A Cool Thing Happened While Eating a Sandwich

I headed to Jimmy John's today for a #5 (it's always a #5 for me -- a Vito!). Holding my sandwich in one hand and my phone in the other, I see Gibson Guitar posts this question on facebook: "What is your #1 favorite album of all time ____________? (No cheating! Pick just one!)" I think about it for a moment -- there sure are a lot of good ones! -- but there's only one solid, consistent answer for me: U2's 1987 classic The Joshua Tree.

It could be the circumstances how this album came into my hands (overnighted to me from my girlfriend (now wife) from San Francisco, where it was available 2 days before it was available in Minneapolis) or that I went wildly crazy for U2's prior release, The Unforgettable Fire.

I was all about U2 at that time.

I saw them perform at the St. Paul Civic Center for that tour and I still recall it as the best concert I've ever been to. (Never before have I seen an audience as transfixed on a performance as that one!) I also figured out every song on my acoustic guitar. From beginning to end, I could strum or pluck along with The Edge. What a fun way to burn time in college!

So as I respond to Gibson's facebook question -- T.h.e. J.o.s.h.u.a. T.r.e.e. -- the moment I hit facebook's "Comment" button, the opening notes of The Edge's jangly, echoey guitar on U2's Where The Streets Have No Name filled the air at Jimmy John's.

It was, as if, by magic.

Whoa.

Now watch this ...