My small seven-year-old self watched as my dad walked onto the plane to Florida. I was worried-I knew he wouldn’t be back for years and I didn’t know how to make it without him. Throughout my life the key happiness and lifting my spirits was when I would rest in his arms. He left me with three things that would have to replace him until I could rest in his arms again: good food, good morals, and damn good music.
I started out confused, unsure, and unable to remember a time without my dad. How did I make it all work without him? What were the things we did together? I looked through some of the CD’s he left me. One dusty CD crammed under all of the others stuck out to me. I lifted up the others and pushed the dust off. It was Ramones, the debut album of The Ramones, punk rock legends. One thing stuck out, Johnny Ramone, the power chord legend and guitarist of The Ramones. His guitar sounded just like how my dad played in his old college garage bands. It reminded me of all the VHS tapes of my dad playing I had watched. He still played that type of raw punk for fun and hearing it again made me smile. I had found this happiness, a resting place, and a sense of security again, in Johnny Ramone’s music.
The Ramones replaced my dad in the time he was gone. I became a worshiper of Johnny Ramone, but not just because he can play guitar, but what his guitar has done to my life. He brought me back to a time with my dad that I thought I lost, he made the joy I had with my dad possible again. I could sit for hours just listening to him play for hours to the point where Johnny would fade away. It wasn’t his guitar making me remember my dad anymore and bringing me into that world of sublime, happiness. It was my own thoughts-they had taken over without me even knowing, and they were making me happier that I could’ve ever imagined. I now realized I didn’t need my dad anymore, and the few times I would see him again would be plenty.
My dad watched as I walked onto the plane back to San Diego. Seeing him has been great, but I knew I was ready to go home. He knew that I wouldn’t be back for a while, but he wasn’t worried, and neither was I. The experience I had with him over the course of my life taught me something. I had learned the only real key to happiness, in my personal opinion. People are so focused in this world on the tangible: Money, cars, huge houses, trophy wife’s are just a few of the things people need to feel happy. You’d be surprised what the thoughts in our minds can do; it can be a lot more that the tangible if you give them a chance. Have you ever tried to let yourself make you happy?
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