Chapter 1 | "Pebbles and Marbles" - Phish

Given the Phish focus in The Strangest of Places, you’d think half of the chapters would have Phish songs, right?

Nope. Just this one.

I’ve been a music dork all my life. Phish is a big part of my obsessive fanaticism rotation, but they’re far from the only band on that list. Chapter 2, however, is where you meet Lucy. Lucy introduced me to Phish, so it seemed apropos that its associated song should be a Phish song.

While I could have used Fee, Fluffhead or Bouncing Around the Room, any one of which would have absolutely made perfect sense (since all loomed large in my introduction), I decided to go with Pebbles and Marbles instead. Why I chose this one is a bit complex. I’m not even sure if I can do the explanation justice, but I’ll give it a shot.

Let me start off by pointing out that one of the goals I had with this book was to write it in such a way that there's occasionally a bit of subtext, if you look at it right. ;) That is to say, it’s not just a face value story, but there are metaphors and undercurrents at play.

In the prologue, for example, Autumn surveys the living room and finds it cluttered with flotsam and jetsam from her mother. She believes her friend, Lucy, will be stopping by for a visit later, so she has to clean up to make the place presentable for visitors. While that seems as though that's all it is, when you get to the end of the book and look back at this as part of the intro, you might spot that it was a bit of an analogy + foreshadowing of the psychological clean up Autumn has to do in order to move forward with other potential "visitors" in her life. There are other examples like this, but I'll leave them for future blog posts on later chapters to avoid spoilers. Suffice it to say that I feel there is enough subtext in this book that it could be a solid book club candidate. That was by design, because the types of people who'd join a book club are exactly target audience for the story.

The reason I chose Pebbles and Marbles is partially rooted in that intention of hidden subtext. One of the recurring themes that you'll find peppered throughout the book is dark vs. light. Why that is will be revealed in the final chapter, but if you listen to this song and/or look up the lyrics, you’ll find that it's rife with those metaphorical references (as are several other of my chapter-associated songs).

While I intend to steer clear of deciphering meaning in lyrics in any definitive way here, on the blog, I’d be remiss not to mention that this one appealed to me for chapter 1 for two reasons. First, it speaks to having been introduced to something that might have otherwise gone unnoticed. Second, it gives a nod to the impermanence of treasured trinkets (literal and figurative), and their intended conveyances of love and appreciation. Third, it does a great job of highlighting the dark vs. light theme and does so in a way that both blends and balances why both are important. In short, I chose this song because it perfectly encapsulates the overall sentiment of chapter 1, making it a perfect fit.

Lucy – yes, that is her real name (I couldn’t have chosen one better; her name actually means "light") – and I are still friends, though you’re more likely to find her at a Dropkick Murphys or Chris Stapleton concert nowadays. She and I haven’t seen a Phish show together since 1995, and we may never see one together again, but despite the 1,500+ miles that separate us now, we will always remain the best of friends.

So much of life is impermanent, but friendships can be forever, if you both make a point to maintain them.