Hey Nineteen

On deck three just outside "On the Air", which is a Kareoke bar on the ship, there are forty or so 8x10 photos of famous singers decorating the wall.

I am looking at these pictures when a Mother, Father and Daughter step between me and the display. I don't know how old the daughter is but she looks nineteen.

Mom is attempting to name all the singers by just looking at their pictures. There are no names to check her accuracy. She identifies Patsy Kline as "some country singer". Diana Ross is identified as Holly Berry, she insists it is Stevie Davis, Jr. who sang "Candy Man" and misses Usher totally, but she is doing fairly well otherwise.


There is a picture of a black lady on the top row. To me it is an easy one but Mom looks at the picture for a moment and says "I don't remember who that is."

I smile on the outside but inside I am laughing uncontrolablly, entertaining myself with a show written, directed and performed for an audience of one.... me. I give this moment the mental equivalent of a standing ovation.

Being a huge fan of Steely Dan's music, I suddenly find myself actually living one of their lyrics. At this moment the perfect thing to say to the young daughter is straight from the song "Hey Nineteen" on the AJA album. Had my friend Rob Dixon been here I could make him fall down with laughter by saying it out loud:

"Hey Nineteen, that's Aretha Franklin, she don't remember the queen of soul".

I suspect Dix and I might be the only ones to find the humor in it, but just because the material is only for a select few does not make it less important.

"She thinks I'm crazy but I'm just growin' old. Hey Nineteen".
AJA- music and lyrics by Donald Fagen and Walter Becker.


As you were,
Jay
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