Judd Marcello

May 15, 2021

End of the ride, start of the trip

Danny was just about to pull up to her house. She despised his car. She hated that he tolerated that car. He didn’t care. He didn’t care what she thought about it or about the car itself. The car just got him from A to B. And, frankly, so did she. 

He always thought that “your car is only as cool as the music you play in it.” It didn’t matter the make or model. What mattered was what sounds it made. Cars didn’t mean much to him, but music did. Even at thirty-seven years of age, he’d much rather have the latest Howlin’ Wolf re-issue than the newest Tesla model.

Just as Neil Young was finishing singing about silver spaceships, burned-out basements, and getting high, Danny sidled his ’99 Ford Escort up next to the curb in front of her apartment building. As the last notes crackled out of the speakers, he held off killing the engine. “Never shut it off until the song is over,” he said out loud. You don’t want to waste a good tune, especially a Neil Young tune. “Thanks, Neil,” he said. “I need that.”

He needed that because today was the day. He had pulled up to this curb many times before, but today was different.

About Judd Marcello

I’m Judd. I am a husband and dad. I’m a marketer by trade and a music fan at heart. I own a turntable and over 700 long players. I lived around the world. I wear denim shirts a lot. I met my wife at a Tom Petty concert. They call me Mr. Lucky.