My Gen X Playlist: 3 AM – Matchbox Twenty

When I first moved downtown, I used to explore the different neighborhood enclaves. Living downtown had so much variety and many places were becoming newly developed while others still held onto their old charm. The cool lofts in the Artist District, the flower mart in the Flower District, Santee Alley in the Fashion District and all the bling in the Jewelry District to name a few – each area had their unique distinct flavor.

I once explored Chinatown and randomly walked into an herbalist clinic and agreed to a reading. The herbalist looked at my palms, placed a thumb and forefinger above and below my eye to examine under my eye lids and looked under my tongue. He went to an apothecary and proceeded to open little square drawers and take out various dried goods: roots, twigs, tree bark, mushrooms and random mystery things. He threw them in a mesh bag and instructed me to make a daily tea. Needless to say, these ingredients sat in my pantry and never saw the light of day. I did love the meeting with the herbalist, though. That was a unique experience.

I have nothing against Eastern medicine, it’s just different from what I’m accustomed to. I mainly place my trust in modern medicine, but my view is it can’t hurt to try. My in-laws suggested we try an anti-cancer drink. It’s 100% organic, made from fresh local produce. I was skeptical at first, until I googled the health benefits of each ingredient. They all have anti-cancer properties. Why not?

The drink is made up of the following: burdock root, shiitake mushrooms, carrots and daikon radish with the leaves. The most difficult to find was the daikon radish with the leaves. Fortunately, I discovered this at our local farmers market and it’s now easy to pick up.

We boil the ingredients in a big pot for two or three hours. It smells terrible. The only thing that’s worse than the smell is the taste. I need to drink it cold, so I can down the glass and quickly have a gulp of coffee to wash my taste buds clean. I’ve nicknamed the drink witches brew. Over time I’ve gotten used to both the taste and smell. We still keep the windows wide open to air out our place, but I no longer need the coffee chaser. We don’t make this too often, maybe every month or two.

We do feel better when we drink this for a week. My wife claims her skin feels better. She likens it to part of her skin care regiment. This is chock full of nutrients that seems to help with my digestion. Who knows how effective and healthy this drink really is. But like I said, it can’t hurt. It can only help.

We once were at a farmers market near Santa Barbara and saw someone selling this homemade drink. The ingredients were the same, the only exception was he added ginger as well. We didn’t buy it, but it gave us a good laugh knowing a random guy also brewed this. He was giving people samples to taste. I’m not sure that helped his sales. I don’t think he advertised it as anti-cancer, but I guess he’s under more advertising restrictions than my mother in-law.

Matchbox Twenty released 3 am in 1996. I didn’t know it at the time, but it is a song about the lead singer’s mother battling cancer.

This song sounds like it’s about a quirky but irresistible love interest – a girl who only sleeps when it’s raining – but it has a much more sober meaning. Lead singer Rob Thomas wrote it about the time he spent caring for his mother when she was sick with cancer. Thomas was 12 years old when she got the disease, and she was given six months to live. She beat it, and by the time Rob was 17, she was healthy and he left home to set out on his own.

– songfacts

Any mention of cancer always draws concern. Lifestyle is one way to fight against it, but there are no guarantees. Drinking witches brew every few months may be tough on the nose and taste buds, buts it’s a small price to pay for an additional layer of good health. These incremental deposits hopefully help, but nobody knows for sure. What I do know is it’s a better alternative than doing nothing, that’s for sure.

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For a complete playlist, please click here.

For the Spotify playlist, please click here.

She said, "It's cold outside" and she hands me a raincoat
She's always worried about things like that
She said, "It's all gonna end and it might as well be my fault"

And she only sleeps when it's raining
And she screams, and her voice is straining

And she says, "Baby, it's 3 AM, I must be lonely"
And she says, "Baby, well, I can't help
But be scared of it all sometimes
And the rain's gonna wash away, I believe this"

She's got a little bit of something, God, it's better than nothing
And in her color portrait world she believes that she's got it all
She swears that the moon don't hang quite as high as it used to

And she only sleeps when it's raining
And she screams and her voice is straining

And she says, "Baby, when it's 3 AM I must be lonely"
Well, heaven she says, "Baby, well, I can't help
But be scared of it all sometimes
And the rain's gonna wash away, I believe this"

Well, she believes that life isn't made up of all that you're used to
And the clock on the wall has been stuck at 3 for days and days
She thinks that happiness is a mat that sits on her doorway
But outside it's stopped raining

And she says, "Baby, It's 3 AM I must be lonely"
Well, heaven she says, "Baby, well, I can't help
But be scared of it all sometimes
And the rain's gonna wash away, I believe this"
Well, it's 3 AM, I must be lonely
Well, heaven she says, "Baby, well, I can't help
But be scared of it all sometimes"