Broken Records Can Be Fixed
Missed Connections in Manhattan
the only thing that can fix this broken record
is our music.
its the glue for it.
dont you realize what id do for it.
instead i sit.
i try to forget.
but i cant.
because i hear inside all this music.
and i wish me and you could use it.
i hear inside my mind all these words unsaid
all the phrases unspoken.
and all i feel is broken.
Her Two Cents
Back in the early 90s I sent several months living in Albuquerque, New Mexico. When I wasn’t boxing and shredding mortgages for a local bank that had gone belly up, I traveled down both highways and rutted roads in search of ghost towns, religious miracles, and forgotten histories. I’ve had a fascination for the 1920s and 30s since late-childhood and the antiques found in cluttered shops throughout the state thrilled me to no end. I bought a cabinet-style Victrola at a place called Older Than Dirt and it came with a bunch of hard and heavy 78s from musicians I had never heard of playing songs I did not know. The sound was scratchy and dusty and warm and brought to mind social scenes from a very different time. Despite being manufactured for an era when shock absorbers and paved roads didn’t exist, after a relocation five years ago, the Victrola wouldn’t play. There was no one in the region who could fix it and so it stayed silent; I hoped that one day a magical Prince (Princess, Mechanic, or Engineer) would appear and restore it to working order. ~ Fast forward to the present where after several more moves and the immense popularity of Facebook, I discover a local record /stereo shop eager to help. After carefully carrying the awkward-sized cabinet down stairs and up stairs, a small group of middle-aged men of varying shapes and sizes gathered around the machine. One inspected the crank, one looked at the arm and plate, another stood by the door smoking a cigarette. Finally, words were uttered, “Everything is fine. The problem is you’re trying to play a record from the 40s.” The 78 was removed from the plate and replaced with a different disc. The brake was released, the arm dropped, and music played once again. Much like I wouldn’t expect a Mac IIe to play a DVD, a 1920s Victrola can’t play 78s from the 1940s. Broken records can be replaced and broken record players can be fixed, but the best is discovering nothing was ever broken other than a link to history.
