When I think back to the Kody I knew in high school, I picture him with tousled curly hair that was sometimes a bit out of control, a grey stripped sweatshirt that he wore practically every day, and his headphones in at least one ear. The headphones were both a tribute to his love of music and his ability to block out the rest of the world. My mind plays tricks on me lately. I have seen teens walking down the street and done a double take, thinking they were Kody.

In high school, it was rare to see Kody without his headphones. He was always listening to music, whether he was hanging out with a group of friends at lunch, or walking to class in the halls. I would pass him as we made our way to classes and wave to him, knowing he couldn’t hear me. He would always smile and give me a slight nod, his own way of saying hello. In my garage, I currently have Kody’s entire music collection. I can’t get rid of it, knowing how important music always was to him.

Kody had a truly bizarre taste in music ranging from Viking metal to video game music to Gordon Lightfoot. I loved it all. I myself have a pretty eclectic range of music that I listen to, so jumping on board with his wasn’t difficult. Probably the first time that we listened to much music together was when we drove from New York to Washington State. Kody had prepared for the trip by burning several different CDs in addition to the ones that were in his car.

There were parts of the country that we passed listening to Final Fantasy music and others that we drove through singing along to Beatles classics. Kody loved to sing. Probably not something that anyone who didn’t ride in his car would have guessed. He would turn the music up loud and sing along to just about anything that had words. Whenever we had a long drive afterwards, we’d put in Gord’s Gold and belt out Cotton Jenny as we went.

A love of Music was the background to Kody’s life. He most often listened to headphones when others were around. When it was just me and him, we’d play music on the TV while we cleaned the whole house. We also had a special love for DDR and would play the same four songs over and over together. Kody was better at the game than I was, but I got significantly better as time went on. Our favorite song was Haunted Rhapsody. Generally when we played, we’d start and end with this song. I remember a time where he dared me to move up a level from where I was playing. I said I would if he did. A hilarious attempt by both of us that ended with us laying on the carpet laughing hysterically.

Kody also loved musical theatre. During our time together we saw The Phantom of the Opera, Wicked, The King and I, Mamma Mia, The Lion King, and several others. We’d typically bring the soundtrack home from any of these shows. We spent the weeks afterwards learning all the songs and singing along. Kody’s love of music was a huge part of his life and a big part of the life we shared together. I have so much music to listen to, just as soon as I can find a CD player.