Jets

Jason Sandford

Jason Sandford is a reporter, writer, blogger and photographer interested in all things Asheville.

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Here’s my Blogging4Books submission. The challenge – write an essay about a personal connection to a song.

Jets

In my gang, there was nothing else. Nothing but my buddy-boys, my crew, my bros. Let me tell youse ’bout my gang.

My gang, we didn’t gotta make nice with nobody. We owned the street. The whole ever-lovin’, buggin’ street. The Jets, our gang, kicked. We made our world and our world was us. Everybody knew it.

“When you’re a Jet, you’re a Jet all the way. From your first cigarette to your last dyin’ day!”

That’s the start of the “Jet Song,” another thing we shared. Though I’ve left the gang behind, the song and its rhythms remain.

See, I lived the gang life one summer in a high school theater program. I’d never heard of “West Side Story,” but its macho bravado, endearing story of forbidden love and catchy music captivated me at 15. My small-town Southern landscape dissolved, replaced by the rough-and-tumble world of Jets and Sharks, dark-haired beauties, frenetic fights and the music of an alien city.

“When you’re a Jet, let ’em do what they can. You’ve got brothers around, you’re a family man!”

At that age (actually before), I’d already found a home in the theater. In the special bond of a group coming together, pulling as one for a purpose. More wallflower than leading man, I always thought of myself as the quintessential “friend of a friend” role player, there to steal a scene or two and bask in the spotlight. I’ve never been outgoing, but I’ve always been drawn to those who are. They transform me.

So I played Snowboy, one cog in an ensemble. I fed off the energy of my fellow actors. We proudly wore blue satin jackets with “Jets” in script emblazoned on the back. Outside rehearsal, we buddied up. We drank and we posed and we sang the Jet Song wherever, whenever.

This was my part: “When you’re a Jet, you’re a top cat in town. You’re a gold medal kid with the heavyweight crown!”

Are you kiddin’ me? I was the top cat. I’d found love that summer in the burgeoning form of a poodle-skirted actress, a classmate of mine named Rachel. Blonde and leggy, she had a smile that hit me like a zip-gun straight to the heart. We smooched and clutched. She was the Capulet to my Montague.

One of the best summers of my life, that one summer. Me and my girl. Me and my fellow actors. Me and my Jets crew. We ruled the world. We ruled with a bond and a song.