It’s a weird world.

Sunday noon and I was making myself some cumin lamb. I thought about having a bit noise in the living room, as I always do- with Porcupine Tree or Faye from those so-so surround speakers- while I’m busy making food. But on this Sunday, could be the weather, or the load of thoughts, I started out in the kitchen, unplugged. I had enough rhythms from chopping scallions and stirring my Thai rice-noodle soup. Just like Selma and her dances. (Nothing bad happens in a musical. Got it?)As everything was on the table half an hour later, I decided to turn on the TV and just lingered with AMC channel. It was a fantasy movie that looked like Spartacus for ten minutes and then Top Gun for the next. Poor 80’s, thought I, paying no attention to the lines or scenes and concentrated only on my soup and lamb. Until, that moment, I heard Freddie Mercury from the TV speakers, crying himself out on “One Year of Love”. Now, for those who don’t know how big a fan I am of Queen’s, here’re the facts: I covered “The Show Must Go On” in “Voyage”, “Too Much Love Will Kill You” in “Senses”, and “Love of My Life” in “Heart-Guard”. And I have been buying every new release on their past concerts, remasters, etc. So you can picture how electrified I felt when that movie had this song in it, besides, I always knew the song belonged to a movie, I even vaguely remembered the poster of it. So I chewed very slowly and listened very carefully till the song came to an end. Sheeeeer heart attack!!

Dishes were cleaned and I took out my “Classic Queen” CD from the shelf and found the movie title for which I was watching. “Highlander”. And quite a few songs were written for this movie, including “A Kind of Magic” and “Who Wants to Live Forever”. But it wasn’t till I saw the director’s name of this movie that I collapsed. Russell Mulcahy. THE Russell Mulcahy??? I checked on my computer and my cell phone. Yes, the Russell Mulcahy. The Australian guy I had lunch with more than a year ago at Abbey’s. Back then I didn’t relate him to anybody I would have heard of, although his name was printed on this Queen CD booklet, a booklet I’ve had since 2002. And I had lunch with him for whatever reason that seemed sound back then. And I turned down his following invitation for a reason that always seems sound. But how could he be the one that directed “Highlander” and Queen’s videos and got “one year of love” written for his own movie?? Past and present, the glorified and the indecent, sex and sensibility, wants and wonders…Freddie died for a reason. And I should stop the babbling.

You probably think I’m being clueless. Just like I will relate Abbey’s with “One Year of Love” from now on. “You sad, sad man.”