Running around with a doumbek drum in his hand, my buddy Sam was just having a good old time beating away on the little goblet shaped drum. Although he was just goofing around at our monthly bonfire in my backyard, it struck me as odd the way it made me feel to watch him do it. He made me feel like I was looking into the past, looking into the very heart of history itself. As though we were replicating a long and old tradition that men had been doing for many, many years before us. I hope I’ll never forget that revelation for a long time to come. We are tied to the past, even if we don’t realize it.