There Are No Rules for Singing in the Car

I love to sing in the car, although I feel sorry for anyone who has to listen to me.  Particularly when I'm driving late at night or early in the morning, I sing incredibly loud to keep myself awake.  Last year I drove from Charlottesville to Winchester almost every weekend and Gilbert rode shotgun.  I had to cover the entire passenger-side of the car with towels and sheets and put a broken-down cardboard box between his seat and mine, but we undertook many a road trip together.  Since I was usually driving after a long day at work, I would sing at the top of my lungs both to keep myself alert and to release some of the pent-up work-week stress.  Gilbert, already not a fan of car trips, peeked over the cardboard wall and looked at me like I was crazy.  I am totally crazy, but that is beside the point.  

The point is that there are no rules for singing in the car, which is what makes it so incredibly fun.  Singing on key is totally optional, and the original lyrics are just suggestions.  Of course, you can always fill in nonsense to commonly misunderstood lyrics, like "she's got a tick in her eye," and "there's a bathroom on the right."  It's also fun to completely rewrite the words to change the meaning of a song.  In high school, Ashley, our neighbor Maura, and I rewrote the lyrics to J.Lo's "Waiting for Tonight" to be about an impending mob hit.  It was pretty awesome.  

I hope that today everyone has a free, joyful, nonsense, loud and off-key kind of day.  Sing your little hearts out like Will Ferrell in Elf!  I know I will, which is probably why Jack pleads for "no songs" when he rides in the car with me.