I stopped at CVS on my way to work (for some fluoride tooth rinse that my dental hygienist had recommended) and heard a song that once had a real impact on me, _Fast Car_ by Tracy Chapman.
Twenty years ago, in the fall of 1988 to be exact, I was thinking that it was really time to leave the company I had been working for for nine years. I didn’t really like what I was doing there at the time, wasn’t working on any significant project, and thought that if there were a layoff anytime soon I’d be one of the people to be let go. But there’s always a lot of inertia about leaving a familiar situation. That song came along, with the line, “We’ve got to make a decision, leave tonight or live and die this way.” I won’t say that made up my mind, but it sure did speak to me. I did leave that job, and I remember one of the happiest moments of that part of my life was when I picked up myf resumes at the print shop.