Music! Music! Music!

Those who know me well, know that I have eclectic music preferences. From classical to country, swing to disco, I like it.

Now that’s not to say that I like everything in each of those genres. For instance, I can’t stand Elvira or Swingin’. Ring My Bell makes me cringe. I detest the 1980s’, Don’t Worry Be Happy, yet I enjoy its 1960s counterpart, The 59^th Street Bridge Song.

Funny how music affects us.  Via our memories, music can transport us to a specific time in our lives or trigger a feeling from the distant past. Ninety percent of the time, I can make such a connection between a piece of music and something in my life.

I recently heard the opening music of Captain Kangaroo – my favorite show as a child – and immediately, albeit briefly, felt that excited anticipation I always felt as the show was beginning. A couple of months ago, as a part of its 60^th anniversary celebration, KWCH in Wichita aired the first couple Beverly Hillbillies episodes. There was a joy in hearing “Come and listen to a story ‘bout a man named Jed…” that I haven’t felt in years.

Marching band music is designed to generate excitement, yet there is a level of excitement created as the Salina Central drum corps marches in below Salina Stadium that I get nowhere else. Certain disco songs take me back to summer evenings during high school, when I was out with my friends and there was a bit of a cooling breeze buffeting our faces as we enjoyed life.

Another disco song, Kool and the Gang’s Celebration, takes me back to my Fort Hays days, specifically to DJs, a now defunct bar in Hays where one could “party with 900 of your closest friends.” (It was in an old Dillon’s store.) Then we thought it was fun. Now I would be concerned that I would have to wait at least a half hour to get into a restroom!

Sometimes I don’t understand why a song takes me back to a specific event. For instance, every time I hear Gerry Rafferty’s Baker Street, I flash back to Salina Stadium in May of 1978 when the class ahead of mine was graduating. I know Baker Street was released that year, but why it takes me back to that particular graduation is a mystery.

I always thought it odd that I so enjoyed Moolight Serenade until years later I learned that it was my parents’ “song.” Enough said.

Music and my mood are directly linked. Either music affects my mood or because of my mood, I listen to a particular type of music. Sometimes, I find that I need to recapture a particular feeling, so I listen to music my mind has linked to that feeling. I have put together playlists on Spotify to correspond to particular moods/feelings. What I listen to one day may not appeal to me the next. As I write this, I am listening to a ‘70s mix and it is fitting my mood quite nicely.

I don’t understand why some people insist on slamming others because of the music to which they listen. I’m not overly fond of hair bands, for instance, yet I have friends who are. And you can be quite sure that I will make no apologies for enjoying disco. To each his own, I say.

Music has an important role in our lives, at least it does in mine. Make time to enjoy some music and see where it takes you!

It's official. We're old!

A few days ago, I got together with some wonderful ladies...classmates from high school. One of the group had decided that we needed to get together (it had been a long time) and invited us to her home for a barbecue.

As usual, we had a grand time. We laughed, teased, ate, and laughed some more. We caught up on each other's lives, found out what children and grandchildren were doing, etc. At one point, the conversation moved to corns on feet, their removal, and how they sometimes come back. It was then that one of my friends pointed out that we sounded like a group of old ladies, to which we responded with cackling laughter.

We're all in our early 50s, except one who continues to be 29. In our minds' eyes, we're still in our 20s. Unfortunately, our bodies are not willing to go along with the charade. We have corns. We have aches. We don't heal as quickly as we used to and we can't do everything that we used to do.

But rather than dwell on the have-nots, each of us in our own way focuses on the haves in our lives. We have a wealth of experience, albeit not always pleasant, on which to draw when faced with decisions and dilemmas. We have shelter, clothing, and food. We have loving families. We have work and activities to occupy our time. We also have a loving group of friends who can brighten a day the moment they walk into the room.

Ladies, you know who you are. I thank you for being such a delightful part of my life, regardless of how old we are. I am truly blessed. For the rest of you, I hope you, too, have such a group in your lives to make the journey much more enjoyable.