After I went home for Thanksgiving and saw some of my nephews, I got thinking about stuff I used to think as a kid. Then the song “By the Time I get to Phoenix” floated through my head. One radio DJ called it “By the time I get a kleenex.”
When I first heard that song, my only continuing thought was “If it makes you so sad that she misses you, then you know how to solve the problem. Turn around and come back! This is so simple!”
I also wondered if everybody who broke up with everybody left notes. Like, was that something you had to do to formalize the breakup?
- Pack a suitcase.
- leave a note.
- leave.
I still wish this song said why he was leaving. That is never explained, and maybe that’s by design, but I wish we understood why my kid self wasn’t right. Most of me knows life is complicated, but there’s a small part of me that totally agrees with my kid self. Just turn around!
