Taylor Swift
Well it finally happened. We made the epic trek to LA to see Tay Tay in concert. It was really a wonderful journey with our two youngest children - who surprisingly really enjoy each other and have a lot in common. But it was also a joyful experience together, as friends who had listened to a lot of music in our youth and also who traveled to some amazing concerts together back in high school - like U2 The Joshua Tree Tour in 1987 in Las Cruces New Mexico. A highlight of the night was when Taylor announced the upcoming release of 1989 (TV). If you are not a Swiftie you might not know that Taylor Swift was born in 1989 and also has an iconic album of the same name. It was even re-recorded by Ryan Adams. Since we are the class of 1989 this album also holds a special place in our hearts. 1989 TV (Taylor’s Version) will be released on October 27. She is in the process of recording all of her original albums as “Taylors Versions” so she can have absolute control over her music. That is what badass women - and people connected to 1989 - do.
True Sight
Jared Matt Greenberg composed and performed our opening theme song, “True Sight.”
When we conceived of this podcast we knew there was one thing we absolutely needed - a theme song. If you are a podcast listener, you have almost a Pavlovian reaction your favorite podcast’s theme music. I know my morning has started when I hear the opening notes of The Daily. A podcast theme song is a BIG DEAL. We felt it needed to embody the spirit of the decade in which we came of age - the 1980s - and we wanted something upbeat and fun. And we wanted something original - not canned, off of the free music platforms on the internet. Luckily, we had a contact that we hoped would be excited to help out.
Dr. Jared “Matt” Greenberg is a member of the Albuquerque Academy class of ‘89 and is both a practicing psychiatrist as well as an active musician - playing both keyboards and coronet in his solo instrumental project, The Paper Sea. His latest collection of songs is called “Shadow Falls.” When we approached Matt, he generously offered several songs to us and also offered to write an original song. We listened to his selections and immediately connected with “True Sight.”
Even the title of the song captures so much of what we believe this podcast project is meant to do - provide a new perspective on our stories and this moment in our lives.
Thanks so much to Jared Matt! We are excited to have him join us as a guest sometime soon.
The Arches
In the recent episode with our classmate Leah Lovett, she tells the story of her car’s demise, as it crashed into these arches. We had never heard this story and when she shared it we had to go back and look at photos of the arches in the front of the school. It’s hard to imagine Leah’s car sliding into these arches, but it happened.
Carla remembers waiting under these arches for her parents to pick her up. Her father drove a beat up 1974 Toyota Corolla. One day, her dad pulled up in the car and her classmate turned to her and said, “Wow. Your dad must have a lot of self confidence to drive that car.”
The arches represented the entrance to the campus and greeted us each day as we arrived at school. Beyond the arches was the cafeteria and home of the infamous Loy Legore, master of munch pudding and veal birds.
What memories do you have of the arches?
What we were thinking?
What were we thinking?
Whenever we see this picture we ask that question. Why are we carrying a giant railroad tie? Why is Carla’s hair feathered back? Why is Jessica wearing acid washed jeans? So many questions. But then again, what were we thinking when we decided to do a podcast about our high school class?
We graduated in 1989 from high school in Albuquerque, NM. For all intents and purposes we all just did what any other 18 year-olds did after we graduated. We went off to colleges or got jobs. Many of us got married and had children. Some of us moved back to Albuquerque while others scattered around the country. We became actors, teachers, lawyers, doctors, musicians, neuroscientists, entrepreneurs, and accountants. We got divorced. We remarried. We changed careers. We lived.
But something has always been unusual about the class of 1989. We’ve always stayed in touch and we gathered every five years for our class reunions. While social media has facilitated our connections, we always return for time together in person.
The decision to catch up with our classmates occurred spontaneously, but once we got the idea in our heads to create this podcast, we just couldn’t stop thinking about it. What would it be like to interview our high school classmates about the people they have become and their journeys along the way? And that is how “Jessica and Carla’s High School Reunion” began. We know that each of you has a compelling story to tell and we are excited to capture these stories here. We are excited to look back and look forward with each of you!