Shadow
A - Sounds
- The chorus chords repeat after 3 measures instead of 4
- The screams on the bridge do a lot
B - Notes
1997 You’re Right and I’m Wrong.
C - Memories
Hannah inherited a car from her Grandpa Max when he died. It was a 1993 Dodge Shadow – dark, ambiguous blue/green. It was a no-frills car, maybe one of the last boxy designs before everything became a plastic bubble or a manly truck. Hannah loved her Grandpa, and she loved the car as a reminder of him. She kept the key on a shiny golden Mickey Mouse keychain, personalized with “MAX” at the bottom.
There are a lot of stories and memories wrapped up in the car that was there when you were falling in love, getting married, moving away from home, etc. But this is a different kind of story.
When Hannah and I moved to Pittsburgh in 2009, we lived in Lawrenceville, close to Penn and Main, in a second-story apartment on a short connecting street, not much more than a glorified alley. The neighborhood was in the beginning stages of gentrification.
One day, I stepped out the front door and didn’t see the Shadow parked on the street. We figured it was stolen, and we called the police. They took our information and told us that usually cars turn up after a little while. The thieves don’t really want to keep them, they just want to drive them.
Weeks passed, and we adapted to life without a car. There was a grocery store within walking distance. I was able to ride a bus to work. It was inconvenient, but we made do. We didn’t have very much money anyway.
After a month with no news, we assumed the Shadow was gone forever, but lo and behold, we received a phone call. It was not from the police, but from the Pittsburgh Parking Authority. Our car, sitting in the Oakland neighborhood, had received nine parking tickets in the past month, and had been towed to an impound lot.
When we arrived at the lot to pick up the car, not only was the starter completely ripped out and gone from the car, wires dangling, but the driver’s side door was dangling crooked off of its hinges, dragging on the ground.
I will never cease to marvel how the parking enforcement people could see a car in that state, with the door hanging off, obviously stolen, and simply give it a new parking ticket every day for over a week!