polymania

As I've mentioned previously we've been having a very windy winter. One of the side effects is that random garbage upwind makes its way into our yard, either in or around the junipers or the compost heap. On occasion though, I find things that you'd only see at flea markets or on Ebay.

This arrived in our front yard a couple days ago, after another windy day. As you can see it is a 45 single (actually it plays at 33 1/3) of the theme music from Close Encounters of the Third Kind, the movie by Steven Spielberg. A strange and unlikely thing to find in your front yard, to be sure. But of all the vinyl owners in Fort Collins whose yard this record could have ended up in, it found the only one probably who also owns an intact version of this same record. (I even double-checked my own copy to make sure something horrendous hadn't somehow befallen it.)

Imagine my surprise to learn that someone just west of here (and there aren't too many of them, as we live on the west side of town) actually owned this record like I do until very recently. It's a "special complimentary single, not for resale", that came with the full soundtrack album as pictured here in this pilfered Ebay auction image. This record is almost 30 years old, and presumably it remained intact all that time, until it seems by appearances someone accidentally sat on it.

It has renewed in me a sense of purpose, to ensure that my copy of this record, of which only a few are extant (or are at least admittedly so), remain in good, playable condition for the years to come. Its memorable 5-note theme set to a snazzy disco beat cannot be allowed to perish from this earth. Besides, I don't want to risk disappointing our alien overlords when they come to greet us.


Cosmic Coincidences 'R' Us

tags: Close Encounters, disco, silliness, coincidences