"Tell me all your thoughts on God"

Remember this hit from the 90s?

My father's Art books and CD collection were a sacred treasure to me as a kid and in many ways define who I am today. I would spend hours listening to albums like Alanis's "Jagged little Pill" CD (which I scratched very badly and was scolded for it), or the Police, Deep Forest, Joan Osbourne, The Gin Blossoms, and the Goo Goo Dolls. So I definitely have a soft spot for 90s alternative rock/whatever you want to call it. While listening to this I would have MTV on (when MTV played just music videos) and then pulled one of the large Art books from the towering book self to discover the beauty within. I particularly enjoyed a book of Western Art containing great European works. I would look at the picture of the Sistine Chapel's ceiling and imagine how immense and beautiful it is. A large reason why I yearn to go to Europe is because of that book, and maybe it is because of that book, I embraced so many things, like Opera. That book is sacred to me, the most influential book in my life. The most touching of all its images was the "Ecstacy of St. Teresa." A statue of the saint being pierced by an angel. I had no clue what it meant or who St. Teresa was. Though I found it sadistic, yet thrilling! Light hits its gold backing and the spear just so right proving a wonderful glow on the two figures. Teresa's twisted posture, and her expression of Ecstasy was fascinating to me. I thought, how could this woman be in "Ecstasy" while basically being stabbed by this perversely smiling cherub . It is everything. I would always relate this to Joan Osbourne's "St. Teresa" and look at the picture of my Grandmother Iris hanging on the wall above. A woman who passed long ago and who I have never meet. I always associated that song with her and also "Blackbird" by the Beetles. Why? Truth is I don't entirely know. I sensed a sadness in her eyes that I guess just seemed to fit the songs. Years later I looked up some stuff about the real St. Teresa and she is a mystery wrapped in it self. Anyway this was my childhood at least my elementary years. The rest of it was spent in the pool pretending to be a frog, princess, or mermaid, then climbing trees, and getting dirty, while imagining that I was on a jungle safari, or Xena the warrior princess. This was me and still is, just older..... sometimes I miss it, but I have wonderful memories too. I miss most the ability to dream big and vividly without logic or reason. Uninterrupted fantasizing. To look at a large grey electric generator and ride it through "the jungle" like it was a giant elephant for hours!

Anyway, what I gained was so much. I don't think parents realize the things that go on in their kids heads or how a simple CD and book collection can have such a huge impact on one person's existence. When I have a child, I hope to provide them with a world of Art and Music as well. I hope I have great collection Art and life for them to dig through, scratch up, and dream of. And Music! for them to explore and connect with, in whatever way they do.