Knitting and singing

How could I ever forget that the first album I ever owned for myself - in fact it was a cassette - was the Eurythmics' Revenge album. I bought it shortly after my birthday in the seventh grade, using money I'd been given for my birthday by my grandparents.

But there's an even more memorable moment in my head for this album. Perhaps a month or two later, I can still picture sitting in the back of my seventh grade classroom, with several of my best friends sitting around me. It was craft afternoon, and we were all busy knitting squares that would eventually be sewn together in a blanket for a charity. During craft afternoons, our teacher allowed us to bring in our favorite cassettes and play them (quietly) in the background while we worked.

On this day I'd proudly brought in my Eurythmics cassette. They were really popular at the time and I knew that a couple of my classmates would be jealous. That's the way of a seventh grader. There we were, knitting away, as the album began with the song "Missionary Man".

One of my friends started singing away to it, in a voice that was less than perfect. I ignored her, but half way through the song she stopped singing and asked me a question. "Why aren't you singing along too? Don't you know the words?" It was cool to sing along, that was the message she wanted to give me. She made me feel ashamed that I hadn't been singing.

The funny thing is that these days no one could stop me from singing when music I like is playing. But back then, I was happier just to listen to it. Funny how things change.