As a youngster I was always fascinated by a record player, remember those?
No matter how they were packaged or sized, for some reason I just loved their functionality – even drawing pictures of them in art class when I was in first grade.
I might be alone on this one, but truthfully I miss not having one around.
Back in the day, it wasn’t uncommon for many living rooms to feature a piece of furniture which resembled an enclosed console table. But cleverly housed inside was in fact a record player, speakers and even some storage for 33’s and 45’s (record sizes for those of you who don’t remember). My grandparents were one such household, and as you can imagine I loved going there and listening to a few tunes.
At Christmas time it was often Andy Williams, Frank Sinatra or Perry Como spinning around on the record player turntable. My grandmother still has many of those records sitting in a cabinet in her apartment. Might be interesting to go through them some day, though I’m not sure what I’d do with them.
But one song I remember my grandmother playing over and over again on her record player was Don McLean’s popular song “Crying”. What a great song which I still listen to today (only on my iPod). As soon as the song begins with that melodic guitar, I’m immediately transported back to when I was a little boy at grandmas.
She’s 91 now and the only grandparent I have left. Sadly I must remind myself that her health is failing and her will to go on is not what it used to be. Funny though, whenever I’m feeling sad about that reality something like Don McLean’s song spinning on the record player stirs up a cherished memory and before long I’m smiling again. Thanks grams.