He’d like to come and meet us, but he thinks he’d blow our minds!

Happy Birthday, David Bowie (also, Elvis Presley, to be fair).

This was not going to be my second post, but after the car ride with my daughter to her pre-k program, and this being David Bowie’s birthday, this feels right.

My daughter loves the music of David Bowie. I mean, she asked Santa for a David Bowie Barbie doll last Christmas. No such thing exists. My wife stayed up almost all night doctoring a Ken doll into Aladdin Sane. I know I played a part in her love for his music. I might even be able trace it back to the day he passed away, when I played his music videos on repeat the entire day.

I remember that morning so vividly. Megan came up to me, early in the morning as I was getting ready for work. “Baby, something has happened,” she said. I thought a family member had died. When she mentioned David Bowie’s passing, I was relieved. Honestly, it was not a family member or a close friend. But then, the actual news sank in. No more David Bowie. No more interviews. No more concerts. I had never seen him in concert. No more music from such a beautiful soul. Before that day, I even imagined I would be able to meet him at some point in my life, at least for a moment, to say thank you. I took the day off work. We played his music videos all day. Lily was five months old.

Could a five month old child really have disseminated Megan and I’s adoration of his music? Possibly, but I also think it took root in her, kind of like it took root in me (more on that another time). Beyond that day, I never overtly pushed his music. I did buy her a couple of Bowie t-shirts. She’s still rocking them. To be fair to my daughter, she intuitively picks up on the greats. The first time she heard Freddie Mercury or Elton John, her face filled with wonder and excitement. “Who’s singing this song, dad? Play another one.”

On the day Bowie died, I found out that had had released an album, two days before, three years ago today, on his birthday. Blackstar was released on this day in 2016. It was a wonderful, sad, and amazing send off to, quite possibly, the greatest musical artist spanning the years 1969 to 2016. It also turned my lamenting for Bowie and his music into a prayer of sorts, answered by the knowledge of this new album. Dedication to the art form only Bowie could pull off, literally up until the day he died.

This morning, my daughter and I went through her favorite songs on the way to pre-k. When I asked her what song she wanted to dedicate to Bowie on his birthday, she picked “Heroes”. I cried. I know it’s not a mental awareness for her. Thank God. It’s an awareness of the heart. Coming off of the escalated tensions between Iran and the U.S., things she knows nothing about, “Heroes” was the perfect choice. Next was “Rebel Rebel”, then “Diamond Dogs”, then “Modern Love” (which she has always aptly called “Church on Time”), then “China Girl”, and then “Changes”. “Changes” is the first David Bowie song my daughter ever asked for. She was two years old when she started requesting it. I’ve watched her grow singing that song. Surreal.

Happy Birthday, David Bowie, and to everyone reading this, remember, “There’s a Starman waiting in the sky. He’s told us not to blow it cause he knows it’s all worthwhile.”