My Great Loves

I Love Music, any kind of Music.I Love Music just as long as it's groovin'

                                                             The OJays

Hanging on the porch playing the Old Songs

     As I have stated before, growing up somewhat underprivileged, we would get creative with entertainment. Colorado in the summer is very warm and a great source of entertainment for a mother of 4 with limited funds was the flea market. It was a bazaar of the greatest kind , a garage sale with 100s of sellers held at a drive in theater. Treasures galore! Every week from the time I was six, I would do my best to try to find a job or two around the house that would be worthy of a coin or two from Mom and usually on most Sundays, she'd cut loose with a quarter! Now mind you, this was in 1963 value, and buying used junk (treasures). My brothers would go for comic books, or GI Joes,I always had a mission....radios. Transistor radios were still too new for my money but clock radios were sometimes available and people were willing to haggle with a 6 year old.

    They were always my most prized possession. 1950's style, tube type big herkin plastic clock radios. The routine was the same, ask how much, see if you could take it to the concession stand to test it and make your best offer, almost always a quarter.I'd start at a dime but found that if I really wanted it, it was better to come at them full force. I had several throughout elementary and junior high,always upgrading. AM radio was all that we had and I'd listen every night and day to KIMN 95 from beautiful Sloans lake! I loved the soft glow of the tubes as it illuminated the wall behind the radio. I listened to Lulu, and the Righteous Brothers,Stevie Wonder (when he was Little Stevie Wonder), The Archies and 100 others. I was rather obsessed with music. I also have a lucky talent of being able to remember every word to almost every song in my life.

  As years went on and my earning skill improved, I got better gear! By the 3rd grade, I was given a Close & Play record player. This little modern miracle played 45 rpm's and the needle was in the lid. It also played (not for very long) on 6 Dcell batteries. I picked dandelions, did dishes and babysat to increase my personal music library! Tommy Boyce and Bobby Hart, Dianna Ross and the Supremes and lots of Beatles 45's.

    In high school, I had moved up to eight track tapes and LP's. because I worked close to full time I bought a lot of albums. Panasonic came out with a portable stereo that sounded amazing! Elton John Goodbye Yellow Brick Road had to be replaced 3 times. Those, were great music days!

    The problem with LP's is you had to be careful or they would scratch. Or worse leave them in the car and they would warp. If you really cared for your records you had two things, a Peaches Records and Tapes crate to stand your albums in, and a Disc Washer to keep them from scratching. As a working adult I bought the latest technology, A CD player.This was the entrance of the digital age, records that didn't scratch,and sounded cleaner than an LP. It cost a ton but over 10 years, I replaced about 300 albums with CD's.

    Then entered the next musical phase to change my life,the internet.Through the blessing of I Tunes, and digital downloads I was not only able to have all my music, but take it with me wherever I went. Once again, I could take it to work, camping and listen to a track or an album. There were drawbacks, the cost, and certain artists ( record labels) hung on mercilessly to albums I wanted,but as time went on they gave in and I could once again listen to the old songs. I still have and ipod classic with 55 gigs of music that now with the cloud and bluetooth technology, I can listen to anything, anywhere anytime!

    My latest greatest find is a program called "Spotify". It an app that you can download on your phone or IPad and the great thing is you can listen to most albums out there. This has been a boon in my life! As I have gone through the "joy " of battling the dragon, I have become rather reminiscent. I have found the joys once again of Deep Purples Machine Head, Janis Joplins Pearl and Bob Dylans Nashville Skyline, and yes, Barbara Streisand's classic My Name is Barbara. I sit, I listen,sometimes I cry and enjoy the security of my youth.

    Over the years people have asked me why music has always been so important to me, and I could never explain why. One day when I was about 35 it hit me.My childhood was a patchwork quilt of craziness. We moved a lot, had high drama all the time, between social workers, crazy boyfriends and limited parenting skills we were like the High flying Wallendez family. The rules were made, the rules changed, men came and men went. The one constant, the one I could count on, was the radio.It has and still is one of my greatest comforts, and will always be.With my new found Cancer friend, I have actually started to put together my wake list of music, because trust me, a decision like that is important. I will always love music, it's my friend, my memories and my warmth. Thanks for reading my ramblings. Be  sure to tell your caregivers how much you Love them and smile for the rememberance.

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