peter

Well, let’s start at the pinnacle.   At time of writing, we’ve not yet known each other two years, but being with him feels like coming home.  We met, amazingly, through a friend, in this day and age of “internet dating”, and very quickly developed a deep bond, over music, the importance of friends, travel, proper speaking and the beauty of things.   We waited a full 4 days before confessing our new love for each other, and Peter proposed on my birthday that same year.   We both are “alternative” in various ways, and it was such a joy to be accepted fully by someone, as we had both been rejected or marginalized by others in the past.   We had also had other long term relationships that had ended, but still had enough hope that another long term love was possible.

We have bought a house, got married, and are building a home and life together, and I am so much more hopeful for the future that I was before I met Peter.  So many songs resonate with me when thinking of Peter… but I have chosen our first dance song at our wedding.

dani

Dani and I met through our mutual great love - rabbits.  We both belonged to an online group called UK Pet Rabbits.  We would occasionally have “meet ups” with other lagomorphophiles, so I got to know her better in person, and we became friends.   Over the years, we have helped each other with rabbit issues, and then became confidants for everything from family issues to relationship / jobs, etc.  We have both suffered from depression and low self esteem, and our love and support for each other has been greatly helpful over the years.   Before meeting Peter, I assumed that when I retired, I would move back to the UK, and Dani and I would get a house together and live out the rest of our days in the countryside where we could watch the wild hares, and have a few rescue bunnies to look after, and enjoy Marks and Spencer’s delicious foods.  

Dani also loves music, and plays and records her own stuff.  There are many bands / songs I could choose that remind me of her… runner up is something from the Kinks… as she always used to see Ray Davies walking his dog near where she lived… and I was always asking her to get an autograph for me… but I decided to go with the Cure, as they are a long time love for both of us.

gretchen

Gretchen is one of the incredible gem friendships that I have made through music… specifically The Current radio station, and the online chat group around their morning show, and the half hour daily spot called The Coffee Break, where listeners can suggests songs that match a certain topic.  Over the years, a group of music aficionados have hung out on the online chat more time than just the half hour of the spot.  Eventually we started meeting in person, and becoming “real life” friends.

Gretchen has been a huge support to me, and I hope I to her over good and bad times, and she was my maid of honor at my wedding.  We both think the Beatles are one of the most amazing bands of all time, so thought it would be fitting to choose a Beatles song.  She has a couple of Beatles tattoos, one of which is the yellow submarine, so I thought a song from that album was appropriate.

becky

Becky was another great friendship “love of my life” that sadly was cut short with her suicide in 2014.  She and I met through rescue rabbit volunteering, but became fast friends, bonding over both of our experiences with depression and other mental health issues.  

She was an amazing soul, and I miss her every day, and of course wish that there was something more I could have done for her.  I hope she is up there with all the bunnies that she and I loved, and I can’t wait to see her again when I get there.

We both loved the UK series Absolutely Fabulous, so I have chosen the theme song for Becky’s song.  Love you Becky.  Hope you have found some peace and happiness.

mom

Throughout my life, my relationship with my mother went through stages, as most do… but she was a wonderful, kind, well-meaning woman.   So many things in my life came from my mother… loving music, thrift and antique shopping, knowing how to sew.  She also loved the UK, so visited me often in the 20 years I lived there.   When I moved back to the US from the UK in 2012, it was so wonderful to reconnect with my parents on a more frequent basis, especially my mom, and we spent many happy hours combing thrift stores and fabric stores, rummage sales, etc.   As my mother passed from a rare cancer in 2022, I am grateful every day for those 10 years I got to spend hanging out with her more frequently.  I really hope she is looking down from her heavenly sofa, and smiling at my recent life changes.  She would have loved Peter… not least for his tidiness, as she alway despaired of my messy tendencies.

She loved music, and we have many overlaps… memorable moments include listening to Fiddler on the Roof, jumping around on the furniture when I was 6 or 7,  us both rocking out to Bohemian Rhapsody, my first 45 purchase… (and we had the piano music as well), to her even enjoying The Clash. (Hateful was her favorite ). But I am submitting a song from one of her records that I loved, and is now in my possession.

adam

Adam Weiner is the composer and principle artist in the band Low Cut Connie.  During the pandemic, I lost my job as a travel agent, and was unemployed for 6 months, in more or less seclusion.   The two things that kept me sane during that lonely time were my rescue rabbits… I adopted two additional rabbits in Jan of 2020, which was a huge additional blessing for companionship, and the twice weekly live stream by Adam Weiner, which was eventually named Tough Cookes.  As he couldn’t tour during this time, this was a way to keep in touch with his fans, and also to reach out to people, helping to show that people were not alone during this time.   I was not a big fan of the band before the pandemic, though I knew of their existence, but this live stream, with him and his guitarist from his spare bedroom, and the accompanying live chat with other viewers.   I actually met up with multiple people from this group, some who have become friends.

Adam would periodically to “meet and greets” with the viewers/fans, and I had the opportunity to chat with him a couple times.   And then once things died down somewhat and you could again venture out to live shows, I went to see him and the band quite a few times, even traveling several times to the east coast for shows.   Once I had met Adams in person a few times, he remembered me, and when I last saw him at First Avenue, I was in the front row, and he came out towards the front of the stage and said “hi Julie” and gave me a hug.   We saw him again a couple months later, and he again remembered me, and we had several good chats.  He actually was voted “Person of the Pandemic” by the New Yorker magazine for his live stream, and it is well deserved.   He is a kind man, and I hope he gets all the accolades that he rightly deserves.    I have chosen a song from his first album which I love.

hannah

In my life, I have “swung both ways” to use a phrase.   Hannah was my long term girlfriend for about 7 years in the UK.  We had many many adventures, and lived in London and then in Northumberland.   We lived in a small village in a town called Shilbottle, and were eventually embraced by the locals, and fully integrated into village life, joining the women’s darts team, hung out at the pub, I even worked part time in the pub, and we ran the local pub trivia game for a while.

It was wonderful for a while, but she had inner demons that were hard to quiet… so eventually I needed to leave.  We have stayed friends, and I really hope that she will find the peace that she needs.

The song I have chosen is a silly one… instead of something that we loved together, and we did go to many concerts…. This one always makes me think of Hannah, because I love it, and she HATED it.  :).