I was sitting by the window in a small library on second floor overlooking the Penny Lane. The designation of this room was library but it's actually a mess hall because college kids came here to socialize, eat, and do crazy things. That had to be what mess meant.

Nobody knew why the alley got the name Penny Lane. Maybe that was how much they spent to pave the road. John Lennon was dead and we all believed Ronald Reagan was the new hope for the peace of the world. And you had to watch out for weirdoes on Penny Lane. I had seen a baritone singing The Sound of Music as he walked by and attracted some von Trapp would-be.

The girl stepped into the library and sit next to me. She pulled out an AIWA HS-J07 about to play.

“What music do you listen to?” I asked.

“Mozart,” said the girl.

“The ‘Rock Me Amadeus’ Mozart by Falco?” I asked.

She stared at me for a while then picked up another topic.

“Do you know,” said the girl, “A man brought Mozart recordings to a safari trip. How romantic!" and her eyes widened, face blushed, as if she was about to go on safari with the Mozart guy.

“What is a safari?” I asked.

“A journey on Africa. Do you know anything about Africa?”

“I know Totem Pole,” I said as I waved the textbook of electronic circuit design I was reading.

“You are pathetic,” said the girl. “Want to see ‘Out of Africa’ with me?”

I hesitated. I liked the girl and loved to go to a movie with her but tolerating Meryl Streep for three hours was a little too much to bear.

“Can we see ‘Top Gun’ instead?” I tried to negotiate, “Tom Cruise looks cool.”

“Forget it,” said the girl.

A couple days later I asked her about the movie.

"You should come with me," said the girl, "Robert Redford flew Meryl Streep on a biplane overlooking the plains of Africa in sunset," her eyes were as bright as light bulbs, "It's so romantic."

"He played Mozart on his biplane?" I asked.

The girl closed her mouth.

"I think Tom Cruise has a much better airplane than Robert Redford," I added.

Many years later I watched Out of Africa, finally saw the farm in Africa the girl dreamed but never had, the biplane she fancied but never rode, and the safari she craved but never embarked. It was not half bad and I probably should go with the girl when she asked.

Africa was always a good idea. I would love to say I wanted to have a farm in Africa and to learn to fly an airplane although I can not survive without Starbucks. The concept of Africa was like Tequila Sunrise. You looked at it but not to drink it.