I'd like to sing the world a song in perfect harmony One of my favorite things to do: Singing in the car. Especially when I'm alone. If there's someone else there, you know, you can't sing quite so loud or quite so emphatically. When I was young(er), I wanted to be a singer. That is, until I figured out you'd actually have to do it in front of people. Er, no thanks. Though the older I get, the more I think I could have overcome that fear. And maybe I could have been a singer if I'd taken some lessons. I have OK pipes, I think. But they're by no means professional grade. In elementary and middle school, I was always in chorus. In 6th grade, we were required to try out. Another girl and I decided to go in together. We'd talked about singing Never by Heart. She started singing and I could not stop lauging. I don't know how or why, but I made it, even though I have no recollection of singing anything. That year, we sang One from A Chorus Line. The teacher, I forget her name, would make us belt out the first line "One! Singular sensation every little step she takes!" and then she'd make us stop and do it again because it sounded so great. I love the power music can have over us. We also sang The Lion and the Unicorn, which my sister used to ask me to sing to her before she went to sleep. As a by-product of my middle school chorus (7th-8th grades), I'll always have the Chiquita banana song and some Gaelic (I think) folk song stuck in my head. They pop out at the weirdest times. Like whenever I see a banana in the refridgerator. Don't people know!? "You should never put baaaaanaaaaanaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaas in the refridgerator! No, no, no, no!" That came from a musical we practiced and practiced in 7th grade, but never actually performed. There were all kinds of songs from commericals in there. "Aren't you glad you use Dial? Aren't you glad you use Dial? Aren't you glad? Aren't you glaaaaaaaaaaad? Glad we're pulling together? Aren't you glad? Glad you're feeling free!?" I remember the words to the folk song, but I wouldn't know how to spell them. I can sing it, but forget writing it down. Perhaps if we meet, I'll sing it to you. If I have a couple thousand glasses of wine, that is. Then in 8th grade, I sang solo in front of a crowd. At school in a music contest. Oh my god, it was the worst thing ever. I'm sure no one could even hear me. I'm sure I don't even have to tell you that I didn't win anything. But you know what? I did it. And I'm almost over it. (I sang Clouds by Joni Mitchell.) As much as I liked to sing, when I got to high school I gave it up because the cool kids did NOT join chorus. Not that I was A list mind you. I guess I was somewhere in the middle on the cool o'meter. Of course, now there's karaoke. I have never, ever done that. Sometimes I toy with the idea. Which song would I pick? Maybe Closer to Fine by the Indigo Girls? Spoiled by Joss Stone? Or maybe Stay by Lisa Loeb? Or Dirty Wings by Megan Slankard? Weezer? Ben Lee? Or you know, whatever. I obviously don't think about it too much. And I'm not sure I would actually do it. I know it would take many, many drinks. It doesn't take any drinks for me sing at the top of my lungs on solo car trips though. That's when I'm at my best.