It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas! (without even any decorations)

And, I am not even going to write about what Christmas looks like! It's just that we all like to look at pictures, but even more, I think we all - - - - - -

like to listen to music. Even if you are not a Christmas music fan, I bet you like some music, at least. Well, as for me and my family, we are music lovers and last night while driving home from helping Howard move equipment, I got my inspiration (finally) for today's blog. It's all about the music. And technology! I am almost 75 now and most music conjures up memories for me. If you know me at all, you know that I am fascinated by all the wonderful technological advances in music, communication, and so much more.

As I started thinking about Christmas music, then other music, and holidays, and family and memories, I was thinking it would be fun to share with you some of my music and technology memories. My first memories of music are of course, the radio and church. In Medora, we had a little choir, which began when I was about six years old with six little girls, singing in church each Sunday and moving on to piano lessons, which started with me practicing on a cardboard printout of a keyboard. Yes, a cardboard printout. We did not have, nor could we afford a piano! My mom always was humming, singing or whistling, and we must have had the radio on a lot because I can remember listening to the "hospital notes" and even the obituaries.And just think how the weather reports have changed!

Somehow, we came into possession of a record player and had a pile of old 78 rpm records which were quite large and thick and mostly old music from the 30's and 40's mixed with classical. I thought that was pretty cool and we could play one record at a time by lifting the needle up and down on the different tunes. The music we wanted, when we wanted it (if we had it).

To me, the next big development was the transistor radio! Imagine! We could carry a radio around with us. We could only get a couple of stations, except at night, when our range would go clear out to Oklahoma City and Chicago! I even made a list of the call letters, where they were and the number on the dial! KOMA out of Oklahoma was a big hit out here with the teens and pre-teens and we all thought the kissing tone was a hoot. To you youngsters who don't know about the kissing tone, it was a sound they played when you were supposed to kiss your sweetheart.

I saved and saved my tips from waitressing until I had enough to order an awesome transistor radio from Sears Roebuck for about $30. Imagine, a teenage girl spending that much on music back in the early sixties! Shows how much I loved music! I still have that radio and I think it would still work if I could get the tuning dial fixed. I took it everywhere with me - to Beach where I boarded out for high school and home on weekends. To college in Dickinson, to Minneapolis for a summer, then to the bank in Medora where it kept me company while I worked there alone for 20 years, then to my office at the "big" bank in Beach and then I think it kind of tuckered out in the early 90's.

As time went by, my sister and I had a little "suitcase" record player which we could play the new 45 rpm records on as well as the 78's - i don't think we had a lot of records though because I mostly remember "Its Bitsy Teeny Weeny Yellow Polka Dot Bikini" and "Purple People Eater." And, if you played it in the basement where I slept, and didn't have your shoes on, you got a shock when you touched it! A much later anecdote about record players was once when our kids were little, Krista was playing some old records in her room and I asked Hanson what they had been doing, He replied, "Listening to some big round flat black things."

When we were newlyweds, I couldn't wait to get a Magnavox Console Stereo that you could stack up to six different records on and they would play automatically, one by one, unless they got stuck or skipped. By then we even had high fidelity and stereo! I couldn't imagine it getting much better. When you got to "town" you almost always had to check out the record section at Woolworths - I still have most of my records.

Just a photo of me and a photo entered in the Badlands Art Show in Dickinson last week. This picture won an award so I was pleased and honored, I am just putting a photo in my blog here and there for those of you who don't like too many words. I am thinking this dissertation is getting a little long, and I may have to continue it in one or two more installments,

Recently, a friend asked me if I had ever done any double exposure photos - I hadn't, but of course I love a challenge. Here are two of my first attempts.

I am going to wrap this up for today, but I do want to continue my musical technology adventures in my next blog. I have been busy, helped a little with lefse season, moving equipment, did a little sewing , helped move machinery, entertained some grandchildren, entered art show and plan to participate in Beach's Turkey Trot tomorrow,(come buy a calendar or print from me!) been going to Avery's volley ball and basketball games-and oh yes, we bought a new-to-us motor home. Hoping it will provide some good fodder for future blogs.

So much to do, so little time. Thanksgiving blessings to all. Hope to talk to you again soon. TTFN