My first jam session was in high school with Aaron. Mr. Nielsen, our guitar teacher, tried to get all of us improvise, but I would not budge. If it wasn't laid out on the sheet music, I refused to play it for fear of humiliating myself in front of cool kids. Not long after that silent week, Aaron invited me to hang out one night at a friend's house, and we all went into this guy's bedroom, got out a keyboard, a bass and a couple guitars. Rather than label it as "improv" Aaron would occasionally lean over and mutter chord names he knew I could play. I had no time to get nervous because he threw me right into the thick of it. Even though I had only been playing a short time, Aaron made me feel like I could play anything I wanted to.
I don't remember meeting Aaron. I just remember his being in my life all of a sudden. We hung out a good deal, too. I took him fish shopping one day. I needed some new fish for my aquarium. I am terrified of fish. Why I had an aquarium is beyond me. Anyway, when I got this new orange fishy home, I slung the bag into the warm aquarium water to get him acclimated. When it was time to drop him in there, though, I cut the bag open, and the contents of the bag splashed onto my bedroom floor. Fish and all. If I had been alone, that fish would have died a horrible death, gasping for water in the suffocating air. Aaron, without thinking, just scooped up the fish and tossed him into the water. The fish lived, possibly with a small amount of mental trauma, but he never mentioned anything. I thought Aaron was pretty much a hero that day.
Aaron, Joe and I started a band. Of course, we never actually got to play out, but we had our sights set on a gig at Powdrell's BBQ. Those two boys went way back, and could play anything. They just let me pick a bunch of songs, and they let me sing while they played. Looking back, we probably only had 5 or 6 rehearsals, but it felt like a real band. It was at Aaron's house where I first touched a 12-string guitar. I felt like I was playing a harp. And Aaron could really play it. We did get one gig, come to think of it. For my stepdad's 40th birthday party, my mom revamped the living room a la gymnasium, and had me and a bunch of my friends dress up like archetypal high school characters (school nurse, jock, beatnik, geek, etc.). Aaron and I also sang a very sweet song about high school reunions--check out "Last Chance Waltz" by David Wilcox if you have ever experienced unrequited love. It was my first real independent gig, and I had a blast.
And now for my favorite memory of Aaron. It was his Lloyd Dobler moment. Well, I guess it was more my Andie Walsh moment, but either way... My family and I were leaving for a 3 1/2 week tour of England, Scotland, and Wales the summer after my sophomore year of high school. The morning we were to leave, Aaron showed up at our door. He had his guitar, and we sat in my bedroom while he played "Leaving on a Jet Plane" with slightly modified lyrics ("You're leaving... Don't know when you'll be back again," etc.). I was compeletely floored. I had never been serenaded, and that is something that should absolutely happen in every girl's life. I get all fluttery when I even think about it.
I am so glad to see that Aaron is doing fine. I was always a little worried about him. He was very much the tortured artist, the type I loved to be around. Aaron instilled in me a confidence in my musicianship that I will never lose. Even though I have come a long way from sophomore year in high school, I think my era with Aaron definitely contributed to my ongoing desperate need to perform. I hope he has kids and teaches them to play guitar and sing.
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