My grandmother Jones took me to see a movie at HQS in, wikipedia tells me, 1981. I went with her and a friend of hers; they enjoyed the movie, and I thought it was cool to watch a boat sink (still think it should have caught fire). The loons! The loons!

Perhaps as penance for subjecting me to this crude torture, she took me to a record store and changed my life. I really didn’t know what kind of music I wanted or liked; I asked mom for KISS, I got Yellow Submarine (looking back, I’d say she made a wise choice; second grade was no time for KISS). Somehow, my grandmother bought a tape of a certain classic album. I knew nothing of Rush, what the lyrics were about, but my ten-year-old self played the ever-living shit out of that tape; in particular, Tom Sawyer, Red Barchetta, and YYZ.

Before ESL, everything was either what my parents listened to or what was on the radio. After ESL, I could leave planet Earth at will (as long as the batteries lasted).

Thanks for that!