An Eagle gets his wings

Back to the daily van routine. This afternoon on our ride over to SUNY New Paltz, Molly asked to plug her aux cord in so she could play music from her phone. Oh no, the dreaded “aux cord” … usually means “not Coach Pete music.” Back in the day, I used to complain. Why bother now? Although I do keep up with contemporary music in the Americana genre, for the most part the rest of my music tastes are quite outdated for college-age men and women. So yeah, the “aux cord” it was. However! Much to my surprise, after a few songs I didn’t know, Molly asked if I wanted some classic rock. Uh. Yeah! One of the songs on the “playlist” was “Hotel California” by The Eagles. The song and the album have such an indelible place in the soundtrack of my 1970s youth. In fact, The Eagles were a huge part of that adolescent soundtrack, so the song brought back memories on a chilly January afternoon.

And then, a few hours later, I hear Gattine on Radio Woodstock announcing the passing of Glenn Frey, one of the founding members and the heart and soul (with Don Henley) of The Eagles. He was in poor health, but only 67 years old. Last week, it was David Bowie, gone at 69. A few weeks earlier, it was Lemmy of Motorhead (admittedly, not in my musical skill set, but still an innovative old rocker), dead at 70. Many of the rock and roll musicians that we grew up listening to in the 1970s and beyond are in that plus-or-minus 70 range of age, so such deaths and tributes may become all too common for our generation in the coming months and years. And yet, as Hild points out, some old and hard-living rockers like Ozzy Osbourne and Keith Richards are still around and playing music.

RIP, Glenn Frey. May you know that “Peaceful, Easy Feeling” in eternity.