Finale [In The Heights]

Of all the music in all the genres from all the time eras, it’s been REALLY difficult to cull down 50-ish songs as favorites. I love music. Music is joy and sorrow, an outlet and a hope chest. Songs represent my mood, my feelings, my opinions, my celebrations. Most days I am just a confused 12 year old boy trapped in the skin of a 50 year old man living in the world. But some days there is clarity and I have it all figured out: I’m here as the recorder of events, the keeper of the memories of those who’ve passed. I remind the rest of us of their joys and triumphs and tragedies. Each one of those passed loved ones has at least one song that brings them right beside me, keeping their vibe strong. My own memories in my very blessed life are also outlined by so many songs, too many to list. Today as I turn 50 years old on this sad but beautiful green & blue marble, I am drawn to this song, the finale from my favorite Broadway musical In The Heights. The unassuming lead character of the piece realizes, in a moment of lucidity, that it’s his job to be the recorder, the streetlight that illuminates the stories of the people he loves. If not me, who keeps their legacies? If not for so many people from so many points in my life, I never ever could have come to this spot, this point in my world. A pinnacle of accomplishments, most of which are relationship-based, because what is life without connection, without community? I thank my Woof Christopher for so many things, but mostly for bringing the joy of musical theatre to my life as a necessity, not just a thing to do. I thank my family of friends, way too many to list but I hope you know who you are, for lifting me up and allowing me to burn brightly as the necessary street lamp at the corner of the street. And I thank my mother Angie and my sisters Mary and Rosemarie for teaching me so much about love: how to do it properly so that your life is fulfilled.