I was looking for a specific photo for today, but for the life of me, I cannot find it. However, while going through pictures, I found one that made me laugh out loud. The photo would have been taken around 2008-2009. At the time I would have still been with my ex.
Our son, Dimitri had wondered off while we were cleaning or cooking or something. You know how it is – when the kids get quiet, you need to go and see what they are up to. When I walked down the hall, I looked in the bathroom and could not believe what I saw.
There was toilet paper all over the place and there he was swimming in the toilet! I laughed like crazy. He was in heaven just playing in the water. I don’t recall if he tried to flush himself! I remember showing my in-laws this picture and they laughed just as hard. They actually had it framed and hung it in their bathroom!
No deep dive into the background of this photo, just posting to give you a laugh.
I finally got my hands on a new release by an author I have come to really enjoy – Anthony Horowitz. I stumbled on him because of a couple Sherlock Holmes themed books he wrote. From there, I stumbled on his Hawthorne and Horowitz series. You can read about those a bit here:
For those keeping track, the Hawthorne/Horowitz book series is now up to five.
The Word is Murder (Book 1), The Sentence is Death (Book 2), A Line to Kill (Book 3), The Twist of a Knife (Book 4) and now the latest in the series:
I have said before that I sometimes got bored with a series featuring the same character because the books tend to recap the previous books I had read. While Horowitz will elude briefly to bits from past books, it isn’t so bad that it takes away from the one you are reading.
I really do enjoy this series a lot and this book was a bit different then the previous ones. In the first four books, Horowitz is following Hawthorne and writing a book about a case he is on. This time around, he is writing about a case from the past. Here is the Goodreads synopsis:
In New York Times–bestselling author Anthony Horowitz’s ingenious fifth literary whodunit in the Hawthorne and Horowitz series, Detective Hawthorne is once again called upon to solve an unsolvable case—a gruesome murder in an idyllic gated community in which suspects abound.
Riverside Close is a picture-perfect community. The six exclusive and attractive houses are tucked far away from the noise and grime of city life, allowing the residents to enjoy beautiful gardens, pleasant birdsong and tranquility from behind the security of a locked gate.
It is the perfect idyll until the Kentworthy family arrives, with their four giant, gas-guzzling cars, a gaggle of shrieking children and plans for a garish swimming pool in the backyard. Obvious outsiders, the Kentworthys do not belong in Riverside Close, and they quickly offend every last one of their neighbours.
When Giles Kentworthy is found dead on his own doorstep, a crossbow bolt sticking out of his chest, Detective Hawthorne is the only investigator that can be called on to solve the case.
Because how do you solve a murder when everyone is a suspect?
It has characters that make you wonder just what they are up to, the atmosphere of a “locked room mystery” except its in a gated community, deep dark secrets, and a lot of twists and turns!
Welcome back to The Music of My Life, where I feature ten songs from each year of my life. In most cases, the ten songs I choose will be ones I like personally (unless I explain otherwise).
The songs will be selected from Billboard’s Year-end Hot 100 Chart, Acclaimed Music, and will all be released in the featured year. Now, without any further ado, let’s head to 1971.
1971
In January of 1971, Tom Jones had his fifth (and final) Billboard Top 10 Hit with a Paul Anka song that Paul had released a year earlier – She’s a Lady.
Tom and Paul actually sang this as a duet on a 2013 Paul Anka album. Paul changed the lyrics a bit because he felt like it was a bit chauvinistic.
I only knew a few of Tom’s hits until my old radio pal, Rob, introduced me to more of them. I came to appreciate his music a lot after that.
She’s a Lady
Also released in January of 1971 was a cover version that gave new life to a song that remains a wedding reception classic.
Creedence Clearwater Revival never had a number one record, however, Proud Mary made it to number two. Ike and Tina Turner’s version took the song in an entirely new direction and it became one of Tina’s signature songs.
The song starts as a slow groove with Tina talking over Ike singing the lyrics. When the tempo picks up, there’s no stopping it! The horns kick in, the Ikettes join in, and Tina blows the roof of the place!
Proud Mary
I suppose it would be wrong not to include the number one song for the entire year of 1971 on this list, even if the members of the group how recorded it called it a “kid’s song” and a “silly song.” I can see that, especially when the lyric is about a frog named Jeremiah.
Legendary songwriter Hoyt Axton wrote “Joy to the World” and it was a monster hit for Three Dog Night. The song was released in February of 1971, and by April it had sold a million copies. Believe it or not, the first line of the song was supposed to be, “Jeremiah was a prophet,” but no one really cared for that. When Axton played it for the band, two of the three members (Danny Hutton and Cory Wells) didn’t like it. It was Chuck Negron who felt the band needed to do something like this “silly song.” Negron said in an interview that the song “wasn’t even close to our best record, but it might have been one of our most honest.” It is hard to believe that this song was almost never recorded!
Joy To The World
I’ve never claimed to be a huge fan of The Doors, but I do acknowledge that Jim Morrison was a one of a kind talent. His legacy lives on to this day. One of my favorite Doors songs was released in March of 1971. It was the first single from their LA Woman album – Love Her Madly.
The story goes that Doors guitarist Robby Krieger was messing around on a twelve string guitar and while doing so he came up with the music and melody for the song. He turned to real life for the lyrical story. He wrote the lyrics based on his troubles and fights with his then-girlfriend and later-wife Lynn.
The song peaked at number 11 on my first birthday – May 15, 1971.
Love Her Madly
As you listen to this next selection, imagine Elvis Presley singing it. Why? Well, it was supposedly written with him in mind to sing it. Take it a step further and imagine the Grass Roots doing it, because it was pitched to them, too, and they passed on it. Luckily, a new trio got a shot at it and Hamilton, Joe Frank and Reynolds had a top five hit with “Don’t Pull Your Love.”
The story of how they came to the song and their record deal is a cool one. “Joe Frank Carollo would recall how he and his fellow band members Dan Hamilton and Tommy Reynolds were performing a Creedence Clearwater Revival medley to audition for ABC-Dunhill when Steve Barri stopped the trio to play them the demo of “Don’t Pull Your Love” two or three times until the trio themselves could sing it for Barri, who resultantly arranged for Hamilton, Joe Frank & Reynolds to be signed to ABC-Dunhill that same day.”
The song was released in April of 1971.
Don’t Pull Your Love
I would bet that Carole King’s Tapestry album has influenced almost every female singer today. It is considered to be one of the best albums in music and it spent nearly six years on the album charts. Talk about a legendary songwriter, Carole has written over 100 songs that have appeared on the Billboard Hot 100 charts. For my next selection, I’m choosing half of a two-sided hit.
In April of 1971, Carole King released I Feel The Earth Move/It’s Too Late. I Feel The Earth Move is such a great song for so many reasons. Do a search for the song on Google and there are countless quotes about it. For example, Rolling Stone magazine praised King’s voice on this track, saying it “negotiates turns from “raunchy” to “bluesy” to “harsh” to “soothing”, with the last echoing the development of the song’s melody into its chorus.” Cash Box described the song as a “forceful ‘earthquake song'” and considered its pairing with “It’s Too Late” as a single to be “double dynamite.”
I love the song because of the way the piano and the vocal intermingle with each other. There is great syncopation in the way that she delivers the lyrics as well. Her version of the song peaked at number 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in June of 1971. It remained there for five consecutive weeks.
I Feel The Earth Move
Willie Nelson once sang, “You just can’t play a sad song on the banjo.” The banjo is prominent in my next song which is a tribute to a Canadian city. The lyric even says, The banjo and me, we got a feel for singing.” So what do you do when your band doesn’t have a banjo player?
The Canadian rock band The Stampeders, released Sweet City Woman in May of 1971. According to songfacts.com: “Sweet City Woman is one of the most famous banjo-driven hits in rock history, but the band didn’t have a banjo player. Rich Dodson wrote that lick on guitar and played it on that instrument while they were working it out during live shows. When it came time to record the song, he decided a banjo might give it an interesting texture, so he borrowed one and played it in guitar tuning. It was a propitious choice: The banjo gave the song a back-porch feel that makes it lively and oh-so singable.The woman is a metaphor for the big city, Toronto in particular. The lyric was inspired by the city, where the group had been living for about five years. They’re from Calgary, which isn’t exactly the sticks, but Toronto is much bigger and more metropolitan.“
The song went to Number One in Canada and it was a Top Ten in the States.
Sweet City Woman
In July of 1971, Bill Wither’s released his first hit song – Ain’t No Sunshine. It appears on his debut album Just As I Am. I have written about this one in more detail in the past for Tune Tuesday. You can read about it here:
A tragedy that involved the death of three early rock and rollers inspired the monster hit that was released in October of 1971. It seems that we always refer to plane crash that took the lives of Buddy Holly, Richie Valens and The Big Bopper on February 3, 1959 as “The Day the Music Died.” You can thank Don McLean for that.
American Pie was the title track of McLean’s 1971 album. The track on the album clocks in at 8:42. When it was released as a single, the song was split up with Part 1 on the A side (4:11) and Part 2 on the B-side (4:31). This month’s edition of Turntable Talk was about music and Max at the PowerPop blog chose this as his song. You can read about it more here:
My final song from 1971 is one that can mean many things to many people, both now and when it was released. This one is the second “sunny” song on my list – Sunshine by Jonathan Edwards.
Edwards has said that he has received many letters stating what people think the song means, or what it means to them personally. When asked by Songfacts.com what he had in mind when he wrote it, he states that the song “has left me with is the wisdom to not answer the question, because everyone’s interpretation is way more creative and interesting than my original impetus for the song. So you go with it.”
The song was almost not recorded. Fate stepped in, however, when an engineer accidentally erased the master of a track called “Please Find Me” near the end of sessions for the album, and “Sunshine” was recorded to take the place of the erased song.
The song was released in November of 1971 and was a Top 5 record for him. Regarding its success, Edwards stated, “It was just at the time of the Vietnam War and Nixon. It was looking bad out there. That song meant a lot to a lot of people during that time–especially me.”
Sunshine
Thanks for reading and listening! See you in 1972!
Today the great singer, songwriter, and producer Ronald Isley celebrates his 83rd birthday. He was born in Cincinnati, Ohio and like many singers, started singing in the church choir. After he appeared on a TV amateur hour show, he and his brothers decided to move to New York to continue their musical careers.
The Isley Brothers had some success recording some doo-wop songs, but in 1959 they signed with RCA records and released their smash hit “Shout!” They would eventually sign with Motown records, but always felt as though they never got the attention or promotion that other groups on the label received, so the split from Motown and returned to their own label – T-Neck Records, which they started in 1964. This allowed them a lot more control over what they recorded.
In one interview, Ronald Isley says he wrote this song while dropping his daughter off at school one day. He didn’t want to forget the lyrics so he hummed it in his head and rushed straight to his mother’s house to write it out. He sang it for his eldest brother O’Kelly, who thought it to be a hit, so they set up studio time to record it. They were right – it was a hit. It shot straight up to number 2 on the charts (prevented by The Age of Aquarius from hitting number 1).
The song’s success led to some really nasty legal battles. Berry Gordy of Motown Records filed a lawsuit claiming The Isleys were still under contract when they recorded It’s Your Thing. The court case went on for 18 years before a federal judge ruled that The Isley Brothers had recorded it after the Motown contract had lapsed. I have to wonder if Gordy pursued the lawsuit for so long because of the salt that the Isleys rubbed in his open wound. You see, in February of 1970 the Isley Brothers became the first former Motown act to win a Grammy Award for Best R&B Vocal Performance by a Duo or Group.
To me, this song remains one of the “funkiest” songs in history! There are so many great things happening instrumentally in the song, and Ronald’s vocal is fantastic!
Happy Birthday, Mr. Isley!
It’s Your Thing
It’s your thing, do what you wanna do I can’t tell you, who to sock it to It’s your thing, do what you wanna do I can’t tell you, who to sock it to
If you want me to love you, maybe I will Believe me woman, it ain’t no big deal You need love now, just as bad as I do Make’s me no difference now, who you give your thing to
It’s your thing, do what you wanna do I can’t tell you, who to sock it to It’s your thing, do what you wanna do I can’t tell you, who to sock it to
It’s your thing, do what you wanna do I can’t tell you, who to sock it to It’s your thing, do what you wanna do I can’t tell you, who to sock it to
I’m not trying to run your life, I know you wanna do what’s right Give your love now, to whoever you choose How can you lose, with the stuff you use now
It’s your thing, do what you wanna do I can’t tell you, who to sock it to It’s your thing, do what you wanna do Don’t let me tell you, who to sock it to
It’s your thing, I do what I wanna do I can’t tell you, who to sock it to
Today Cher celebrates birthday 78. If I were still on the radio, I’d follow that line with, “and her nose celebrates number 52!” Sorry.
Cher enjoyed musical success as a duo with with Sonny Bono, as a solo singer, a television star on The Sonny and Cher Comedy Hour, and as a movie actress in Silkwood, Mask, The Witches of Eastwick, Moonstruck (for which she won an Academy Award for Best Actress) and Mermaids. Mermaids was a 1990 comedy/drama which also starred Bob Hoskins, Winona Ryder and Christina Ricci in her film debut.
The film was set in the 1960’s and the soundtrack is full of some great songs from Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons, Lesley Gore, Smokey Robinson and the Miracles and, of course, Cher. Cher covered Barbara Lewis’ 1965 hit “Baby I’m Yours” and Betty Everett’s 1964 hit The Shoop Shoop Song (It’s in His Kiss). Shoop Shoop was released as a single in November of 1990 and only went to number 33 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. That is actually surprising to me, because it still plays in a pretty heavy rotation on the Adult Contemporary stations.
Happy Birthday, Cher!
The Shoop Shoop Song (It’s in His Kiss)
Does he love me? I wanna know How can I tell if he loves me so?
Oh no, you’ll be deceived (Is it in his eyes?) Oh no, he’ll make believe
If you wanna know (shoop, shoop, shoop, shoop) If he loves you so (shoop, shoop, shoop, shoop) It’s in his kiss (that’s where it is, oh yeah)
Oh no, it’s just his charms (In his warm embrace?) Oh no, that’s just his arms
If you wanna know (shoop, shoop, shoop, shoop) If he loves you so (shoop, shoop, shoop, shoop) It’s in his kiss (that’s where it is) Oh, oh, it’s in his kiss (that’s where it is)
Oh, oh, oh, kiss him (hold him) And squeeze him tight And find out what you wanna know If it’s love, if it really is It’s there in his kiss
Oh no, that’s not the way And you’re not listenin’ to all I say
If you wanna know (shoop, shoop, shoop, shoop) If he loves you so (shoop, shoop, shoop, shoop) It’s in his kiss (that’s where it is) Oh, yeah, it’s in his kiss (that’s where it is)
Oh, oh, oh, kiss him (hold him) And squeeze him tight And find out what you wanna know If it’s love, if it really is It’s there in his kiss
Oh no, that’s not the way And you’re not listenin’ to all I say
If you wanna know (shoop, shoop, shoop, shoop) If he loves you so (shoop, shoop, shoop, shoop) It’s in his kiss (that’s where it is, oh yeah) Oh, yeah, it’s in his kiss (that’s where it is, oh yeah) Oh, it’s in his kiss (that’s where it is)
It’s time once again for another edition of Turntable Talk – our monthly, music topic from Dave at A Sound Day. This time around Dave’s topic is music! He says, “There are many great songs about music, so let’s highlight them. Pick a song you like either about music itself (eg, ‘I love Music’ and so on) or about the life of a musician making music . Or anything else you can think of about music… about music!”
To have a topic that is as broad as this only makes it more difficult to decide what to write about. The first thing I did was think of all the songs I could with “music” or “song” in the title. Then I began to think about the genres of music – blues, rock, etc… Then songs about writing songs and playing music and musical instruments came to mind. My list of possibilities was huge, however, with each song I looked at, I just didn’t feel like I had one that “fit” the topic.
The more I looked at my list of songs and artists, my mind began to think of songs that mentioned other musicians. Night Shift by the Commodores mentions Marvin Gaye and Jackie Wilson. Then there was Sweet Soul Music by Arthur Conley which mentions some of the great soul singers. The more I thought along these lines, I came to my choice. This choice could have easily been featured last month, as many think of it as a novelty song.
When I think music, I think about singers, radio, DJ’s, record labels, dance crazes, and the many hit songs that made people feel good. I think about how they all come together to make music an experience. When you listen to Life is a Rock by Reunion, in just over three minutes you get a very quick music history lesson and travel through decades of “music.”
Reunion was founded in 1974 by songwriters Paul DiFranco and Norman Dolph. Truth be told, they had little success with the group, that is until they tapped bubblegum pop veteran Joey Levine to revamp a song they had shelved called “Life Is A Rock.”
Songfacts.com says : “I loved it, thought it was great,” Levine said of the original tune. “But I told ’em that the record they cut with it was really missing the mark. I’d love to just spruce it up.” The resulting demo, recorded at the Hit Factory in New York City, is a celebration of all things music. Levine rattles off a list of iconic musicians and beloved songs, interrupted by a soaring chorus about the magic of radio.”
The machine-gun vocal delivery,” DiFranco told Billboard, “is a result of no rehearsing whatsoever. The key was to read the lines rapidly and not to memorize them at all.” Levine, who was in the Ohio Express and had hits with Yummy, Yummy, Yummy and Chewy, Chewy helped to make the song sound “happy.” DiFranco told Rolling Stone, “We’re in the business to make happy, funny records, and I think right now it’s important for music to stay happy.”
Thanks to “Life Is A Rock,” Reunion was a one-hit-wonder. RCA tried to convince the makeshift group to record an album and go on tour, but Levine reasoned the associated costs would eat into the royalties from their Top 10 hit. “I figured it was just a novelty idea,” he explained.
As fast as he rattles off those lyrics, I cannot imagine ever being able to do that live in concert. I guess it can be done, though, Billy Joel does it for We Didn’t Start the Fire.
This was one of those songs that they cut special versions for Top 40 stations across the country. The line the changed in the chorus was “Life is a rock, but the radio rolled me.” The singers would substitute call letters for specific stations. Super CFL in Chicago’s was sang, “Life is a rock, but CFL rolled me..” (Side note: This still happens. When I worked on the country station, they would insert the call letters, city names, specific rivers, and sports teams in the lyrics on certain songs.)
Life is a Rock was a top 10 record in 1974. I will post the video with the lyrics on screen, however, I will warn you, it is even hard to read along because Levine sings them so fast! Thanks to Song Facts this will help you a bit, too:
Musicians and songwriters mentioned by name (in order of appearance) are: B. Bumble and the Stingers, Mott the Hoople, Ray Charles Singers, Lonnie Mack, Twangin’ Eddy (Duane Eddy), Poco, Deep Purple, Sam Cooke, Lesley Gore, Ritchie Valens, Mahavishnu Orchestra, Richard Perry, Phil Spector, Jeff Barry, The Righteous Brothers, The Archies, Harry Nilsson, Fats Is Back (Fats Domino), Brenda & the Tabulations, Carly Simon, Noddy Holder, Johnny Cash, Johnny Rivers, Mungo Jerry, Peter, Paul and Mary, Dr. John, Doris Day, Smokey Robinson and the Miracles, Bonnie Bramlett, Wilson Pickett, Screamin’ Jay Hawkins, Dale Hawkins, Ronnie Hawkins, John Denver, Donny Osmond, J. J. Cale, ZZ Top, David Bowie, Steely Dan, Edgar Winter, Joanie Sommers, Osmond Brothers, Johnny Thunders, Eric Clapton, and Stephen Foster. Legendary disc jockeys Alan Freed and Murray the K also earn nods.
Whew! That’s not even the song references!
Thanks once again to Dave for a great topic and allowing me to take part. Thanks to the other bloggers who participate. I always enjoy reading their contributions. Finally, thanks to YOU for reading!
Ever feel so stressed out that you just want to break something? I know I have. If you need a bit of stress relief, here in Michigan there is a place for you.
I was scrolling Facebook tonight and the wife of a high school buddy posted photos of my friend busting up stuff. He was suited up in some sort of hazmat-looking outfit and a face shield. She posted videos and pictures of him in a room with glass bottles/plates and he was smashing them up with baseball bats, golf clubs, and a variety of other stuff.
I have no idea how the whole thing works, but it seems to be something that is a hit with their customers. They have even teamed up with a comedy club that supplies empty bottles.
Whoever came up with this million dollar idea is a genius. Sometimes I think that all places of employment should have a smash therapy room in them.
Back in December I stumbled upon an online course on Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol. It was presented by Hillsdale College and was a free course. It consisted of 4-6 lectures and I truly enjoyed it. Recently, I finished up yet another online course from Hillsdale on the History of Classical Music.
As someone who played in band throughout my school years, I was exposed to a lot of classical music. As a band member, it is an amazing experience to be playing a melody while a counter melody is playing with you. It is just as amazing when your section plays beautiful harmonies. Rehearsing a song and watching it all come together is so satisfying.
That being said, I couldn’t wait to get into this course. The overview states: Music’s ability to excite or soothe, to celebrate or console, to capture the inarticulate expressions of the human spirit make it the ideal companion for Western Civilization’s greatest achievements. Music is intertwined with the events of history. The developments of classical music correspond to key moments in science, politics, and religion. Classical music can be studied, it can be understood from the perspective of historical events and the lives of composers, but most of all, it should be enjoyed.
The instructor was Hyperion Knight and he was a wealth of knowledge. Throughout the course, he would occasionally play a piece or make an illustration on the piano for further explanation. We tend to believe that classical music is old or “ancient,” but Professor Knight was so good about relating what was going on in history at the time of some of these pieces.
The course lections were about the Development of Music, The Baroque Era (Bach, Vivaldi, and Handel), The Classical Period (Haydn and Mozart), and The Classical Period (Beethoven and Schubert). The final lecture is not a lecture at all. It is a mini concert performed by Professor Knight featuring some classical music standards.
Much like the Dickens course, I never really felt like it was a class or a lecture. It was really just an enjoyable journey through music history. Classical music is not for everyone, but if you are interested, you can enroll here: https://online.hillsdale.edu/courses/classical-music
This week, I began a new feature called The Music of My Life and began featuring music from every year of my life. I began in 1970, and I thought I would stay in 1970 for the Friday Photo Flashback. As a bonus, because I couldn’t decide on one picture, you get two!
The above photo was taken shortly after I came home from the hospital. It is one of my favorite photos of my dad and me. There really isn’t a whole lot happening in the background, but there are some things that really stick out to me.
First, I was a pretty good looking kid! Next, my dad, for as long as I can remember always had a mustache. The fact that he doesn’t have one in this picture makes it a bit more special to me. Then, there are his sideburns. It seems like he always seemed to have those, but they are a bit more prominent here. Dad is also wearing a white t-shirt in this picture. It seems like he would wear those often when he was just walking or working around the house. Finally, we both have hair in this photo! LOL
The above photo is a bit after the one with my dad. I love my mom’s smile in this picture! Despite my brother and I making fun of her about them in later years, I love that she’s wearing the horn-rimmed glasses.
This photo was taken at my grandma’s house. So it makes it a nostalgic trip to remember the lay out of her house. It seems like my grandma had that yellow couch forever! There was a green chair made of the same scratchy fabric that went with it. It is no surprise to see the paneling on the wall behind it. If I could stretch the right side of the picture a bit more, directly above the couch was grandma’s cuckoo clock.
On the left side of the picture is a napkin holder that I vaguely remember her having. Later on, they just used paper towels that they stacked in a Tupperware sort of container. Directly behind my mom was grandma’s fridge, which always had a big block of parmesan cheese that she would grate fresh for spaghetti dinners. The freezer was on top and I remember they’d have Wonder Bread in thick plastic bags in there. I wish I knew what that thing is above the freezer next to that vase. It looks like fake flowers, but I don’t know.
Behind me is the stove, which produced some of the most amazing meals I’ve ever eaten! It looks like there was an analog clock on it to the right. I can see one of grandma’s percolators on the stove, as well as the infamous casserole dish that everyone had in the 70’s! In the middle of the stove top, I can see the glass salt and pepper shakers that my grandma used all her life. They are just like the ones you used to see in restaurants before they were replaced by those plastic ones.
There is actually a space between the stove and that counter top behind me. If I were to stretch that side of the photo to the left, the sink would be against the wall and another cupboard would be on the left side of a window that was above the sink. This was the spot where my father was aggravating my grandma one day and she went to kick him in his behind, but he moved. She fell and he stood there laughing. It was probably not funny for her at the time, but she certainly laughed about it whenever she retold the story.
There was a time when grandma always had a table cloth on the table, but as we got older, she stopped. I’m guessing it is because we stained them with food or drink. She eventually just had placemats. For whatever reason, I remember that there was a wooden bowl in the middle of the table that had fake wax fruit in it. My brother and I always seemed to pluck the plastic grapes off the plastic vines.
I have so many wonderful memories of that house, my grandparents, my mom, and my dad. I am glad to have so many photos to remind me of those days…..
I took a day off this week so that I could watch Ella’s first T-Ball game. What a treat it was to see he in her uniform. You can’t see in the picture, but they gave her baseball socks that went all the way up to her waist when when I put them on!
Being at the game took me back to when I coached my older boys. That organized chaos hasn’t changed a bit. I felt so bad for the coach. It was only him and another gal trying to get everyone organized, so I stepped in and helped where I could.
Just as I remembered it years ago, the kids love their turn at bat, but hate being in the field. Each team has like 13 kids on it and every kid gets a turn at bat. They get a few pitches to swing at and if they don’t hit it, the ball goes on the tee. I helped bring the tee to the plate and grab it when a kid was running home.
Every kid gets to go to first base and advance a base with each batter. When the team’s last batter comes up and hits, everyone runs home.
She got a few good swings in. I need to work with her a bit more this week. I really need to see which way she bats better – left or right. I am still not sure.
Out in the field, it get’s tougher to keep them focused. There really is no outfield, because no one really hits the ball far. So everyone sort of hangs in the infield. Ella was between 1st and 2nd base when she was out in the field for this game.
It took me a few tries, but I finally got her to get in the “ready” position. It never lasted long. She would often sit and play in the dirt like the other kids.
I love when someone hits the ball because unlike in a baseball game where one fielder gets the ball, every last kid runs to get the ball and fights over who gets the ball. Usually whoever gets it holds it up like the won something. By the second time we were in the field, there was one kid who got that you had to throw the ball to first base.
As we were in the field the second time, with about 3 more batters to go before the game was over, Ella said to me, “Daddy, I’m cold.” A breeze had picked up and it was getting a bit chilly. “I need a blanket!” I chuckled and said in my best Tom Hanks, “There’s no blankets in t-ball!”
When the game was over, the teams lined up and gave each other high fives. All the team members got a snack and that was that. On the ride home, it became apparent that the game took a lot out of her …
Various Ramblings of a Nostalgic Italian 