Singin' in the Car

For the past several weeks I've been carpooling with my friend Kristen to work. In addition to all the usual perks such as saving gas, saving money, saving the environment, and having someone to keep me awake on those insanely early morning drives, I've discovered a fellow car-singer. It all started a few weeks back, after I had watched Singin' in the Rain on PBS. I was telling her how much I used to love that movie as a kid, and the next thing you know we were both belting out lines from the title song. From there we moved into a gleeful rendition of "Good Mornin'" and from there we never looked back. We've continued to have spontaneous sing-a-longs whenever a tune pops into one of our heads, and we've covered ground from classical musicals to Journey (thanks, JB, for that one -- don't stop believin'!), from old-school Britney to Elton John.

I don't remember how it started, but today on the drive home we started reminiscing about songs from childhood, tunes we learned in Sunday school, at summer camp, and in school assemblies. It was gads of fun, but more than that, it was amazing how many of the same ditties we recalled. Amazing not just because it's been (gulp!) two decades since I last sang some of these songs, but amazing because Kristen, who grew up in rural Indiana, apparently had the same musical upbringing as I did in my far-flung nomadic childhood. It was such a surprise, and a joy, to realize we had this thing in common, to share something that I hadn't even realized I still had with someone who in many respects is very different from me. Some might say that this commonality is a sad comment on the conformity of our culture and on the mass production and marketing of childhood that occurs in modern America. For me, however -- a person who has seldom felt a true part of her surroundings, who was always from somewhere else, who became the expert in blending in but never fitting in -- for me, this moment in the car felt a lot like belonging.

Kristen and I have decided, by the way, that we need to record our musical adventures and produce a series of "Kristen & Leah mixed CD sing-a-longs" so that the world can join in the transcendence that is our daily commute. So keep an eye out for us on iTunes or Amazon or wherever else you get your music. Believe me, you won't want to miss it!