Music

Response to Prompt #8: The Gift

I've struggled with this prompt about a gift. A memorable gift, good or bad. That's why it's taken me so long to write. I've received various noteworthy gifts throughout the years. I thought about writing a list-like poem of every great gift I could recall. One that comes to mind is the WhirlyPopper my father in law bought me for Christmas years ago- love it and still use it all the time. Another is the beautiful strand of Chinese river pearls my husband bought me a few years back or the diamond studs my mom bought my sister and me in memory of my grandmother when she passed.  I've gotten precious handmade gifts from my son as he grew up, and hand-sewn quilts from my husband's mom and grandma. I recently wrote about one of my favorite gifts from my sister, and on my personal blog, I just wrote about some concert tickets from my dad and my stepmom. I decided to go with an intangible, a gift from my parents since I was a young child- a love and appreciation for music. Here is my tribute:

As long as I can remember there was music in the background. Every room had a speaker, every occasion had music. My parents had tons of vinyl and we were allowed to listen to them whenever we wanted, as long as we put them away. They weren't in any special order, and they weren't treated with kid-gloves like in some homes. Albums were meant to played, and my parents let us. Eventually, my parents would get an 8-track tape deck and the record player would retire to the basement where my sister and I hung out. We played our favorites over and over. Children's albums like Songs That Tickle Your Funny Bone and Free to Be You and Me. And of course Mom and Dad's Linda Ronstadt, Eagles, Simon & Garfunkel, and Olivia Newton John albums, among others. The 8-track didn't last too long, because one summer we came home from camp and there was a whole new stereo system with a dual cassette tape deck. When that happened, the 8 track player moved to my room and boy was I excited! I remember it well, just where it was positioned on a shelf with all the tapes stacked to be played. The ones I played most were the Grease soundtrack, and Linda Ronstadt's Greatest Hits. There were others I'm sure. Even though I had the 8-track in my room, nothing beat hanging out on the floor in the living room listening to cassettes on the new stereo. At that time it was Billy Joel's Glass Houses, and Joan Jett and the Blackhearts' I Love Rock n' Roll. The collection grew and grew until the onset of CDs.

Not only was there music always playing at home, but in the car too! I remember my dad testing our music chops with games. Like Name that Tune, he would challenge us to guess the song or the artist by the intro, before the singing started. Or if we were singing, in the middle of the song he'd suddenly turn it off to see if we knew the next line. He would whistle to the songs, and at the red lights he would bounce the car by releasing and pressing the brake to the beat of the song. My parents also took us to Broadway every year. Around Christmastime, there was always a family outing to NYC. My mom would get us decked out in dresses, tights, and Mary Janes (people used to dress up to see a show in NYC) and we would go to a matinee and out to dinner. I saw Sandy Duncan as Peter Pan, Allison Smith as Annie, and Doug Henning as Merlin. There were many others, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, 42nd Street, and off broadway, The Little Shop of Horrors.  I still love to listen to movie and theater soundtracks. In fact, though I never saw it, one of the albums my parents had that I loved to listen to on vinyl was Hair.

Music was everywhere, and I am thankful for the gift my parents gave me by exposing me to it in all types and forms at a very young age. There are few things I enjoy more than a really good album or a live concert or show. I appreciate all kinds of music and given the chance would have music playing almost all the time, everywhere I am. Though none of us are musicians, we are humongous fans of good music. Music is in my blood and it's a gift that keeps on giving... in fact it's already been passed along to the next generation in my son.