Play It Again, Tai

A little less than a year ago, a new guide entered my "Peanut Gallery" of guides. Her name is Tai. You can read more about her here. (This will make more sense if you've read the first one.) Anyway, Tai is my joy guide. (If that freaks you out, think of her as an imaginary friend. She won't mind.)

I don't actually see guides. In fact, Tai's the only one I "see" at all, if only in my mind's eye. I'm glad I do, though, because she cracks me up. When I'm stressed, she makes what looks like a dying goldfish face. And then there are her hands. You know when a kid is young enough that their hands are kind of chubby and dimpled? That's how Tai's hands are and, when she is really happy about something, she waves them excitedly, as if she cannot contain her delight. (This is usually a response to new art supplies.)

I also hear Tai--again in my mind--which is not something I ordinarily do. She has a wonderful laugh and I go out of my way to find ways to make her laugh. I also tell her that I'd like to put her laugh on an audio mpeg. She said, "That would be cool."

I discovered right away that Tai responds to music, at least certain music. I'm always trying to figure out what catches her attention and what doesn't. (She has her own playlist on my ipod, plus a bunch of favorite youtube videos.) I could play any version of "What A Wonderful World" without Tai showing any interest. If I play Louis Amstrong's version, Tai is enraptured. I can see her tilt her head and listen. In fact, she seems very drawn to blues, jazz, and old spirituals. Among spirituals, she really likes "Way Beyond The Blue" but her favorite is "Wade In The Water." She loves the verse "I went down to the valley to pray. My soul got happy and I stayed all day." According to Tai, our souls are supposed to be happy--if not always, then most of the time.

This does not mean everything with Tai is that deep. She really likes the Muppets version of the Village People's "In The Navy." I finally caught on that what she likes best about it is the stomping rhythm of the chorus: "We want you, we want you, we want you as a new recruit." Another recent Tai favorite song  is "Moon River." As with many songs, I couldn't remember all the lyrics, so I went to youtube. I played several versions and the one Tai responded to was Elton John's. (He performed it at a concert, though, as far as I can tell, he's never released it as a song.) Why Elton John and not Audrey Hepburn? (Another Tai favorite is "Son of a Preacher Man" by Dusty Springfield. Again, I don't know why.)

When Tai likes a song, I can use it to summon her, even on a bad day. Of course, this means I may hear her say "Um, play it again please." I caught on to the fact that she never asked for a song (or a video) to be played twice, but always three times. I tend to see things symbolically, so I kept trying to figure out the three connection. For instance, I've always thought Tai was around the age of three or four. (Tai won't tell me anything about her previous life--or lives--because "it's not important.") Three to me also means the Trinity. In Tarot, the third card in the Major Arcana, is the Empress, which is a card of abundance. In numerology, three symbolizes drama and joy. In The Gift Of Asher Lev by Chaim Potok, three is a riddle throughout the book, and, as it was one of my mom's favorite books, maybe it was a message from her?

 I finally got a connection strong enough with Tai to say "Why three?" and she said, "Three is my favorite number because, um, I like it's shape."

"Anything else?" I asked.

"No," she said, seeming a little perplexed, "it's just my favorite."

Tai has lots of favorites. Red is her favorite color. Elephants are her favorite animal. Cheetos are her favorite snack. Her favorite celebrities are the Dalai Lama-- ("he seems really happy") and Barack Obama-- ("he seems really nice and, um, I like when he sings.") Kermit is her favorite Muppet, followed by Animal. (Kermit sings. Animal's red. Makes sense.) She's not too keen on Miss Piggy, except when she's doing her "Hi-ya" karate. Tai's favorite word is "grooving"--as in "We're grooving to tunes."

And, in addition to the Muppets, she has a favorite form of comedy. Remember how I said I'll do about anything to make her laugh? One day, I told her that old knock-knock joke... You know:

"Knock knock"

"Who's there?"

"Banana"

"Banana who?"

"Knock knock"

"Who's there?"

"Banana"

on and on until she was exasperated and I said "Orange"

and she said, taken aback, "Orange who?"

and I said, "Orange you glad I didn't say banana?"

And then I discovered that along with her melodic laugh, she has a deep chuckle, which I'd also like to put on an mpeg.

That night, as I was trying to fall asleep, I heard a little voice say "Knock knock" and I said "Who's there?" and she said, "Tai" and I said, "Tai who?" and she said, "Um, just Tai."