Published July 27, 2019

In the second and third weeks of a scorching hot August 2010, I drove from Baton Rouge to Oregon to start a new job and begin a new life. Driving west on Interstate 40 on my way to visit family in California before going up the coast, I knew I’d made the right decision to drive rather than fly.

Before getting to I-40, I passed through Wichita Falls, Texas. Because I am the way I am, I had “As Falls Wichita, So Falls Wichita Falls” playing at high volume on the sound system in my car. The 1981 album by Pat Metheny and Lyle Mays remains exceedingly listenable decades later and colors a couple of lovely scenes in the 1985 movie “Fandango.” (My self-compiled soundtrack album of the latter also accompanied me on this long-distance trek.)

Before this trip, “Farmer’s Trust” was my favorite Pat Metheny song from the movie. That was about to change. I listened to “As Falls Wichita, So Falls Wichita Falls” as I made my way through Wichita Falls, and soon after, I was on I-40. About an hour west of Amarillo, the air changed. The landscape changed. Everything changed.

I lost count of how many times the scenery made me say “wow” and “oh my God” and “Jesus” as I drove through New Mexico and then Arizona. I’d traveled a lot for work over the years, but most of what I’d seen of those states I’d seen from 30,000 feet or higher. The view from the driver’s seat was stunning for this native of flat Louisiana. No picture I could find would do justice to what a breathtaking new experience this was for me.

At some point, “September Fifteenth” was playing during the height of this, and the song seemed to pair well with the topography. Soon after, a stereo-system malfunction — on top of other problems with the combination CD/cassette/radio system — led to a tough decision. I could listen to the radio on extremely high volume, listen to “As Falls Wichita, So Falls Wichita Falls” at a slightly lower volume, or have no music at all. I chose the CD, and, my brain being the way it is, I found myself pressing the “back” button to hear “September Fifteenth” over and over again.

For the past nine years, it’s been the most-played song in my car. Among other things, it’s a reminder of my new home, my new life and the courage I summoned to begin that new life. The old life featured too many vicious cycles, with me caught in a loop I needed to escape. Hitting repeat on “September Fifteenth” has been like revisiting the reset button and remembering, “Oh, yeah, I did this.”

The only memories associated with the song before 2010 are connected to “Fandango.” Some day I will write about them too, because they connect to good friends, and even to my ex-wife. But I didn’t recognize the face in the mirror in those days. There’s nothing like listening to “September Fifteenth” and remembering being on the road to becoming me — in the driver’s seat, not a passenger.

Photo of winding stretch of highway in New Mexico by Herbert Heinsche via Shutterstock.