Click

"There comes a time when all the cosmic tumblers have clicked into place,
and the universe opens itself up for a few seconds to show you what's possible."
- W.P. Kinsella in Shoeless Joe

As Dad's final season of coaching was winding down, there was much talk about the old songs from 27 years of pregame warm-up tapes. It seemed that everyone had their personal favorite. I've always been partial to Three Dog Night's "Joy to the World." I liked Jeremiah the bullfrog, the good friend. So when his assistant coaches put together a Best Of MS pregame Tape, I wanted to know my song was included. It wasn't. As Dad's retirement party descended onto karaokee night at Moretti's, I wanted to hear my song bad enough that I was willing to sing it.

Here's the click: The following night, I lay in bed reading Denis Johnson's "Already Dead" and turned the page onto the scene where Navarro visits Yvonne. She has a few toads which she "sweats" for the psychedelic qualities of what they ooze. Navarro is stoned when he asks if they have names. Yvonne replies, "Yeah, they're all named Jeremiah. Do you know that song?" He says, "I don't know any songs." It was a throwaway line in the book. But it is there, and that I read it when I did is, for me, a glimpse of the universe.