Digitizing Records
By Joy Lynn Clark
05/24/2024
While in between contracts mom introduces me to one of her friends in radio. He asked me all about my education and I mention all of my skillsets; especially audio. Her friend hires me to make cd copies of his vinyl.
I take on the task and hook up mom’s old record player to my computer. The second I start ripping the first album, it becomes clear that I am going to have to mix and master this too. Her friend hadn’t offered me that much money. On top of that he brought me like, 10 records. I really wanted to impress this guy but the task was just way too much for the, “dinner and a movie for myself type of money.” I thoroughly enjoyed those records though.
I sampled the ones that were clean enough and made a bunch of tracks with them. I felt defeated because I really thought that this was going to be just a simple, “duplication“ job and I truly did want to impress him with my skills.
He calls me to inquire about how the project is coming and I cheaply told him that the record player is broken or something and that these records sound terrible. Eventually, he comes back to collect his 10 albums.
I also managed to play a track for him before he left.
Sometime passes and just when I thought that I had made little to no impression on this guy he invites my mom and I to visit some of his friends in the music business out in the suburbs not too far from where I grew up.
I cracked up inside when we got there because before my parents built their house, we looked at this one and I wanted to move there so bad but, then I would’ve went to Central. Anyhow, those guys seem to be a couple of years older than me but not by much. As usual I dug in about how I made all of the tracks and, I gave them a beat CD.
Sometime passes, and I met my child’s father, he left me, I had a baby, had an education contract that came and went, and then finally settled settled in on waiting tables to make ends meet till my child was three.
Eventually, my grandma passes and I just can’t seem to connect with my live in boyfriend anymore. I was working so hard that my child hardly knows me and starts calling me by my first name. I am still sending my resume around for a better position with no luck.
Eventually, I reached my breaking point and moved back to the suburbs with my father and stepmom. Once I got settled in, I reached out to my Bestie who is still out that way but living in her own home. We reconnected and I asked her about her mom (whom I was fond of) and the rest of her family. To my surprise, they are not on speaking terms and she swears that her mom is banging her boyfriend. I thought she was lying her ass off. Why would your boyfriend want to bang your mom? She lets me talk to the hand and I am totally confused because I wanted her mother to do our nails.
Next, we go to the nail salon and I can’t even believe that we are in this place. Every time I bring up her mom she started swearing under her breath and I am like, well OK I guess we are gonna have someone other than your mom do our nails.
That night she invites me to her place to play cards and drink with a couple of guy friends of hers. One of the guys is from Louisville just like my relatives in the south and I say so. The other guy has the same name as my mom’s friend and claims to be knowing me since grammar school. The trouble is, I really don’t remember him but no one is letting letting it go and I let it slide even though I truly don’t remember him. I also asked him if he knew my mom’s friend and he didn’t.
Sometime passes and my mom’s friend with the records (who is just across the golf course) reaches out to my mom to bring me over. He confronts me, “did you have sex with my son?”. “I don’t even know your son” I replied.
I was so offended. I also thought that everybody just lied to me about something.
