Saying goodbye to two friends

My reaction to both morsels of bad news was the same: "Oh, crap."\nIt's what I blurted out when my friend told me a few weeks ago that All Ears music store was closing. It's also what I blurted out last week when I logged onto the Internet and found out that Ray Charles had died.\nThat's because both are losses that will remove something vital from my life, something that reminds me that the world is an OK place, that life isn't really all that bad.\nMusic in many ways and at many times has been my lifeline, the life preserver that keeps me from drowning in turbulent waters or the rope that prevents me from tumbling over the rocky cliff. Music is perhaps my most important therapy.\nI listen to Wilson Pickett when I'm depressed (which, regrettably, is often), and I feel better. I listen to the Misfits when I'm angry, and my anger is purged. And I listen to Son House and Hank Williams when I want -- and need -- to cry.\nAnd, in the course of my life, I learned very quickly that Ray Charles and his music contained the power to cheer people up, including me. How can you listen to "What'd I Say" or Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music and not feel good about yourself and about life? And if you're not inspired by the fact that a poor, blind African American who grew up under the indignities of Jim Crow could become one of the most important musicians of the 20th century and a national hero, then I feel very, very sorry for you.\nJust knowing that Ray Charles was in the world -- that he was still making music after more than 50 years in the business -- was always comforting to me. He was a constant in my life -- and the lives of millions around the world. It's as if we thought he would always be there, always making us smile -- and making us shake our tailfeathers.\nBut now he's gone. We don't have him anymore. I don't have him anymore. And my life is a bit emptier.\nWhat I have left is his music -- and music in general. And for the last three years, the place I've gone to buy my music is All Ears, a cozy little record store at the corner of 10th and Grant streets owned and managed by a guy named Charlie Titche.\nWhile All Ears had a pretty good selection of new and used CDs, it couldn't compare to the massive stocks at chain stores like Tracks and Best Buy. What made All Ears so great and so unique -- and what kept me (and countless other customers) coming back month after month -- was the awesome amount of vinyl Charlie had.\nVinyl LP collectors like me are dorks, and we'll admit it. We're throwbacks who seriously need to get out of the '70s and buy an iPod. We're goofballs who tweak when we find an original Slade or Brothers Johnson LP. We haunt record stores so much that we develop a permanent layer of dust on our fingertips from flipping through piles of LPs for hours.\nAnd Charlie is, in his own words, "a record store geek." He's also one of the coolest people I've ever met. He greets everyone who comes into his store with a genuinely warm and enthusiastic greeting: "Hey fellas, happy Tuesday to you."\nLooking for some old Wanda Jackson on vinyl? He'll dig it out for you. Jonesing for a particular Black Flag CD? He'll order it for you. Wanna spend an hour leisurely perusing piles of $1.50 LPs? He'll point the way.\nOne of Charlie's employees told me that, unequivocally, Charlie was the best boss he ever had. I can vouch for that -- I worked at All Ears for a few months, and it was frickin' awesome. I loved being around that store, whether as an employee or as a customer. I thought about asking Charlie if I could bring in a pup tent and a Coleman stove and just camp there for a few weeks.\nFor me, All Ears was just like music itself -- it was therapeutic. Over the past three years I've pulled myself out of many a depressive funk by shopping for vinyl at All Ears. Some depressed people run to drugs or alcohol, some head for a half-gallon of ice cream. I made a beeline for All Ears.\nSure, I probably spent too much money there. I frequently bought records when I should have bought, I don't know, food. But I don't regret it at all.\nBecause so many times All Ears gave me a reason to be happy when I desperately needed one. Instead of doing something stupid I went to All Ears, flipped through some vinyl, bought some LPs and ended up with a smile on my face. And I need to smile more.\nThat's why I'll miss Charlie Titche and All Ears, and that's why I'll miss Ray Charles. They're two of the things that make life worth living, that make it worth sticking out the rough periods and pressing on for a sunnier day. \nSo thanks Ray, and thanks Charlie. I'll miss you.