RECORD STORE TALES #1148: No Drone Movies

With my mom and sister visiting Japan in August, my dad didn’t want to spend his weekends at the cottage.  By that stroke of luck, Jen and I had the cottage for three weekends in a row.  I can’t remember the last time I was at the cottage for three weekends in a row.  I was probably a teenager.

I spoke to my mom after she got back from Japan, jet-lagged by about 12 hours.  My sister managed to catch a case of Covid, but my mom was luckier.  Even so, she was too worn out to use the cottage on the weekend of August 9.  At the last minute, they decided to stay home that weekend.  Therefore, Jen and I could go if we wanted to.

It’s a shame to let the cottage stay empty on a summer weekend.  We had planned on staying home and working on organizing the music collection, but at the last minute, we got out of town and hit the road.

I went with Iron Maiden’s Piece of Mind on the way up, followed by War Within Me by Blaze Bayley.  I had been immersed in an Iron Maiden writing project and decided to keep the vibe going on the road.  It was fascinating to hear how recording and production had changed between the two albums.  Piece of Mind was an organic sounding listen, with natural drums and lots of room sound.  War Within Me was modern, clean and technical.  While I prefer the analog, organic sounds, I realize that it is of the past.  A good double bill for the road.

Upon arrival on Friday night, I got the drone out, which is a good thing, because the theme for the rest of the weekend would be “No Drone Movies”!

Editing to the music of “80 Days” by Marillion, it was incredibly hard to fly at sunset with the sun in my eyes.  I could not see my drone from the ground.  I was flying by camera the whole time.  It was a good flight, with great visuals, but it was to be the only flight of the weekend, for within an hour, the gale-force winds rose!  The winds would last all weekend, and would not let up at all.  The drone was boxed for all Saturday and Sunday.

And this is when things got weird for me.

With the air cool, the wind high, and the skies dark, my seasonal affective disorder kicked in.  Big time.  It felt exactly like fall at the cottage.  Even though it was early August, and the previous week had a beach packed with kids and tourists, this was a cold deserted weekend.  All the feelings came rushing back, from years of “back to school” ads and activities.  The memories came back too:  listening to White Lion on a cold wet day on my Walkman by the river, wondering what the next school year would bring.  All back like a Polaroid picture.

My counselor told me specifically it’s too early to worry about fall, but here I am.  Unable to get it off my mind.

I am glad we went to the lake this weekend.  It’s wasteful to leave it empty on an August weekend.  My mental health is better there, than home.  But I can’t shake this foreboding feeling of fall.