The other day, I asked my wife, Melissa, “Name the first song that pops into your head right now!” We had just finished lunch and she was on her way out the door. She looked a little puzzled.
      “Name a song right this second?” she questioned. 
      “Yes. The first song at this moment in time,” I replied. 
      She looked me right in the eyes and stated, “That’s easy. 'I Can’t Fight This Feeling' by REO.” And with that she was out the door!
      “Good song,” I thought and instantly queued it up on my Spotify and cranked the volume. I also found a video clip of REO performing the song from that very night back in 1985 when we sat in the audience and admitted our love!
      REO Speedwagon’s 1984 number one hit, “Can’t Fight This Feeling” is one of the reasons my wife, Melissa, and I started dating back in our university days. Back in 1985, we attended REO’s  “Wheels are Turnin’ Tour” in Kansas City*.  The opening band was Cheap Trick, a band we both loved and still do. At that time, I was attending Washburn University working on my BA in English and Melissa was pursuing her BSN at Washburn School of Nursing. REO and Cheap Trick were the best reasons we could think of to get a few friends together and head to Kemper Arena. Cheap Trick rocked the house and REO kept it rocking! Melissa and I were having a great time with each other and our friends, as the music filled the air and fueled the good times. Then something magical happened. REO played their current hit, “Can’t Fight This Feeling”, and…we both just sort of blurted out that we thought of each other every time we heard the song. Thirty-three years later the rest, as they say, is history. 

*Revision notice. In an earlier piece of writing, I incorrectly stated the REO/Cheap Trick show was in 1987. It was actually in 1985. 

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