Peabo Bryson "If Ever You're in My Arms Again"

You know you're an old soul when you're happily driving your dad's Buick and get excited to hear Peabo Bryson's "If Ever You're in My Arms Again". That might have happened to me. I might also have turned it up.

Prince "I Wanna Be Your Lover"

A recent eight-day trip to Florida to renovate a beach house forced me to live like a Florida local and, for once, not a tourist. There were no trips to the pool, Gulf of Mexico or miniature golf, but rather lots of trips to the hardware and tile store. With a long list of things to do and limited time, I went to work each morning and even borrowed my dad's 1998 Buick LeSabre to make my first of a half-dozen treks to the local Home Depot. Trying to remember where I parked isn't easy in the first place, but when every other car in the parking lot is a Buick, it's that much harder.

One morning, I tuned on the Buick's radio and ended up listening to WDUV-FM "The Dove". The radio station clearly targeted an older audience as it didn't seem to play anything beyond the mid-1980s. The station was a time machine to what Adult Contemporary radio stations sounded like in 1988--minus any elevator music. Just lots and lots of soft rock. You know what? I actually found myself enjoying the no-nonsense and music-intensive delivery. One particular ride down Cortez Road in Bradenton featured The Dove spinning Christopher Cross, Lionel Richie, Chicago, and Prince's "I Wanna Be Your Lover" (and odd choice but, again, I'm not complaining). I even caught a bit of Delilah on my ride home and found myself having my own Calgon moment.

Billy Ocean - "There'll Be Sad Songs (To Make You Cry)"

My Dad got remarried in 2004.  During dinner at the reception, I remember the DJ was spinning one depressing song after another.  Among them was Billy Ocean's "There'll Be Sad Songs (To Make You Cry)".  I later found out that my Dad knew the DJ from work and that he had sold the DJ his old Buick Skylark.  Maybe it was the DJ's way of paying my Dad back...