After the night of my twenty-second birthday, while I was living in Boston, I drove a girl back to her apartment some ways down Route 95 close to the Massachusetts/Rhode Island border. She had just spent the night at my house after we drank an extraordinary amount of alcohol while celebrating with friends. I had woken up with her in my bed. We went out for breakfast. I drove her home, got the best goodbye kiss I’ve ever experienced, and drove away. “I’m Expanding My Mind” was, at the time, my favorite song – and the first song that came on my CD player as I drove myself home.

Fast-forward a couple of months. The girl tells me it’s a no-go. I leave her house and again, “I’m Expanding My Mind” is the first song to come on in the car as I drive myself home. I found the juxtaposition amusing… the song reminded me of a really sunny morning and the feeling of walking on clouds. But of course, the night we said goodbye it was cold and gray out. To this day (four years after the fact) that song still haunts me.