Gran Torino

When I was a kid I saw my Dad use his little air rifle and thought it was pretty much the coolest thing I'd ever come across in my limited time on this Earth. Further more, I knew Dad hated the doves that would come in and run out all the smaller birds from the birdfeeders. So I formulated this plan - I would eliminate the dove problem and use the air rifle. If I was helping out, he couldn't be angry if he found out, right? Well, I waited for my moment - I had a baby-sitter and she was asleep upstairs. I took out the air rifle and managed to get it pumped. It took awhile, because I was only about nine and weaker than sin. Well, once I got it primed I knew I had to make my shot count, so I waited. I waited until I had a solid, perfect bead on a dove, until the wind was dead, until I could control my breathing. And with my very first shot, my very first one, well, I caught a dove in the head. I ran down to see what I'd done and as soon as I saw that poor, limp body, once so pretty and now just . . . dead, well, I almost vomited. Instead, though, I opened the garage, got the trowel, and carried the dove to the very back of the yard. I dug a hole and very, very carefully laid sod down on top, trampling the edges until the scar was completely gone. Then I went to my room and cried until dinner. That is when I really, really understood death, rather than just knowing what it was.

This is how I felt when I left the final show of Gran Torino. Gran Torino was a 9-piece band that wailed their jazz/rock/ska fusion like the Armageddon was coming. You couldn't listen to them on a recording without moving or hear them in public without flipping out. They were awesome. Friggin' amazing. And now, well, they're gone.

But then again, so is Ray Charles, and I still listen to him. Of course the difference is that Ray Charles is available at Target for $9.95, while GT is just a fading memory. If you've never heard them. . . well. . . sorry. Hit Amazon (http://www.amazon.com) and do a search for Gran Torino, you'll come up with three of their albums, One, One and Only, and Two. There are samples of some of their work, short, but enough to get a feel for their style. Once you've heard "Moments With You," well, you'll understand.