Maryanne Davis drove up to the curb, at "Jazzy Jane's" dance studio. She was there to pick up her daughter Julie from her dance studio. Julie was 13 and had been dancing since she was 5. She was a very accomplished dancer and had dreams of making it big on broadway someday.
"Hey mom, Thanks for getting here so early," Julie said getting in the car, and throwing her bag in the floor board.
Well. I got off work early so I figured I'd come on by. How was school?," Maryanne asked as they drove down the street.
It was good, but we have to write a paper about how music can inspire us. It's for our music class," Julie explained as they drove along.
"well, Im sure you can think of something. I just hope we can get the basement cleaned out soon. I want to have a yard sale sometime," Maryanne replied turning into the driveway.
Maryanne had just closed a divorce and she and Julie were moving into a small house in a rural neighborhood in north Georgia. The two went into the house and up to the attic. They began going through old boxes of china and photo albums.
Julie sat in the corner and was going through a box marked "Maryanne's music". Julie began pulling out a few old cd's at a time. She stopped at a few of the covers to look at them.
"Hey mom. Who are Hanson?," Julie asked, holding up the yellow 'Middle of Nowhere' cd.
"Oh. They were just a music group I liked, when I was your age. The played rock music and I was a big fan," Maryanne replied smiling. "We called ourselves Fanson's," She said with a little laugh.
"Well you must have really liked them, to keep all this stuff. Wonder what happened to them?," Julie said holding up a folder full of articles and pictures of the band.
"Yeah. I was a really big fan. But I kinda lost track of them, after high school. I went off the college and met your father. The last thing I heard, was they were still writing music out in California. I guess they all have families now. I think most of the girls liked Taylor. I know I did," Maryanne pointed the the boy on the 'This Time Around' cd cover.
"Did you ever meet them?," Julie asked curiously.
"No, but I went to a concert once. I was in the back and didn't really get to see much, but is something I won't ever forget. I do remember dancing and singing alot though," Maryanne smiled as she helped Julie put the cd's and pictures back in the box.
Later...
Later that night, after Julie had gone to bed, Maryanne sat up and was watching t.v. She was flipping the channels and stopped at the Entertainment station. The announcer was showing clips from the entertainers' when she was alive, so she turned up the volume.
"It's a sad day in the music world for all you old Hanson fans out there. This just in from L.A. that the members of the pop group who came out in 1997 with their hit 'MMMBOP' were in a fatal accident earlier today. The three Hanson brothers were going back to there homes' when a drunk driver pulled out in front of them. The eldest Hanson, Isaac was driving their car, and hit the drunk driver head on. The were no survivor's in the Hanson car, but the drunk driver is in an L.A hospital with only a few cuts and bruises.
The three Hanson brothers were killed instantly before they could be taken to the hospital. Currently their are no funeral arrangements for the three, but fans can expect a memorial service in the next few weeks....In other news," The announcer continued to with other news.
Maryanne was in total shock of what she heard. She just stared at the t.v. screen as she felt a tear slide down her cheek. 'Come on. Maryanne your not a kid anymore. That was a long time ago and your have your own child to race.' She thought to herself as she quickly wiped the tear away.
Maryanne sat in the dark a few minutes, to let the news sink in,'Everyone's gotta go sometimes' She thought as she got out the the box of Hanson memorabilia. She began looking through the pictures of the boys' who had been such a big part of her youth. Maryanne began to feel like a teenager again, as she laughed at the funny pictures of Isaac and Zac. She also grew serious and thoughtful when she came to the pictures of Taylor. She had always thought there was something special about him, in particular. But, it was the music that she really liked. The music touched her heart in a way like no music ever had.
When Maryanne was finished looking through the pictures, she got out the videotapes of Hanson she had collected over the years. She wiped her eyes' again, as she popped a tape in the VCR. The beginning of 'Tulsa, Tokyo, and Middle of Nowhere' began playing. In an MMMBOP their gone, in an MMMBOP their not there... As she watched the screen, Maryanne couldn't help but tap her toes to the beat of the music. She laughed while she watched the antics of the boys' run across the screen. Maryanne also cried as she remembered the years she had spent devoted to those three young men, because of their music and their lives. Now their lives, were over and the only thing she had was memories. Etched Memories that would stay in the back of her mind for as long as she would let them. The memories of three soul's who weren't afraid to let their lights' shine for the whole world to see, and (now) to remember.
AUTHOR'S NOTE: The moral of this story, is to make good memories when your young. Never let go of your dreams, and never let go of what you believe in.
