Time on the Truck Floor

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Jim Croce Cassette, Waupaca, WI

On Saturday night my dad and Stephanie and I went back to the old house to grab a few things that were left behind earlier in the day and to get Max & Callie. When I got into my dad’s truck something hit my foot and when I looked down it was Jim Croce’s Time in a Bottle, Greatest Love Songs.

Side 1, Track 1:
If I could save time in a bottle the first thing that I’d like to do is to save every day till eternity passes away just to spend them with you.

I can’t tell you how many times this opening line made me want to bash my head against the dash when I was a little kid riding around in the car. I’ve since grown to appreciate Jim Croce’s music and songwriting, but back then he was just some old dead guy my dad liked who sang boring songs and even Leroy Brown, the baddest man in the whole damn town, wasn’t cool. Now I know that Leroy is from Chicago’s south side and is meaner than a junkyard dog, and I’m all right with him. I actually really like the song, I’ll Have to Say I Love You in a Song, which unfortch was released after Jim Croce died in 1973.

I also remember a lot about the Croces from when I lived in San Diego. I remember hearing a story about how Jim & Ingrid moved to San Diego to settle down and concentrate on their family (in Normal Heights, no less), but Jim just had to go out and do one last tour.. then they’d be all set. And it was on that tour that he died in a plane crash. Ingrid now has a popular restaurant in the Gaslamp District. I could also remember hearing a lot of his son, AJ Croce.. I think he might play at the restaurant.

Still, as a kind of inside joke, my brother and I just have to look at each other and in a soft voice sing “if i could save time in a bottle….” to make the other one roll their eyes and laugh. And then want to bash our heads on the dashboard.