, to help them to soar.
That is how I feel about running - I love it, it has become such an integral part of me now, and to tear loose, just let go, rip down a road free and feel the surge of adrenaline and happiness, pure and simple and clean - it's what life is about. I feel it in my bones.
I hope my 12 month marathon challenge has provided a sliver of inspiration for someone, somewhere.
Marathon #8 Vermont City... ... ... ... 12 days and counting!