April 19 - "40"

Sometimes the best big brother you can have isn't related to you at all. I know that is the case for me. When I first met Jon Inge, I was a 13 year old brat with a combination of a traditional bowlcut hair and a mullet. He was 17 years old and in high school - and he was sporting a mustache (and a mullet, but without the bowlcut - his was almost spiky). We met at the local radio station, and I think the friendship started pretty instantly. The first time I visited his place (he still lived with his parents), my hair was a little bit longer, and his mom saw us walking up to their house and told his dad to hurry up and tidy things a little bit, because Jon Inge brought a girlfriend home - so I can claim being his first girlfriend.

But our friendship has really evolved to the point of me considering him family, and today he turns 48. That could mean that I am 8 years too late in playing today's song, which closes U2's fantastic and very important album War from 1983. However, the number 40 refers to Psalm 40, which is where the lyrics are derived from as well. U2 has been Jon Inge's favorite band for as long as I have known him, and when they visited Norway on both their Zoo TV tour in 1993 and again on their PopMart tour in 1997, Jon Inge and I went to see them. It's hard not to be flooded with great memories today, so all I have left is to play the song and wish the best big brother I could ever ask for a very happy birthday.

Oh - and be very thankful I didn't dig out the only demo tape Decent ever recorded. While the song This is a Decent Song (Without Text) surely would be a hit, the instrumentation of rocking chair and broken children's guitar might alienate a few too many readers - and I don't have any to sacrifice.