Where did the weekend go?! It was so busy for me that it flew right by!
Friday night, Andrew had his sleep study. He had it done at my lab, so we all drove together to the lab. Ella got to have a sleep over with her cousins. They all slept with the blankets that Sam’s mom (Nana) made for them. In the morning, Aunt Emmy sent us this picture –
What a PERFECT picture. Her cousins love her so much, how awesome to see them holding her hands.
Meanwhile, back at the sleep lab, Andrew was all hooked up and ready for his night. It went MUCH better than we thought. Any time you are dealing with a child under 5, the hook up can be difficult. The fact that I was in there hooking him up probably helped a lot! He never cried once! After he fell asleep, I was able to get the final couple pieces of equipment on and I only had to go in to fix things a couple times. We neglected to get a picture of him while he was still awake, but we snapped one of him sleeping.
He was a champ! We follow up with ENT on Friday.
Saturday, we all took turns napping. It was a long day Friday and Sam and I were both exhausted and Sam had to work Saturday night.
Sunday, I took this kids to a cute little park. It is at an early childhood center. It isn’t a park I can take them to when school is in session, or there are kids there, but on Sundays, no one is there. There was a variety of things for both kids to do and many were toddler specific. It was completely fenced in, so they could run and I didn’t have to worry about them getting away from me.
While some areas were in the sun, there were many shaded areas where they could play and not worry about sunburn. It was fun to run around with them and let them burn off some energy,
He was so happy to be able to run around. We started with shoes on, but they only lasted about 5 minutes!
The slides are always a hit with Ella! She loves them. They even had some smaller ones for Andrew, but he didn’t quite get the concept ….
He always wanted to climb up instead of slide down the slide!
One of my favorite pictures from the day is the one above. By itself, it is a great picture of Ella. However, I love it because she walked over to this step and sat down announcing, “I’m a Queen, Daddy! This is my Queen’s chair!” I wish I had a crown to give her!
After they ran around for an hour or so, we all grabbed something to drink and sat beneath one of the trees in the shade. I knew it was getting close to lunch time, so before we packed up to go home, I tried to get a selfie. It is harder and harder to get pictures with Ella now … but I was lucky to snap this one.
This blog is part of the next installment of Dave from A Sound Day’s Turntable Talk. This time around, the subject is “cover songs.” Per our instructions:
This time around, wanting to get your thoughts on Cover Songs…what makes a really good one, maybe what your favorite bold one is. Do you like ones really faithful to the original, or ones that spin it in an altogether direction? Or conversely, what one is atrocious to you & why.
By ‘bold’ I mean covers of songs that were already known, and hits. I won’t set any minimum guidelines but as examples, most people never heard The Arrows version of ‘I Love Rock n Roll’ or The Clique’s ‘Superman’ so it was easy for Joan Jett & REM respectively make them their own. But to do a Beatles song, like Joe Cocker did only a couple of years after the original was released… that took …something.
So what cover songs work great for you?
Cover Songs
If you do a Google search on “cover songs,” there are plenty of links to articles containing lists of “the best” ones. There are also links to video’s that feature countdowns and lists of “best and worst” cover songs. Those lists, no doubt, will include: Twist and Shout by the Beatles, Proud Mary by Ike and Tina Turner, Hurt by Johnny Cash, Last Kiss by Pearl Jam, Mony Mony by Billy Idol, All Along the Watchtower by Jimi Hendrix, and many many more!
Many people are unaware that some of their favorite songs are actually cover songs. A lot of the early Rolling Stones and Beatles songs were actually covers of songs they loved by other artists. In a way, a cover song is the ultimate “hat tip” to a band’s early influence.
Personally, I tend to love cover songs. If you were to grab my iPod, that becomes very clear! I recall a time when I was married to my ex-wife and her iPod was dead. She wanted to go walk and asked if she could take mine instead. Upon returning home, she said to me, “How many different versions of a song do you need?!”
Cover Song Example
Dave asked “what makes a good” cover song? He also asked, “Do you like ones really faithful to the original, or ones that spin it in an altogether direction?“
It is difficult for me to say what exactly makes a good cover song because I think it can be one that is faithful to the original, spun in a different direction, or a mixture of both of those elements. Take for example, the Rodgers and Hart song – Blue Moon.
The song was written in 1934. There were recordings made as early as 1935. One of the best known versions is the Doo Wop hit from 1961 by the Marcels. Dean Martin did a stripped down version with piano and drums that was performed as a slow ballad. Frank Sinatra’s version was more “swingy”. Sam Cooke’s “bounced” and in 1997 a swing band called the Jive Aces covered it as a bouncy boogie woogie sounding cover. Every single version I mentioned, I like for different reasons.
Some of My FavoriteCovers
If I were to make a list of all the cover songs I have on my iPod and feature one a day on my blog, I would have enough songs to write about for about 6 months! Instead, I grabbed a piece of paper and off the top of my head started jotting down the cover songs that came to mind. I gave myself 5 minutes to do this and came up with about 18 songs. The reality is that I know that I will complete this blog and after it posts say, “Oh, man! I forgot (insert cover song here)!” That’s ok.
While it may be hard for me to tell you exactly what I love about cover songs, maybe by giving some examples of some of my favorites, the music will answer the question for both of us.
The first three I came up with are all from movie soundtracks. There is no shortage of cover songs in the movies. These covers will often give new life to old songs – examples include Sweet Child of Mine by Sheryl Crow from Big Daddy, Hallelujah by Rufus Wainwright from Shrek, Hazy Shade of Winter by the Bangels from Less Than Zero, Girl You’ll Be a Woman Soon by Urge Overkill in Pulp Fiction, and, of course, I Will Always Love You by Whitney Houston in The Bodygaurd.
Johnny B. Goode – Marty McFly and the Starlighters
From Back to the Future, this is the song Marty McFly plays at the Enchantment Under the Sea Dance. In the movie, He goes off on a Eddie Van Halen type solo and the entire crowd looks at him stunned. On the soundtrack, however, there is a full version with an additional verse not in the movie. What I love about this version is the stripped down instrumentation, the saxophone and piano, and the whole feel of it. It really sounds like an “early” version of the song. It’s actually quite good.
From the soundtrack of Honeymoon in Vegas, which contains some very good Elvis covers. This one is my favorite. It has the feel of the Elvis version, with a little “boogie woogie” piano feel to it. Simple background vocals enhance the Billy Joel version. One addition I love is the bass drum hit after he sings, “I’m in love ….”
I stumbled on this by accident. This cut was used in the movie Little Big League. I’ve always been a fan of Fats Domino, but this version is just so much better. It has “meat” to it. The driving bass line keeps it moving, the piano is still there, and those saxes in the background – LOVE them. Add the electric guitar and Taj Mahal’s vocal to the mix and it is just perfect! This is one that I find myself listening to at work when I need a “pick up”
Phil Phillips did the original of this, but how can you NOT love this version?! First and foremost, you have Led Zeppelin’s Robert Plant and Jimmy Page as well as Jeff Beck in the group! Add a beautiful string arrangement and background singers to compliment them and you have a top 5 record!
Not many people are aware that this is actually a cover song. It was originally done in 1964 by Gloria Jones. The song was written by Ed Cobb, who was in the Four Preps, and was actually the B-side of a song called My Bad Boy’s Comin’ Home. The original had a “Motown” feel to it, while Soft Cell certainly has more of an 80’s feel to it.
This one was written and recorded by the legendary Otis Redding. Otis’ version is already great, but I love this one equally. It certainly has a great feel to it. It doesn’t sound dated at all. It’s funky and a great jam!
The original was done by Johnny Burnette, who was known for rockabilly, in 1960. It’s not that I dislike the original, I just think Ringo’s version is … more fun. For years I thought Paul McCartney was playing Kazoo in this, however, one article says, “Michael Verity has quoted the song’s producer Richard Perry as revealing that it wasn’t actually a kazoo: “In fact, the solo on ‘You’re Sixteen,’ which sounds like a kazoo or something, was Paul singing very spontaneously as we played that track back, so he’s singing the solo on that.” Ringo’s version remains one of the few No. 1 singles to feature a ‘kazoo-sound’ solo. (It sure sounds like a kazoo to me!) I also love the driving piano bassline in his version.
Originally done by the Beatles, this is almost a carbon copy of the Beatles version. I like it because I think Steven Tyler’s vocal perfectly fits the song.
Elvis did his share of covers, and this is one that comes from his Aloha From Hawaii concert special. I have always preferred this version to the James Taylor version. To me, it is more “bluesy.” I love everything about this cut!!
This one was originally done by the Ronettes in 1963 and featured Phil Spector’s “wall of sound.” Andy Kim recorded his version in 1969 and had a top 10 hit with it. It mimics the “wall of sound” but if you listen in headphones, there is a lot of little stuff going on in the background – jingle bells, glockenspiel, castanets, and more. I remember hearing it a lot as a kid.
This remake I stumbled on by watching MTV!! The original was done by Ivory Joe Hunter in 1956. I remember seeing the Title and Artist show up on the bottom left side of the screen when the video started and couldn’t believe that Dean Martin was on MTV. He recorded it for his The Nashville Sessions Album and I love that it stays true to the original, yet is purely Dean.
It better be good if you are covering the Queen of Soul, Aretha Franklin, and this one is! Aretha did the original in 1968 and then covered herself for a version in the Blues Brothers. I don’t remember how I stumbled on Joan Osborne’s version, but it is different enough that I love it. It has such a cocky attitude to it. Dig it –
Originally done by Wilson Pickett, this is one of greatest soul songs of all time! I heard this on the Blues channel on Sirius XM and fell in love with it. I’ve always dug Buddy Guy and while this stays pretty true to the original, it has a sound of its own!
Carl Perkins seemed to have all of his songs covered and many times, his songs became associated with the other artist rather than him. That’s the case with Blue Suede Shoes – it is Elvis. Elvis’ version is so much better than Carl’s in my opinion.
Originally done in 1952 by the late Hank Williams Sr. this takes a whiney and twangy song and cranks it up about 10 notches. We had Crystal in for a show when I worked at the country station and she was fantastic. This was on her debut album. I’m not sure she isn’t a huge star. Her voice is amazing and she is very talented.
Written by and a hit for Don Henley, I have always loved this song. The content of the song is about mass media and how they exploit just about everything. Henley had a top 5 hit with it. I didn’t even know that Lisa Marie Presley had done this song until I heard it on some Pandora playlist. Her vocal is sultry and sells the content lyrically. A great cut!
A cover of James Brown’s classic! James has a hit with this in 1956 and it went top 10 on the R&B charts. I think Delbert McClinton is someone who just doesn’t get enough praise for all he does. He’s a singer songwriter who can play many instruments and has released many albums. This version comes from his Honky Tonk and Blues album, which is a personal favorite.
Jimmy Van Heusen composed this song in 1962 with lyrics by Sammy Cahn. According to Mel Torme’, the song was written for Judy Garland to sing on her TV show. It was written as a parody to her well-known problems. Many people have done versions on the song – Frank Sinatra, Bobby Darin, Eddie Fisher, Julie London, and more. Michael Buble’ used this as the title track for his 2007 album. It get’s me right from the opening “walking” bass lick. Buble’ has made a career out of covering so many songs from the Great American Songbook, as well as many originals. He has a great band backing him and he sings this effortlessly.
I love Bill Withers. he wrote and recorded this for his 1972 Still Bill album. It was a smash and was a number 1 song. I never cared for the cover version. Yes, it stayed very close to the original, but I just never cared for the arrangement at all. It’s almost annoying to me. It is actually playing in my headphones as I am typing this. To me, the whole 80’s synth sounds just sound out of place. Not to mention the whole “We be jammin” part – URGH!! One good thing about this was that it won a Grammy for Bill Withers as the writer for Best R&B song.
So what can we say about cover songs? Are they done as a tribute to the original artist? Are they done because it’s a favorite to perform? Are they done to “improve” on the original? Are they done because an artist feels it should be presented in a different way? Who knows, really!? One could easily ask the same questions about all the crappy movie remakes that have come about.
Some of my favorite concert memories are hearing the singer do a song that is totally unexpected. My favorite memory of the Billy Joel concert I attended wasn’t Piano Man. It was when he talked about loving the Motor City and breaking into his own version of I Heard it Through The Grapevine! Magical!! Aaron Tippin played a county fair for us and one point he threw on a fedora and sang Fly Me To the Moon, which blew my mind! Very cool songs – never released – but covers, nonetheless.
In the end, a good song is a good song. I love listening to a great song done by many other singers. It says something about the song melodically and lyrically. I don’t always love the cover, but that’s ok. It’s fun to hear the artist’s take on it.
I want to thank Dave for allowing me to ramble on and on about this month’s topic. I’ve wanted to feature cover songs on my site, but just couldn’t figure out how to present it. I guess I better stop typing because the more I think about it … the more songs are coming to my head!
So this week I was scheduled to follow up with the doctor regarding my blood pressure and my weight. She had instructed me to lose 10 pounds by the time of this appointment. She was also going to reevaluate my blood pressure to see if there needed to be any adjustments to the dosage.
She also sees all of my kids and my wife, so she was a bit disappointed when she walked in and didn’t see any of the kids. I told her I had come straight from work, and reminded her that she’d be seeing them soon enough (more on that in a minute).
To say that she was happy to see my weight loss progress would be an understatement. She was thrilled for me. She was also happy that my blood pressure was down. She told me that she’d like to see me down at least 20 pounds when I see her next. This will probably be in 6 months or so, because she is getting ready to have a baby and will be out for a bit.
She knows all about our son’s sleep issues and ordered a sleep study for him. She asked if he had done it yet and I told her that it was happening later in the week. She mentioned that she couldn’t believe how good he is walking at 9 months old. I replied by telling her that he is everywhere and in every thing, to which she laughed. Then, almost on cue, my phone dinged and there was a message from my wife. It read:
“Just about had to call the fire departmentbecause Andrew got stuck in the cat door …”
I laughed out loud and read the text to the doctor, who laughed as well.
The cat’s litterbox sits on the landing that leads to the basement. We closed the basement door when Ella started walking and had my father in law cut a hole in the bottom so the cat could get in and out. It was hilarious, because he measured Ella’s shoulders to make sure she couldn’t get through it. It looks something like this:
I can just imagine my son, stuck in the cat door….and the fire department cutting the whole thing out to get him out….
This kid is going to provide lots of laughs in the years ahead …
This is a “feature” I started a couple weeks ago with a Daily Writing Prompt. It’s been fun to find a photo to write about each week. This week’s gem comes from way back!
Yes, that is me! I’m going to guess I am about a year old in the picture. I don’t have a date on it, but judging by the grass and the fact that I am wearing a coat, I’d guess this picture was taken in the spring of 71 (although it could be Fall of 70).
Look at that fire truck! It was all metal! I can’t recall, but I think it had pedals (sort of like a tricycle) and you could “drive” it around. There are not many pictures of me with it, but I wish there were more. Somewhere my dad has old 8mm home movies and one of them has my mom pushing me down the hallway of our house in this fire truck.
I chuckle as I look at the bike horn attached to the hood of it. If you started honking it, no one would think “There’s a fire!” They’d think, “Hey! Here comes Harpo Marx!”
I remember the string that attached to the bell. You pulled it and the bell clanged, much like what you’d see in a Little Rascals short. Of course, my truck was a lot more sturdy than the truck Spanky and the gang were riding on!
I look really interested in that steering wheel, which isn’t even a wheel at all. It’s a combination oval/rectangle. It looks like the string for the bell is actually tied onto it, which makes no sense to me.
I think I am wearing a pea coat here. At least that is what it looks like. I remember those brass buttons were kind of loose and hung from the string that held them to the coat itself. They had to be loose because the coat was thick and the buttons needed to fit into the button holes.
I love to see how much hair I had as a baby. If they trimmed my bangs the right way, I could look like one of the Beatles in ’64 here.
I also love to see those chubby cheeks. Over the years, the chubbiness moved from my cheeks to other parts of my body!
I love the look of that ridiculous grill on the fire truck! The fact that there are fake headlights cracks me up. Those wheels, too! I bet they each weighed about three pounds! They were that hard rubber with thick metal – built to last!
I know this was taken at my grandparents house. I recognize the lamp post to my left in the picture. While we didn’t play often in their front yard, I remember that the pole has this crossbar that went through it.
I think it was meant to hang the numbers or a name plate. My brother and I used to reach up and try to hang from it. It was only aluminum, so I’m sure my grandpa knew that eventually the weight of one or both of us would eventually snap it, so he’d yell at us to leave it alone when we played around it.
I should have reached out to my dad before I posted this picture. I do not know whose car is in the background. It may be ours, or it may be my grandfather’s. I know that they both owned their share of black cars in the past. I am not one of those guys who can look at the style of hubcaps and tell the make and model of the vehicle either. If dad sees this, maybe he can fill in the blanks on it.
What immediately stands out about the car, beside the color, is the HUGE bumper! Those old cars had these bumpers that were like 6 inches wide and solid. One time, my dad, my brother and I were at K-mart. He was backing out of a parking spot in a ’73 Impala. He hit some woman who drove behind us. Her car crumpled like a piece of tin foil while ours didn’t even have a scratch. At that low speed, the bumper destroyed her car!
As I look at the shiny reflection off the hood of this amazing fire truck, I can only imagine the thrill that I must have been experiencing as a child. I don’t know how long I had this, but I wish I still did so that I could pass this very cool toy down to my kids. I know today they have these battery operated 4 wheelers and such that all kids seem to want. But I can tell you one thing, put one of those up against this fire truck and those plastic things would crumble, just like that woman’s car in the K-mart parking lot!
Were you typically stressed out before a first date? Did things seem to be easier the more you dated the same person?
I would say that I usually was stressed out before a first date. I think you just naturally want it to go well. The stress level is higher is you don’t really know the person. It would surely be easier if you had more dates with the same person. I believe that if you know the person, the date will be easy. When I asked my wife out on our first “date,” we had known each other for a while, so it was fairly comfortable.
What did you do to prepare for the date? Did you wear new clothes, or special outfits?
Well, you are obviously trying to impress on a first date. I don’t know that I went out and bought new clothes, but I certainly dressed nice. It also depended on where the date was. Dinner at a nice restaurant requires better dress than a trip to the movies.
How did you meet those first dates? Were your dates with friends of a family member, or friends of a friend?
My first dates were usually gals from school. After I graduated, I had a friend or two suggest taking one of their friends out. I once dated a radio listener who came up with her friend to drop off cookies or something. Her friend liked me, but I wound up asking her instead. One gal I took on a date I met at a mutual friends wedding. Many of those dates never led to additional dates.
Did you have a curfew on those early dates? Did you typically arrive home on time or were you constantly breaking curfew?
When I was in school, yes. I believe it was 11:00pm. My folks were pretty understanding and flexible, but I always made sure that my date was home when they were supposed to be. I don’t know that I was always late, and if I was it was only by a few minutes.
Did your parents insist on meeting whomever you dated?
I don’t know that they insisted, but if there was more than one date, I brought my dates to meet my folks. My very first date picked me up at my house and I think my folks were so excited that I was going out on a date that they embarrassed me by asking her a gazillion questions.
Where did you usually go when on a date? (movies, concerts, picnics, etc.)
Usually for a first date it was dinner and maybe a movie.
Did the boy/man always pay for the date or did you go Dutch treat?
I have been on plenty of Dutch treat dates, but I want to say that I paid for my date most of the time. I remember my dad asking if I had enough money to pay.
Were you typically the talker or the listener on a date?
I think both, but as a radio guy, talking came very naturally to me! I probably talked a little bit more.
What did you do if the date clearly wasn’t going well? (feign a headache, ask to go home, end the date early, etc.)
This made me laugh because I have had dates feign a headache, ask to go home and end the date early! Seriously, I only had a few dates where I felt that things were not going well. I am sure I finished the date and was just grateful that it was over.
A connection from the past to the present, if applicable. How long did you date your current partner before marriage?
I really don’t know that I can put a time to it. We were friends that became more than friends and then got married. I don’t think that either one of us didn’t feel right about it. We were in love and we got married. We were probably friends two to three years before getting married.
Bonus Question: Care to share a disasters first date??????
I don’t know that any of the first “bad” dates could qualify as a true “disaster.”
I would love to see YOUR answers to these questions.
One of the most difficult things for a toddler to do is share. Teaching them how to share can be just as difficult.
“It’s mine!” “My blanket!” “Stop it! That’s mine!
Walk into any daycare, kindergarten class, or home with toddlers and I can guarantee you will hear those phrases. If not those exact phrases, you will hear variations of them. Sharing does not come easy for those youngsters.
Today, however, my wife posted something that melted my heart. After I left for work, she took the kids out for ice cream. She caught Ella sharing her ice cream with Andrew …
She said that she was proud to be sharing with him. Look at how careful she is feeding him. What a beautiful scene. Sam told me that he was just as sweet. He would clap his hands when he ate and was very patient to wait for Ella to give him his next bite.
So you have the naturally impatient baby who grabs at what he wants, being patient and awaiting his next scoop AND the naturally selfish toddler who opened her heart and shared her treat with her brother. It was as though the two of them had major personality changes – even if it was just for a few minutes.
This weekend certainly was one that left me emotionally drained. It also left me knowing that there are things that I need to do as well as some priorities that need shifting. Some things are just too important and changes need to be made. I have every intention of doing what needs to be done. That is all I really want to say about that.
Monday
The weather was perfect to be outside. I decided that I was going to take the kids to the zoo. We are members, so it was a free day for us. I packed a lunch and we got there when it opened at 10am. Both Sam and I thought it would be quiet for a Monday, but there were a few childcare places doing field trips there.
We didn’t let that spoil our fun. I think I sometimes go a bit crazy with picture taking, but I love to look back at them. I was so happy that both Ella and AJ sat still at the opening photo op of t he zoo.
We saw the penguins, the otter (who was extra busy that day), the monkeys, kangaroos, and a huge emu. We also saw a wolf, chickens, an owl, alpacas, and a bunch of crazy prairie dogs. One of the first things Ella wants to do is ride the train. We’re members, so we can ride as many times as we want. I think we rode the train five times Monday! During on of those ride, I was able to grab my favorite picture of the day:
Look at the joy on their faces! What a wonderful picture!!
I realize that at 52 years of age, when people see me with my kids, they may assume that I am grandpa. So I chose to go to the zoo with my Bandit from Bluey “Dad” shirt on. I’m sure when I left the house, my wife probably thought I looked ridiculous, but that’s ok. When we got off of one of the train rides, a mom came over and said she loved my shirt.
Mines black – not grey
About 11:30, we found some tables by the carousel, which we were going to ride next. Mom packed a PBJ sandwich for Ella, a PB sandwich for AJ, some goldfish crackers, bananas, apple sauce pouches, and something to drink. It was fun to just sit and eat with the kids. AJ was in my lap and I think I wound up wearing more of his lunch than he actually ate! There were also plenty of crackers on the ground for the birds to eat after he was done.
A couple rides on the carousel, another train ride, back to the carousel and we were getting close to nap time. I told Ella we had to pack up to get ready to go. She wanted to go to the store. Sam and I had already said that we were not going to buy anything day, as we really hadn’t budgeted for it.
As we are walking through the gift shop, Ella picks up a small stuff wolf and says, “My wolf! Look Daddy, it’s my wolfie!” I told her that we’d have to get it next time and the melt down began. Urgh! I hate making her cry. I told her she could carry it for a bit and then it would have to be put back.
When we set it down, she started to cry again. As we walked to the door, a nice older lady stopped us and handed Ella the wolf, saying that she couldn’t stand to see her cry. I told her that we couldn’t take it, but she insisted. It was a nice way to end our trip to the zoo.
Weigh In Day
Before I go on, let me say that since I started posting about my weight loss journey, I have been followed by just about every keto diet page, healthy living page, eat better workout more page and such. This urks me for some reason. I post my stuff here to keep myself accountable. On the weeks I gain weight I will post that, too. This is my journey – if you are here to cheer my on, fine. If you are just here to sell your products, you may unfollow me at any time. I don’t plan on following you back.
Now that I have gotten that off my chest, I am happy to say that the scale showed a 3 pound loss this week. After 8 weeks, I am down 27 pound thanks to Weight Watchers. I am very happy about that. It is nice to be under 300 pounds! I can’t wait to keep reaching milestones.
Eating right and getting a walk in every day has been helping. The heat made it a bit rough this week, and so did the rain. Getting in a mile or two every day is something I have come to enjoy a lot. I love being out with the kids in the stroller.
The last time I saw my doctor, I was supposed to have lost 10 pounds. I hadn’t and she kind of gave me a lecture about that. I was supposed to have joined Weight Watchers and because money was tight, I chose to wait. When I left that appointment, she told me to see her again and the 10 pounds had better be gone – or she’d yell at me again! I see her this week and can’t wait to show her the progress.
Maybe next week – I can hit the 30 pound mark?! We’ll see ….
Any one of those feelings can be crippling. All of them swirling together are scary. With the wrong mindset, it can be devastating. Those feelings don’t hit me all at once often, but when they do, it is easy to try to figure it out myself. That never works. When I try to fix something alone, I just make it worse.
I can never do anything alone. I’m an imperfect being. I will almost always fail. So I remind myself of one of my favorite verses of Scripture:
Careful in the KJV means “anxious or nervous”. Don’t be nervous or anxious about anything. Instead, in EVERY THING – and I believe every thing means every thing – go to God. He knows the outcome before we do. The key is to take things to Him and TRUST that He’s got it.
So just like every day, today I go to Him. He knows what’s on my mind. I will trust that He hears my prayers and He will get me through. He will give me what I need to be the person I need to be for family and friends. He will provide.
I stumbled across something recently that I immediately connected with. I jotted down a bunch of the things mentioned in the article, but can’t recall where I saw it. It may have been on Facebook or Reddit. At any rate, I thought this was something that might jar your memory, too!
You can find the first batch of memories in Part 1 here:
I can remember the first time we had a VCR. To rent tapes was quite expensive at first. Over time, it became the thing to do on a Friday or Saturday night.
I remember walking through the store to get to the New Release Wall. Often times, I would wait until a movie came out on video to see it. The only problem was that sometimes all the copies would be checked out. There were plenty of times I’d see a film I didn’t even know existed. I would pick up the box and read the synopsis on the back and we’d make a decision as to whether or not to rent it.
Then, of course, you’d always check out the classics. Movies were still a bit expensive to buy at the time, so I would rent Smokey and the Bandit, Cannonball Run, and so many other movies I had grown up with.
I truly miss browsing the shelves to see what movie to watch. I miss sitting on the couch with a bowl of microwave popcorn with the lights down watching videos without the issues you’d experience at the movie theater.
Making plans – looking up movie times
Before videos, you went to the movies. But before you could do that, you have to get a newspaper and look up the movie times. Theaters would take out full page ads to promote the movie times. I remember your entire date revolved around the times that a movie would start. Dinner before or after the movie – depended on when the show started.
Sometimes, you could call the theater and they had a dedicated phone line with a recording that gave show times and the movies that were showing.
Calling a friend and talking to their parents first
I remember how many times I would call up a friend and their parents would always answer. Some of the parents were nice and would chat with me as I waited for my friend to get on the phone. Other times, they were short.
As a teen, when I called a girl to chat, I was always freaked out if their dad answered the phone! “That Keith boy is on the phone for you!” Yikes!
If the conversation went on for more than 20 minutes, which it often did, my folks or their folks would get on you because they had to use the phone. Summers I would spend a lot of time on the phone, mainly in the evenings talking to girls who I had a crush on.
When TV went off the air at night
Back in the day, when there were only 3-5 channels to watch on TV, many stations went off the air at night. Today, if you wake up in the middle of the night, you can turn on the TV and get 100 stations of stuff to chose from. When I was a kid, however, you would turn on the TV and see the above test pattern with audio of a single tone playing loudly.
“This concludes our broadcast day” the announcer would say. Sometimes it would be followed by the National Anthem and then the test pattern. Because of this, I would grab my little radio and listen to the late night DJ’s and my love for radio was born.
Sitting down to read a book because nothing was on TV
When we only had a few channels on TV, there would be those times when there was “nothing to watch.” It was then, that you would go to the bookshelf in your bedroom or living room and grab a book to read. There were many hours spent reading books on my bed. My imagination took me to the streets of London, or the deck of a ship as I read adventure stories. I wish I had read more as a kid.
Saturday morning sitcoms/cartoons
Saturday Mornings were heaven for my brother and I. We grabbed a bowl of cereal and plopped down in front of the TV to watch cartoons. Bugs Bunny, Scooby Doo, the Laugh-O-Lympics, Captain Caveman, and more! When the cartoons were done, there were other shows on we watched like Dr. Shrinker, The Monster Squad, and Electra Woman and Dynagal. Those shows bring back many fond memories of Saturday mornings. It was the perfect way to kick off the weekend!
Not being accessible to work outside of the work hours
It is far too easy for employers to reach employees today. I get work email on my phone, although I try to avoid looking at it when I am not there. Employee burnout is high in every profession. The line between work life and home life is blurring. People are bringing work home with them. They are taking work calls during “home time.” This, to me, is unacceptable.
Work needs to stay at work. They get 40 hours of my time during the week, and sometimes more than that (even though there is no pay for it). I try my best to ignore anything work related when I am home. That needs to be my time with family.
I truly miss those days when you only had to think about work when you were there. I miss the days before cell phones when you could actually play 18 holes of golf without having to read text messages or emails from work. If I am out on the beach, the last thing I want to be doing is answering an e-mail.
I love the fact that we can have a phone with us to call someone in an emergency or snap a picture of a neat moment, but when the tech starts to intrude on family and leisure time, we are only adding to burn out or losing precious time with what is really important.
This is a “feature” I started a couple weeks ago with a Daily Writing Prompt. It’s been fun to find a photo to write about each week. I stumbled on a picture this week I didn’t know I had. It was one that I hadn’t scanned yet and it features one of the bravest and strongest young men I have ever met.
The photo above was taken during our first St. Jude Radiothon at B95. The young man on the right is Kyle. If I had to guess he is about 10 years old here. We are in center court of our local mall raising money for kids with cancer.
The St. Jude Radiothon was one of the most emotional and satisfying things I have ever done. I loved having the station out in public broadcasting live. Today, they do this all from the studio, but back then it was something really special.
The hardest thing for me was listening to the various pre-recorded stories of families who had both happy and sad outcomes connected to their visit to St. Jude. Not crying in public was quite difficult at times, but the radiothon was a rollercoaster of smiles and tears.
Our St. Jude reps would connect us to families in the area that had been to St. Jude to share their stories of hope. Knowing that local people were helped by St. Jude helped us raise money for our cause. I was happy to interview Kyle and his mother Vicky during my shift during that first radiothon all those years ago.
We’d meet other children, too, from year to year, but Kyle was the first one I met and holds a special place in my heart. His mother shared the story of how they discovered Kyle was sick as an infant. His first surgery was at 6 months old. He has since had at least 15 surgeries. She shared their story and stories of the people that helped them at St. Jude.
As I look at this picture it seems that I am listening to Vicky, who is obviously not in the picture. She is probably right across from me. Looking at the photo, it is easy to get distracted by the equipment in it. The microphones and microphone stands were obviously lifted right out of the on air studios. One thing I noticed that I am wearing glasses. I had Lasik surgery around 2000, so I’m guessing the photo is from 1999 or early 2000.
I see the three ring binder which played a very important part of the radiothon. Each day had a folder. In the folder were all of the cue sheets for the recorded pieces we’d be playing on air. The basket the folder is sitting on is what our reps would put notes in. Those notes could be pledges (Bill from Flint is a Partner in Hope, Bob from Burton gave $500, and Flint Police have raised $3000), challenges (Steve from Saginaw will match all donations for the next 20 minutes, Nick has challenged all parents with baseball players to make a pledge), and notes about things that needed to be promoted or upcoming guests, or hourly tallies.
This photo brings back so many memories of a time when radio was fun to do. This was an event that made a difference and I was proud to be a part of it. I don’t recall how much money we raised that year, but knowing that it would help with research to find a cure for childhood cancer, it meant a lot to all of us.
Over the years, I have been lucky enough to still be in contact with Vicky and Kyle. As I have already stated, Kyle is one of the bravest and strongest young men I know. He’s had chemo, radiation and more! He’s had so many surgeries – as a matter of fact, he is currently recovering from another recent surgery and doing well. He’ll have another one coming up in a few months.
Knowing that the picture above is over 20 years old, it shouldn’t surprise me that Kyle will be turning 33 this year, he’s not the young boy in the photo anymore. This is really amazing, especially since they didn’t expect him to live long as a baby. He is a hero to me – a true hero. Knowing Kyle and his family has been a blessing for me.
A lot of time has passed since that radiothon. A lot of money has been raised, and many breakthroughs and treatments have been discovered and created to help kids with cancer. Somewhere in my pile of photos, I have a picture with our entire radio staff and Kyle holding a guitar from our final tally that day. I will have to find it and add it to this post in the future, or maybe I should just do another Friday Photo Flashback.
Various Ramblings of a Nostalgic Italian 