So, field hockey. Source of so many informative lessons: How to be a team player. How to remain upbeat in the face of eternal defeat. How to apologize to your friend after you break her front tooth with your stick. How to get a guy with a teddy … this last bit I absorbed, wide-eared, as a freshman listening to a few seniors gab.

Oh, and music. Not only did my field hockey years involve constant exposure to Pink Floyd, they also provided my introduction to Steve Miller. Or at least, my first awareness of him by name.

It was a passing moment with another upperclassman — this one more interested in tunes than teddies — who happened to mention the Steve Miller Band. “Uh, the what?” asked little MK. She stared at me, shocked. “You know: ‘Really love your peaches, wanna shake your tree.’”

I did not know. Though how I had escaped this ubiquitous song for those fourteen years is a mystery even now. Once I was aware of it, of course, I heard it all the time. And despite its distinct whiff of Cheez, I cannot help but love the whistling and the Maurice and the guitar solos. I am a sucker.

This morning I heard a live version, with a sort of reggaed-up beat and looser vocals. Normally I’d pass right by, but I allowed myself to pretend it was a whole new song. And I drove home feeling … pompatus.

Bonus question: Should I see this movie, “The Pompatus of Love”?

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