The Zimmermann Note

I realized that as I turned 40 that normal bumps and bruises took longer to heal. Or maybe I realized that when I turned 23. I can’t remember. I just know that sometimes I wake up with mysterious injuries that last weeks and then just go away. It’s more the random explanation to a physician who wonders how it happened or how long it’s been occurring for and in either case I just shrug my shoulders, “Eh, not sure doc!.”

I feel fine now for the worry warts out there. I bring up the comparison as I have been dealing with my lifelong friend and companion, my trusty iPod. I realized the same thing with my reliable iPod was starting to get up in years when it started to inexplicably shut down for no apparent reason, freeze and/or stop working. I realize that minus the chance that I am going to go out on eBay to find a new one, that this might be the last iPod that I will ever own.

iPods ended the “Desert Island Disc” question where you would be asked what 10 discs would you take on a desert island with you.

My iPod is a Classic 60 GB Model, 5th Generation iPod that has been in my possession for almost 10 years. 10 years of trying to get off the El and getting the headphone chord caught on someone’s purse. 10 years of drops on its head, dealing with the elements in the city of Chicago. The list of issues has been ever growing:

• Freezing when advancing to the next song. When frozen, unable to reset the iPod like in past years.
• The middle button has had problems when pressed
• The lock has shifted so its sometimes hard to lock/unlock

I cannot even fathom the amount of songs that I have played on it over these past years. I am aware however, that it is not going to last forever and I have been starting to get concerned that it’s going to go sooner rather than later.

So after talking to my wife about my concerns, she came up with the brilliant idea of playing every song on the device starting at the letter A. One more trip around the sun, I thought. One more trip, reminiscing about all of the places I have been with it; great and somber; sober and inebriated, how many times I have thought about kissing and riding on the CTA or walked the lakefront path at twilight with the view of the Second City on the horizon.

Thinking that this was not a half bad idea, I considered the implications of going through such an endeavor. I realize that there is a level of uncertainty as I plod through the songs that have lived on my iPod. What happens if it stops at letter E? Death is still a confounding subject, not just in our lives, but also within our music.

I must point out to the readers, however, in that I was told after the fact, this concept was something similar to that her brother and friend had tried to accomplish with her on a road trip across the country years ago only getting to the aforementioned letter E, E for Eric. However, I wanted to make sure to cite all appropriate sources before moving on.

I realize that there are going to be high and low points. Part of an iPods purpose is not just containing the classics that make up our listening collections but carrying around the extra weight, i.e. the dated material, the material added for the significant other and children’s needs and wants. For example, I acquired a host of bad 80s hits with the express purpose of sourcing together a set list for an 1980’s-themed party years ago. My honest to god answer was doing research. Why it never was removed was only part of my laziness. Like moving out of a house, you find old jock straps, snot rags and used condom wrappers.

I imagine that there will be some stories to tell along the way. I plan to not bore you with every song that I play but the ones that stand out along the way; the ones that might have allow me to go off in a tangent in some other direction.

So we are revving it up one last time, starting the motor with the inevitable backfires and spits. One more trip around the sun….