Flashback Friday Moment of The Week: 2/28/2014

by Just Juan
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So I just got home from a first date not too long ago. The lady of the hour was someone I met on Match.com 3 weeks back after she took note of my profile photo—me hanging off the edge of the CN Tower. Apparently, Toronto is her hometown. We were supposed to meet up for ice skating at Eastdale Mall in Montgomery, where I would’ve definitely impressed with my moves on the ice…I brought my custom blades and everything. We probably would’ve grabbed a burger or a pizza afterwards. But she called an audible and we went to a Thai spot along the river in Downtown Montgomery. It was a great 2 ½ dinner conversation. It was a great first date…hopefully, not the only and last between us. A funny thing happened as I was going through my day ahead of the date though. After getting off work early, I arrived home and just took it easy for a while. I put on my Bose headphones and stretched out on the carpet…the same carpet I wrote about the demise of this relationship a few weeks back. The music from my Juan Thomas Presents: Get With Me Volume 3 playlist started playing and I took a nap. After waking up about 2 hours later and getting ready for the date, I made the drive down I-85 to the state capital…only I drove in the manual mode on my Jeep Compass. I recall shifting into 5th gear to pass a truck near the Notasulga/Tuskegee exit and I was instantly reminded of a music video from my youth. That brings me to this week’s moment in the Flashback Friday series: Glenn Lewis’ “Don’t You Forget It”.

How I first came across this moment? I first came across the track in December 2001, when it played on the Music Choice R&B Soul channel. I remember writing in the December 13th entry of Triumphs & Tribulations II that the artist—Canadian-based Glenn Lewis—sounded a lot like Stevie Wonder. I ended up getting the album, World Outside My Window, when it dropped a few months later.

What it meant to me then? In the immediate moment, it was just another song. It had a catchy beat and it was an easy listen. After seeing the lyrics to the track and checking out the music video, I took the song to be one that should be in my Heartbreak Hotel playlist more than my Get With Me playlist. What it meant to me in the larger scheme in the early 2000s was a plea to give love a bit of a chance regardless of how it may have burned you previously.

What it means to me now? Here, as I sit in front of this computer screen as a 29-year-old, it still means the same thing to me as it did when I was just 17. I think the lyrics of this song speak to giving love a 2nd go. Let’s make no mistake about it: I know what it feels like to have your heart busted up and not really feeling like getting back out there to test the waters. Experience has told me that’s the safest route but it’s also one of very slow progress and little return…kinda like the G Fund in the Thrift Savings Plan. It may mean even more after tonight’s first date. We’ll see what happens with that though.

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