Last year, we didn't - neither of us (and not only me), thank heavens.

But no matter what, Lynn and I got married twelve years ago today.

It's been a white-knuckle hellride at times, to be sure, but I don't have any regrets.

How did we celebrate, you ask? Friday, we dropped the kids off at the grandparents for the weekend (thanks so much, guys!) and had a lovely dinner in the town where we were hitched, and last night we enjoyed the company of pals for some beverages at the new place at the end of our street.

All in all, a pretty good mile marker!

It was a gorgeous day today, so the fambly (urchins & wife & I) trundled up in one of the minivans and took a drive off to see this juvenile T. Rex out by my (& the wife's) collegial stomping grounds in So. Central Wisconsin, which, of course, led to memories.

Zooming the interstate on the clear sunshiny day brought me back to the days of yore, when most of my quality time was spent in the car, driving around, running to or from something/anything. Making plans, writing masterful long letters and brilliant short stories while behind the wheel that would always be forgotten at the next stop. I forget how much I love driving, and I wonder if my kids will get the same kick of freedom or if $50/gallon gas will keep them from the magic I've found. Hopefully, there will be other kicks for them, if not these.

I used to spend a lot of time driving to and from Minneapolis for my continuing and fruitless quest for punk-rock stardom with my old band, so they were in my head a lot. My old co-guitarist emailed me the other day to ask me why he remembered a certain band. We had played with them once, in a cavernous roadhouse in rural Illinois, back in the day. I sort of drove by there today.

Then, for an unknown reason, I remembered a college gurl I had known, one who I had a weird reverse-crush on (it worked like this: she indicated an interest in smooching, but I had never even kissed a girl before, so I was frightened - but now I had a weird crush on her - or at least the idea that we might, one day, smooch. We never did, but I remember playing "Pale Blue Eyes" on my radio show every week for a long time after that, hoping she'd get the murky brainwaves I attached to the song each time I played it.)

Oh yeah! And then there was another college crush-subject, from much later in my college days, after I had kissed a few girls (including my now-wife), so I wasn't as scared, but still scared enough that when we played that gig in Caledonia and she, to my amazement, came out to see us, I could only manage to sit awkwardly alone with her in the front seat of her battered Jeep for a few minutes before I made some lame excuse and shepherded us back to the party-at-large.

Maybe that's why I thought of Pale-Blue-Eyes girl. Anyway, it's kind of weird.

'Member how I announced the engagement of my neighbor/BFF here a while ago?

The whole shebang was rather unique and I've finally posted the video for your perusal:

Lance sprung a proposal on my BFF/neighbor Myra last night.

And she said 'Yes'!

My officemate Scott got it right in record time.

The question was raised for me because the song randomly played on my iPod as I was walking to my car after work the other day and it made me pause (literally - passersby were confused to see my bulk stop suddenly in the parking lot and stare into space) and remember.

I think the song first popped up on my radar sometime in college when I first started listening to the fine LP (for this was back in the day of the black slabs of vinyl) Blood & Chocolate by Elvis Costello, mostly to drunkenly blare "I Want You" and "I Hope You're Happy Now" as I moped about the former girlfriend du jour in the wee hours.

But that particular song was hammered into my consciousness with another girlfriend who I spent a lot of time drunkenly necking with while, more often than not, Elvis C. was playing on her stereo.

I'm not sure if it was because of those specific reasons that the song resonated with me so. It certainly wasn't the lyrics of the song which are so pleasantly obtuse that they invite a million personal interpretations, each of them solipsistically correct.

It was that question which I posed to said girl when I received an email from her out of the blue. "Is it really you?" I queried. "Tell me why death wears a big hat."

"Um, because he's a big bloke?"

I guess maybe that's why that line stuck in my head so.

Which leads to my new question of the day: what songs or lyrics, despite (or because) of their obtuseness or subtlety, have stuck with you forever?

Discuss.