Bye Baby Bunting

What's the earliest memory you have? I mean I know you can't really answer me but maybe in the comments.. Though, for me I feel like my earliest memories are likely a minority compared to what others might be.

I remember this song; there were probably others, though this is the one that has the strongest memory to me.

I remember the warmth, and the gentle sway back and forth as my mother rocked me in our old noisy rocking chair. The chair would pop with each pass, making a near perfect melody with my moms gentle cadence as she sang. I remember her smiling down at me with her red hair, and crystalline blue eyes as I eventually fell asleep.

I know that some of those memories have to be from when I was a toddler, but I know I was incredibly small in her arms. Something that didn't last long. This memory is probably what made me into a momma's boy

If you were born in this era, (90s) then you probably just got smacked with nostalgia hearing this song. Lord, I know I did. I feel like the Space Jam theme song MAY just be one of theeee most 90's songs ever. Also sorry in advance to my parents because I'm sure I dragged them to the movie theaters like ten times to see this movie.

At the time when Space Jam came out I was six years old. If you know anything about this time, Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls were a national treasure. I feel like everyone I knew growing up was Bulls, or Jordan fans.

I had so much Bulls memorabilia in my room that only seemed to grow as I got older. To be honest a lot of it was hand me downs from my oldest brother Jason. This movie, well more so Michael Jordan played a huge impact with my life. For one and maybe most obvious I was named after him. Though, I guess it had to be my name, especially when my three brothers got wind that my birth date would likely be the same as MJ’s, which it did..

Naturally this led me to pursue basketball, and was easily my favorite sport, and stil is now. Listening to this song now I realize how much or how little the lyrics mean. Like its a combination of 90s music or hip hop things. You got the 90s buzzwords in there, and just “its the slam jam,:” in there. Then of course theres the classic part where the rapper shouts outs “the fellas, and the ladies.”

Not to shit on the song, though just looking at it, for what it is. Anyway, its time to slam jam.

So this one technically isn't a song as one might consider it, but more so theme music to a show. One very dumb one that is, that being as it may be, one that was very formative to my younger years (lol). This show, and the song bring back A LOT of memories for me.

One of my other brothers Troy who is the second oldest out of the three, used to take me on joy rides with him. Which meant one of two things: one, he was going to drive crazy just for my entertainment. For example literally hanging his feet out his own window while driving, yes some how he managed that.

Then secondly he would take me to perhaps the most nostalgic place of the 90's, next to a mall.

Blockbuster. I remember how cool I felt to go with him, he was the rebellious brother, so I felt that rub off on me when I went with him.

Besides making me laugh, he always would rent the R rated movies and let me watch them when he babysat me.

This naturally included Beavis and Butthead. Despite being like ten years older than me he would laugh like an idiot right alongside with me as we watched it.

Hopefully bringing this up now doesn't get you in trouble… Sorry bro!

Ah yes, this song is perhaps random, its classic soul. This is more than likely around the time of my awkward phase, though who doesn't have one of those? Despite the likely awk’ phase this song was around the time the internet really took hold of me.

My brother, (Todd) had left Napster (more nostalgia) on the computer when he left for college and he left with it a huge selection of all types of music. Hip hop and R&B mainly, though oldies, pop, a tiny bit of rock. Enough to wet my beak in nearly every genre. My, how I long for this time some days. You would just wake up, or come home from school. Get on AOL Instant messenger and see who was on. You would chat with your friends allll day long.

Try to make that connection with your crush. Literally spending hours online chatting, listening to great music (maybe my parents would disagree), and possibly giving the family computer the bubonic plague with those downloads…

This song comes in, because for whatever reason it was my brother Todd's theme song after he left home for college. One thing was guaranteed, when he returned or left it was ordered that this song be played. I recall many times after a weekend stay he would tell me to play it and we would sing it together as he left. Embarrassingly though I recall times it was still playing as he pulled out from our driveway, and I would get teary eyed. Gross, I hope he doesn't see this. However I do have to thank him for a good part of my music taste, for without access to his Napster I would more than likely be a lot more bland.

These two songs had to be together. You might be asking yourself “uh why?” One is a very dumb, meme of a song more or less. The other one of the GREATEST rock songs ever, and if you don't think so, you're not an American! I Or well, if you are not American already then your.. Not whatever you are?

Anyways, these two songs will forever be tied together for me, and really several others within my high school friend group. You see, we had an addiction in those days, an addiction that became destructive, as most do…

It was TPing. You read that right, Tping, the act of covering someones house in toilet paper, and other things if you get down like that. For whatever reason almost every other weekend we would go Tping other friends' houses, teachers, whoever stood in our way. We were not like any other people who TP'd. We were really quite militant about it; oh and my parents hated it.

This resulted in a few groundings in my time. To show how serious we were, we once heard that someone threatened to TP our home base, which for whatever reason was my house. So that night the core members of our group, which was named “Zen Flynn,” also not sure why that's the name, assembled at my house to guard the “capital." That night we literally took turns on guard duty THE ENTIRE night, I sat in the tall grass of the forest by my house with a paintball gun. So it got a little wild.

Now to get back to these songs, whenever we would strike someone's house successfully we would listen to this idiotic CD my friend Darious burnt. It was filled with Disney princess anthems, the Lion King songs were choice, and then of course these two.

Every time we had a night of victory you may see a Tiny Plymouth Breeze filled to the brim with Bros in black, literally bouncing to the hypnotic beat of “I LIKE TO MOVE IT MOVE IT.” Or wicked but questionable high pitched vocals, complete with an ensemble of air guitar and drum solos to Don't Stop Believing.

Ah, what a time to be young. Good thing they didn't have house cameras like they do now, otherwise our gooses would've been cooked even more than they ended up being cooked… Maybe a story about that in the future..

Oh god, these songs. Literally brings me back to senior year when it took our class by storm. I remember feeling cool that I could do the “Soulja Boy“, only to discover more or less every one knew how to do it.

Though oddly enough the dance for the Tpain song, which more or less was the same dance that was started by Dem Franchize Boyz, proved more difficult for people. Or at,least at my small hickish school. Which is surprising because it's literally a simple two step, with a snap of the fingers that had some swag sprinkled in. I don't get it, but it was always fun to dance to.

Both of these songs bring me to Prom of 2008. I had a freak leg break during basketball season, and was on crutches for the prom. Though I did not let that stop me, I remember literally “supermaning” on one leg during the crank that Soulja Boy song. Though don't ask me to do that now..

This song among others brings back some of my most treasured and influential memories. Though this song will forever be linked with Costa Rica for me.

I had a long relationship with Spanish, and had taken literally every class of it at my community college. I was sitting in classes while being a T.A. or teachers assistant to the professor to keep my skills up.

It was in the winter of 2015 I decided that I would study abroad in Costa Rica.

It was sort of a fiasco to start, because they didn't instantly have me lined up with a host family; so I stayed in this shabby apartment on the campus of La Universidad Veritas.

Though soon I was linked up with a fantastic host family, along with another guy who became one of my best friends there.

My time there was amazing, living with a host family speaking and breathing Spanish every single day. One of the best things was meeting people from not only all over the US but the entire world. One thing I seriously enjoyed, perhaps a little too much, was the night life.

Though I had never had what many would consider as the true “college” experience since I went to a junior college in my small town. So I soaked up every bit of staying out too late, then waking up for class the next morning for walking to class. My host father Marco would call me “Jordan el valiante,” or Jordan the brave.

Boy when I tell you the hill leading up to school would sober you up real quick! I soon found that most of my income was going to eating, and then drinking, (not water.)

My first Spanish class there, the professor was this tiny, feisty, fun lady. Out of all my teachers during my time there she was my favorite one. Once a week she would choose a Spanish song for us to listen to and dissect the lyrics.

Near the end of the semester this song by Marc Anthony became the class favorite. At the end of class several days we would sing the lyrics and dance. Initially it was a forced dance by her, but eventually everyone would let loose and live the essence that was Costa Rica: “pura vida.” Or the pure life. Someday I may just write about my times in Costa Rica, I often find myself living in those moments, and yearning for it.

This ends up where my life is right now. Perhaps the “Texas Sun,” or shining peak of it. I am living in an adorable little neighborhood in Grand Rapids, MI with my perfect girlfriend Arikka. Though life isn't maybe where we want it to be exactly, we still have goals besides our 9-5’s. One day we hope to live with a mansion full of family and kids; where we only work for ourselves. I'm sure we aren't alone in that goal.

This song is really a part of an amazing album by Leon Bridges and the group Khruangbin called Texas Sun, there also is a follow up called Texas Moon that is very good. Both give old timey or soul vibes.

Whenever I hear a song from either one of the albums it brings me to a certain level, or calm is how I would describe it.

Many times if I'm writing a story it is to that album, or some jazz. Hopefully it will still guide me along to one day I am a professional writer.

Thanks for reading/listening.