Keith challenged me to find two pieces of music: the first is a recording which has been part of my life for as long as I can remember, and the second, a track which I would like to pass on to future generations.
I cry when they sing in church, I cry when Bryan writes a good song, or when I hear a new hit song! There are there are three things I am passionate about, childrens rights, animals rights and music! I often let the stereo blare in my car when I'm alone, so I can feel it in my bones.
The song I inherited from my father rings clear in my memory. Each intonation, each vibrato, each note, held for more counts that I can hold my breath , still plays in my head as though it were yesterday! Dads own arrangement, sung often throughout my childhood sits on a reel to reel somewhere waiting to one day be extracted. A melodic voice I could listen to for hours. My father was a man who should have sung for his supper, instead he died with only close friends and relatives knowing of his gift! His version of Donkey Serenade was much better than this old you tube capture!
I don't follow rules well, and It was difficult to choose between that one, and Mona Lisa which I know will continue on down the line. My father sang it every morning of my mothers pregnancy, it was only when she threatened to name me Mona Lisa, that he stopped singing it. Thankfully he continued to sing that one after she named me! Although she dropped the Mona, she changed the spelling, and gave me Leesa as a middle name! My daughter will have this song to pass on, with a more modern Version sung by “Me First and the Gimme Gimmes” Which I also enjoy!
Unfortunately there are a few bad tapes hanging around the house of me singing, Always on my mind, and " The Rose". Dear daughter will one day listen to them with a chuckle, with a feeling of comfort just to hear my voice.
But my favourite song, the tune I played quite a few times the moment I heard of my fathers passing, was John Lennon’s “ Imagine” which I still play today with some regularity! I would also like Pepper to cherish the words of Canadian artist Ron Sexsmiths song “ God loves everyone.!” and the other Canadian Artist who I have adored since I was fifteen, Neil Youngs who in his later years wrote“ When god made me.” I love such an eclectic array of music, asking me to pick one is almost sacrilege, because there are so many I love and know will be passed on with fondness, my daughter, and son in law, who love music even more than I do! If that’s even possible!
Showing posts with label memories. Show all posts
Showing posts with label memories. Show all posts
Monday, August 16, 2010
Sunday, April 20, 2008
Sunday Scribblings " Compose"
Sunday Scribblings this week brought to mind two scenarios for the "Prompt Compose" but they feel a bit dark, so I just had to end on a lighter note!
Exposed
Exposed
Sniveling in Shock
Soaked and Disheveled
Guided across the street
Seated on a chair
Vomiting at my feet
Mortification magnified
Audience observes
Multiple flashing red lights
Painfully
I compose myself
To give a statement
My Mother in her uniform, on the way to workHospital Room
Flanking the bed
We each hold a hand
Death rattle haunts us
During the vigil
Body heat elevates
Scorching
Like fresh brewed coffee
We release her hand
Heat rises
Above her silent body
We wail
Fix her hair
And makeup
Compose ourselves
Leave the room
To begin our grief
35TH Birthday with my funny friend!Composing Hysterics
Huge spider hugs
My windshield
Terror evokes
Wiper activated
Motionless it clings
Inhaling fear
Knowing my child
Will soon return
Panic ensues
I search for a branch
Circling the car
Stranger notes my anxiety
Offers assistance
Relieved I consent
Chuckling he removes
The fake culprit
Lurking in the woods
My friend
The instigator
Awaits a reaction
I bellow her name
In a screech of contempt
As I belly laugh into hysterics
Then compose
Jolted emotions
For the drive home
Monday, March 17, 2008
Happy St, Patricks Day and Memories
It's twenty two years today since my dad passed. Six weeks after my daughter was born. He died on St. Patrick's day. Born in Scotland, with an Irish Mother, Dad loved to party. What better day for him to go, he couldn't have planned it better himself. The Cancer was becoming unbearable, we'd all been praying he'd go fast. It was a sunny day when I got the expected call, I ran to the record player dropped the needle on John Lennon's Imagine, and weeped the whole way through. It's still my favorite song, and was such a comfort that day! Playing in the background it Neil Youngs version.
Here are a few memories I still have of my dad!
He would sit and listen to me play the piano for hours.
I could tell him absolutely anything.We had many intimate conversations.
Much of my wisdom is born from his advice.
I took classical piano,dad bought me my first modern piano book at ten, I still have it.
He also bought me my first extra thick coloring book when I had my appendix out at eight.
I hit him in the head with a golf club while he was teaching me to golf.
He never even got mad.
He always brought home full size chocolate bars to dole out at Halloween
even though we had a modest income.
He whistled when he put up the Christmas lights. Or when he was cleaning the house.
He cleaned the house every Saturday while mom was working.
He always drove me and picked me up from extra curricular activities,
he waited patiently
Because I was such a mature eight year old he felt it necessary
to inform me about sex early.
He first suggested my mother get me a bra
because she was in denial about my development.
He had better parenting skills than mom, we automatically obeyed him
because he was more reasonable.
He drove me to high school almost everyday,
I proudly hugged and kissed him in front of all my peers.
My dad was a pleasant man, kind to everyone,
but said he would protect me at all costs, I believed him.
He was very athletic and watched many sports.
He curled, golfed, bowled, fished, skated, swam, played shuffle board and darts.
He was never much of a traveler or a gambler, where as mom was.
Dad played the mouth organ by ear.
His favorite songs in this order were Stardust, Donkey Serenade, Christmas Song, and Mona Lisa. We always sang those songs together.
He used to sing every morning when he was young, I was to be named Mona Lisa.
He didn't like the name so he stopped singing the song.
He danced with my on his feet, then taught me how to ball room dance.
He was the best dancer at any party, women adored him, he really enjoyed talking with women, but loved my moms company best!
He adored music and it played in the kitchen every morning.
I never heard him swear, except for a few damns.
He never complained about food and ate whatever mom made,
except he disliked eggs for dinner.
He ate a two soft boiled eggs with toast almost every morning.
He made many different types of wine. Even apple, which was like vinegar.
He loved dogs, and had carrier pigeons when he was a kid.
He used to cliff dive when he was young.
My friends loved my dad too, he was a very fair man.
He took the family camping once a year.
At fifteen he kicked his own dad out of the house for being abusive to his mother.
He love to play bridge, always played cards with me, taught me crib, and bridge.
He never bought my mother anything extravagant,
but would surprise her by laying a new floor, or tiling the bathroom.
He built her a house from a book.
Later he built her a beauty salon in our home.
He built me my own playhouse with a dutch door, it matched the house he built.
Seemed he was always painting the inside of the house.
Dad ran after a kid that bullied us, he was so fast even we were shocked.
He had a garden and a boat, and a beautiful singing voice.
He was agnostic, beleived if you were a good person that's all that mattered.
Well for that era, he was a good husband, a great dad, and that's all that did matter!
He would sit and listen to me play the piano for hours.
I could tell him absolutely anything.We had many intimate conversations.
Much of my wisdom is born from his advice.
I took classical piano,dad bought me my first modern piano book at ten, I still have it.
He also bought me my first extra thick coloring book when I had my appendix out at eight.
I hit him in the head with a golf club while he was teaching me to golf.
He never even got mad.
He always brought home full size chocolate bars to dole out at Halloween
even though we had a modest income.
He whistled when he put up the Christmas lights. Or when he was cleaning the house.
He cleaned the house every Saturday while mom was working.
He always drove me and picked me up from extra curricular activities,
he waited patiently
Because I was such a mature eight year old he felt it necessary
to inform me about sex early.
He first suggested my mother get me a bra
because she was in denial about my development.
He had better parenting skills than mom, we automatically obeyed him
because he was more reasonable.
He drove me to high school almost everyday,
I proudly hugged and kissed him in front of all my peers.
My dad was a pleasant man, kind to everyone,
but said he would protect me at all costs, I believed him.
He was very athletic and watched many sports.
He curled, golfed, bowled, fished, skated, swam, played shuffle board and darts.
He was never much of a traveler or a gambler, where as mom was.
Dad played the mouth organ by ear.
His favorite songs in this order were Stardust, Donkey Serenade, Christmas Song, and Mona Lisa. We always sang those songs together.
He used to sing every morning when he was young, I was to be named Mona Lisa.
He didn't like the name so he stopped singing the song.
He danced with my on his feet, then taught me how to ball room dance.
He was the best dancer at any party, women adored him, he really enjoyed talking with women, but loved my moms company best!
He adored music and it played in the kitchen every morning.
I never heard him swear, except for a few damns.
He never complained about food and ate whatever mom made,
except he disliked eggs for dinner.
He ate a two soft boiled eggs with toast almost every morning.
He made many different types of wine. Even apple, which was like vinegar.
He loved dogs, and had carrier pigeons when he was a kid.
He used to cliff dive when he was young.
My friends loved my dad too, he was a very fair man.
He took the family camping once a year.
At fifteen he kicked his own dad out of the house for being abusive to his mother.
He love to play bridge, always played cards with me, taught me crib, and bridge.
He never bought my mother anything extravagant,
but would surprise her by laying a new floor, or tiling the bathroom.
He built her a house from a book.
Later he built her a beauty salon in our home.
He built me my own playhouse with a dutch door, it matched the house he built.
Seemed he was always painting the inside of the house.
Dad ran after a kid that bullied us, he was so fast even we were shocked.
He had a garden and a boat, and a beautiful singing voice.
He was agnostic, beleived if you were a good person that's all that mattered.
Well for that era, he was a good husband, a great dad, and that's all that did matter!
Wednesday, December 05, 2007
Christmas Baking and my 500th post!
I'm Celebrating my five hundredth!
It snuck up on me! I had big plans...but it came way too fast. I am having a draw, so if you leave a comment on todays post, next Friday the 14th I will do the draw. Stop by tomorrow for a hint of what my giveaway will be!
It snuck up on me! I had big plans...but it came way too fast. I am having a draw, so if you leave a comment on todays post, next Friday the 14th I will do the draw. Stop by tomorrow for a hint of what my giveaway will be!
Shortbreads and Rolo Cookies Pepper and Bryan made on Sunday!
Christmas Baking
. Time to start that Christmas baking, my delectable Rolo cookie recipe is here! If you like shortbreads starting now would give them ample time to shorten up before Christmas. My grandmothers recipe is to follow. The big secret to making tender light shortbread is to knead them for at least twenty minutes. Make sure to use real butter and Light brown sugar….no substitutes!
Sherries Shortbreads
Heat oven 275 degrees
Bake ¾ of an hour or 45 minutes 275 degrees
1 pound of BUTTER
1 CUP CLOSELY PACKED LIGHT BROWN SUGAR
4 CUPS ALL PURPOSE FLOUR
Cream butter and sugar together
Gradually add flour to the sugar mixture, then knead for 20 minutes
Form into fingers and prick with a fork, or use a cookie press
Christmas Baking
mothers birthday Dad would decorate the Christmas tree while mom and I baked grandmas shortbreads. Dad always had Nat king Cole carols permeating the house. I realize now those family scenarios were the best birthday present mom could receive. A child of divorce with an alcoholic single mother her security was always compromised. Her childhood Christmases were sparse. One year she had nothing but an orange to split with her sister. My grandpa lived a train ride away. It wasn’t until she was an adult that she forgave him for being fiscally absent during her childhood when they had absolutely nothing.
Sunday my brother and I reminisced. He was planning an evening to requisition those traditions of yesteryear to share with his children. He bought cookie dough to recreate the aroma of moms baking while they decorate the tree as a family. Nat's Carols will play in the background as the custom is carried on. We've both held those traditions very dear now that our parents have passed. Consequently Pepper was baking those very same cookies he so fondly remembers while we were speaking on the phone.
We discussed the importance of tradition. All we have are those magical childhood memories, of Dad whistling while he put up the outside lights, or sang along to the Carols while he dressed the tree. Mom's baking. Funny how childhood disappointments fade, leaving us with only good memories.
Even though he is forty six years old Darcy still lives for those traditions when he can reconnect with his tender childhood feelings where he knew he had a mom and dad who loved him!
Monday, April 16, 2007
Twenty Year Photo Challenge!
A few days back Vicci posted a challenge to “Go find one of your favorite photos...from lets say...at least 20 years ago....and POST IT.....tell us a story about it..and why you like it so much..” Anyone reading my blog please join in!!! Here are mine!
The day of my friends wedding in 1981, I’m twenty five. About ten months before this picture was taken I left my husband for six weeks. The friend I stood up for begged me not to return to him! Another friend advised me to alleviate all doubts by returning. Reminding me I could always depart if I we were unable reconcile our differences. I went back, four years later I had a child, and ten years after that I left permanently….Should I have returned in 1981?
At twenty four years old, I had lost some weight and I was more confident than ever before. I was full of piss and vinegar, drove a corvette, and lived every waking moment to the fullest! Even though I was married, men loved me because I knew how to play hard. I would ballroom dance, golf, play baseball, pool, darts, bowl, bridge, crib, gamble, I could drink one for one and party till dawn! Those were the days my friend! That’s me with my dog Benji in my arms!
I remember that night. My parents stayed at my house for a weekend of bridge! Mom had a few too many and started picking at me. When she fell asleep, I had an intimate talk with dad. He explained how he witnessed mom suffer through the same treatment at the hands of her mom and aunt. He found it disturbing when my mom and her sister would gang up on me….with history repeating dad would always take my side. He had a great sense of justice!
Did I go on to repeat the behavior?
This is the only picture I have of all four of us together, its 1980! Mom is fifty six and dad is sixty one! Pretty sad! So I urge you, for the sake of your children have family pictures taken. I’m twenty four, my brother is Nineteen there! Five years before dad passed away! Check out my lily white skin.....I look like a ghost...Pepper has the same skin....
That’s me at two, I remember being out in the yard a lot while my parents gardened their rockery! Dad built that house by himself, with very little help and only an instruction manual. Not bad for a man with low self esteem and minimal education! I had pneumonia about four or five times when I was small, from three years on. Mom put a pillow between adirondack chairs that dad built, so I could be outside in the summer. I wasn’t to run around. Once recovered I remember often stubbing my toes while wearing thongs….yeah the old kind you put on your feet, not the bum floss!
That’s my first day of school. My mom dropped me with a friend because she had to work. That was an awful scary day that I still remember. I was a sad little girl, my mom worked full time, plus she was a busy home maker too! So there wasn't much spare time for me. I can’t say I liked being a child, I always felt melancholy and lonely. Those knee socks were my pet peeve, with no elastic in them. I remember having socks like that for years. Maybe that’s why I hate socks….hmmmm….my daughter has a gazillion of them!!! She always gives them out as gifts too! If she never bought another pair of socks again she’d have enough to last the rest of her life! She must be a sockaholic!
This is me with my first set of dogs, they were a litter apart. Peppers dad brought the first home from a neighbor. I said no dogs, but who could resist a dog name Angel with a little white face. A year later Angels mother had another litter, with my couch having a chewed hole in it, I said emphatically“ NO WAY”, but look at his face….I succumbed to the pressure of his cuteness! Those dogs were the greatest of friends and had the best disposition. They’d run down our fifty foot driveway then halt at the end just before the road. They were great pals and kept each other company when we worked. Those munchkins devoured a few chocolate bars while we we were out leaving behind a mess. So I started leaving the music on when we left! It’s true, music does soothe the savage beast! Benji lived to eighteen!
The last picture is a favorite picture of my youth. I was twenty two; I loved my stacked big hair and le Chateau burgundy suit. There was a beautiful light lilac parrot broach pinned to it. It was lost over the years, but it was fabulous. That was taken at my sister in laws wedding, she too is now divorced from the other brother. I remember the parents at that wedding wishing their daughter had married my husband instead of who she was marrying. Ha ….little did she know the rebel attitude was hereditary! It’s fitting that I am holding my glass up in a toast….so I say to my youth, faded but not forgotten! Schast'ya i zdorov'ya!
The day of my friends wedding in 1981, I’m twenty five. About ten months before this picture was taken I left my husband for six weeks. The friend I stood up for begged me not to return to him! Another friend advised me to alleviate all doubts by returning. Reminding me I could always depart if I we were unable reconcile our differences. I went back, four years later I had a child, and ten years after that I left permanently….Should I have returned in 1981?
At twenty four years old, I had lost some weight and I was more confident than ever before. I was full of piss and vinegar, drove a corvette, and lived every waking moment to the fullest! Even though I was married, men loved me because I knew how to play hard. I would ballroom dance, golf, play baseball, pool, darts, bowl, bridge, crib, gamble, I could drink one for one and party till dawn! Those were the days my friend! That’s me with my dog Benji in my arms!
I remember that night. My parents stayed at my house for a weekend of bridge! Mom had a few too many and started picking at me. When she fell asleep, I had an intimate talk with dad. He explained how he witnessed mom suffer through the same treatment at the hands of her mom and aunt. He found it disturbing when my mom and her sister would gang up on me….with history repeating dad would always take my side. He had a great sense of justice!
Did I go on to repeat the behavior?
This is the only picture I have of all four of us together, its 1980! Mom is fifty six and dad is sixty one! Pretty sad! So I urge you, for the sake of your children have family pictures taken. I’m twenty four, my brother is Nineteen there! Five years before dad passed away! Check out my lily white skin.....I look like a ghost...Pepper has the same skin....
That’s me at two, I remember being out in the yard a lot while my parents gardened their rockery! Dad built that house by himself, with very little help and only an instruction manual. Not bad for a man with low self esteem and minimal education! I had pneumonia about four or five times when I was small, from three years on. Mom put a pillow between adirondack chairs that dad built, so I could be outside in the summer. I wasn’t to run around. Once recovered I remember often stubbing my toes while wearing thongs….yeah the old kind you put on your feet, not the bum floss!
That’s my first day of school. My mom dropped me with a friend because she had to work. That was an awful scary day that I still remember. I was a sad little girl, my mom worked full time, plus she was a busy home maker too! So there wasn't much spare time for me. I can’t say I liked being a child, I always felt melancholy and lonely. Those knee socks were my pet peeve, with no elastic in them. I remember having socks like that for years. Maybe that’s why I hate socks….hmmmm….my daughter has a gazillion of them!!! She always gives them out as gifts too! If she never bought another pair of socks again she’d have enough to last the rest of her life! She must be a sockaholic!
This is me with my first set of dogs, they were a litter apart. Peppers dad brought the first home from a neighbor. I said no dogs, but who could resist a dog name Angel with a little white face. A year later Angels mother had another litter, with my couch having a chewed hole in it, I said emphatically“ NO WAY”, but look at his face….I succumbed to the pressure of his cuteness! Those dogs were the greatest of friends and had the best disposition. They’d run down our fifty foot driveway then halt at the end just before the road. They were great pals and kept each other company when we worked. Those munchkins devoured a few chocolate bars while we we were out leaving behind a mess. So I started leaving the music on when we left! It’s true, music does soothe the savage beast! Benji lived to eighteen!
The last picture is a favorite picture of my youth. I was twenty two; I loved my stacked big hair and le Chateau burgundy suit. There was a beautiful light lilac parrot broach pinned to it. It was lost over the years, but it was fabulous. That was taken at my sister in laws wedding, she too is now divorced from the other brother. I remember the parents at that wedding wishing their daughter had married my husband instead of who she was marrying. Ha ….little did she know the rebel attitude was hereditary! It’s fitting that I am holding my glass up in a toast….so I say to my youth, faded but not forgotten! Schast'ya i zdorov'ya!
I am thinking I have a few more I want to hunt for, these were left over from my fiftieth birthday collage! Thanks Vicci for the stroll down memory lane!
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