I got a plan to get us outta here

This song meant nothing to me. The first time I heard it I was in my third semester of university, I was attending an English class thought by a professor from Minnesota –a huge Vikings fan–, whose classes were fantastic, dynamic and fun. Her name was Karen. Once she played this song in class and asked us to translate it into Spanish, or something like that. We only spoke in English in her classes. 

As I listened to the song, I vaguely recalled Tracy Chapman. Perhaps I had heard "Fast car" by chance on the radio at some point of my life, and I knew who Tracy Chapman was, but nothing more. As the song played on, Karen sang along very softly. Dunno why but I got the impression that the song really moved her, that she really felt the song –that she was enjoying it while simultaneously feeling its pain. Never paid too much attention to the lyrics. I always thought it was a song about a car accident.  

I dreamed of you for the first time since we had to say goodbye. In my dream, you were that incredible, strong cat you were before you developed kidney failure. This was the first song Lizzie and I heard in the first Uber after saying goodbye. Since then, the experience has happened each time we are inside an Uber talking about you, or thinking about you. It happens almost once a week –practically on one out of every third Uber rides we take together. That's why I think of you each time I hear this song. 

Yesterday was our weeding anniversary and Lizzie's birthday, and we took an Uber –she was very sad, she misses you every second–, and "Fast Car" played again. We took the song as a sign that you are watching over and thinking of us from heaven. We miss you so much, Jackson, you were an awesome cat. 

Yesterday, while having dinner, a sudden memory came back to me: I saw Yoko and Gattuso walking toward the dining room, and for a moment, I thought you were with them—that you would appear coming down the stairs, just as you used to when you were healthy, moving your muscular legs, one step after another, like a formidable feline. It was such a vivid sensation.

Then I returned to reality, and almost at the same time, I remembered your final minutes with us: first in Lizzie’s arms and then in mine, like a little kitten. You were no longer in pain; you looked so peaceful. And now, as I write these lines, I’ve realized what this song is really about. Like Karen, I feel this song deeply; it truly moves me. We will always miss you, Jackson.