A long time ago, Mcdonald’s used to give out these plastic lunchboxes.  They weren’t special, and they certainly weren’t interesting (a quick Google search turns up no images of the things), but, for a time, I kept my whole world in mine.  Then, at some point, probably around age four, I became aware of the difference between cassette tapes and the radio.  My parents starting keeping more and more cassettes in the car, and, so, John Denver’s Greatest Hits could remain in continuous play from the house to the car and back again.  (This was, I assure you, a desired state of affairs at that age.)  I had one or two cassettes of my own, Muppets and Twisted Sister, if I remember correctly, and I was particularly pleased when I would get the opportunity to play one of these tapes in the car.  There’s something about having music at your command, wherever you might go, that’s just so magical.  For a long time, my father and I loved a PBS concert from Genesis’ Mama Tour.  { Make sure to watch parts one and two!} When we would put the cassette on in the car, I would be instantly transported back to the time we spent watching it, and that experience just fascinated me.  As time went on, I became aware of the power of music to shape and enhance the otherwise mundane time spent traveling from home to school and back.  But after a time, I needed something more…and that’s where my McDonald’s lunch box comes in.

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