Sublime was on the scene briefly. A ska-punk band, I had only one of their albums. One of their hits was ‘Santeria’, in nineteen ninety-seven. My first question was, what is Santeria? Fortunately, Sarah and Vinnie on Alice (KLLC) answered that question for me as I was driving to work and on errands in the SF Bay Area. Sarah and Vinnie were great company in the early morning. I drifted the dial for the rest of the day, a funny way to express pressing on buttons to find a new station.

I enjoyed living in the SF Bay Area. Lots to do, great places eat and shop, wonderful book stores, and lots of concerts. The weather was usually fabulous for about two thirds of the year. Work and traffic consumed most of our time, yet it was all good.

Of course, by the time I learned of Sublime, Bradley Nowell, the lead singer and guitarist, was already dead of a heroin overdose. What intrigued me about ‘Santeria’, besides that word, was the general tone of the lyrics against the easy-going melody. Here is this guy, upset that he’d lost his girlfriend, which he was calling a heina. He was calling the guy he’d lost her to, ‘sancho’, and wanted to shoot and kill sancho for revenge. None of it was forced and seemed authentic and true. Learning of Nowell’s death and the  band’s success after Nowell’s death was another layer for reflection while waiting for a green light and listening to the song.