Two nights ago, I was driving home from our final dress rehearsal for “Fledermaus.” My car is still in the shop from the storm damage, and the forecast had been iffy because of the possible Nor’easter (which ended up being hardly anything here), so I borrowed my dad’s truck in case of bad snow. (I didn’t want to risk it with my rental car.) Daddy’s truck has satellite radio built in, so I decided to check out the offerings. That’s when I stumbled upon the station that just plays songs from the 1940’s.
There’s something about that old recorded sound from back then – and the style of music – it’s just so… listen-able! I sing a lot of music from this era when I do solo gigs with Mr. Musselman on piano – all the old jazz standards. But having that time of solitude while driving home from rehearsal at midnight, I was taken back to a time in my childhood that was very special to me. This particular music was from my grandparents’ era. (Mom-Mom and Pop-Pop… my grandparents on my mom’s side.)
Growing up, my sister and I usually spent at least one weekend a month at our grandparents’ house. We always had such wonderful times with them!
Mom-Mom and Pop-Pop had a clock radio in their bedroom, which was adjacent to the room Amy and I slept in – with an open connecting door between the two rooms. Every morning, as they let us sleep in (truly a luxury, since our dad NEVER let us sleep in EVER while growing up at home), their clock radio would be playing as they milled about getting ready for the day. They always had it set to a radio station that played all those songs from the 1940’s. We got to listen to the big bands and the by-gone song birds: Lena Horne, Glenn Miller, Bing Crosby… I remember feeling happy, safe, and contented to hear that music all those mornings coming from their room. I associated it with them. It was my grandparents’ music – plain and simple.
So when I heard that music the other night, I was transported to a happy time from when I was a kid. I felt those feelings of contentment and happiness. And of course, again, I missed my Pop-Pop. (But, as many of you know, he reminds me on a regular basis that he’s never far from me and he’s looking out for me all the time.) I finished my long drive home with a smile on my face as I felt the lovely nostalgia take me back to a simpler time…
Here’s a few pics from those simpler times…
