Can't Get Used to Losing You

Can't Get Used to Losing You is the radio hit Tony Danza associates with a childhood trip to Washington, D.C. Recalled during a school field trip decades later, the song anchors a personal memory that he shares with his student Nakiya.

The Song in the Memory

At thirteen, Danza visited Washington with his Boy Scout troop and won a race to the top of the Washington Monument, back when visitors were allowed to climb its stairs. He remembers Can't Get Used to Losing You as the hit song playing on the radio that day. The detail gives the recollection a specific sound and date-marker without turning the song into an explanation of the memory.

Recalled on the Field Trip

During the later excursion to Washington, D.C., Danza sits beside Nakiya as the group passes near the White House and Washington Monument. He tells her about the race and the song; she responds with an amused remark about the things he remembers. The exchange places the song inside an act of storytelling between teacher and student: a childhood experience becomes something shared on the bus, linking Danza's earlier life to his present role.