In all of this, I cannot count the number of times each day I desperately wish I could be sharing this surreal new normal with Amir: talking to him about all the strangeness and scariness of what's happening all around us and finding ways to laugh through our anxiety.
When it comes to laughter, no one fostered it more significantly or continuously in my life than Amir did. A few weeks ago, one of my favorite podcasts, Hit Parade, did an entire episode about the brilliant Weird Al Yankovic. It shouldn't surprise anyone who's read this blog to learn that Amir loved Weird Al. He loved parody songs (especially smart ones like Al's) and he relished Al's videos, which were hugely popular on MTV throughout the '80s. He loved "Like a Surgeon" and "Jeopardy" and especially "Eat It." As a super-creative kid, Amir even enjoyed writing his own parodies, which got more off-color as he got older, including a hormonal-teen version of The Beatles' "When I'm 64" called... ready for this?... "Will You Be My Whore?"* The co-writer of this inglorious ditty shall remain nameless unless he chooses to come forward and proclaim ownership.
Back to Weird Al. I've been hooked on Hit Parade and its host Chris Molanphy since the first episode I heard. It's likely I've written about this here before and likely will again, as I've yet to delve into the inspired episode on '80s New Wave. Molanphy is a musicologist bar none, though Amir could have proved a formidable challenger in the realm of music trivia. I know I've talked about our epic music trivia battles and wagers here more than once.
This particular episode of Hit Parade also dove into the deliciously weird world of Dr. Demento, another of Amir's favorites in his younger days. When we were kids, Dr. Demento hosted a weekly syndicated radio show that we often listened to just hanging out in Amir's room playing games or, on a few occasions, as a family in the car. Amir loved "Fish Heads" and "Sister Mary Elephant" and that weird song about L.A. that included a nod to the LaBrea Tar Pits - who remembers this?
But my favorite memory is Amir, Yael and I giggling our asses off to "Boot to the Head" and using that phrase whenever we were irritated with one another (e.g., "I'll give you a boot to the head if you don't let me use the bathroom!") or just teasingly (e.g., I specifically recall Amir once telling me, "You deserve a boot to the head for that outfit.")
Anyway, I'm not feeling particularly eloquent today, but I had to share my remembrances on a day that I should be spending with him physically and not only in my mind and heart. I celebrate him in spite of not being able to celebrate with him. Amir, we miss you so much. The holes in our hearts only grow larger each day we cannot be with you.
*Sample lyric: "Will you still ball me? Will you still call me? Will you be my whore?"
