Rachmaninoff’s Prelude in C# Minor

Mom played the piano quite well, and when the spirit moved her, she would play great classical pieces such as Rachmaninoff’s Prelude in C# Minor…..Dum….Dum….Dum….three chords in low octaves to start the piece. All of us could hum the first bars to this piece in our sleep. I think this was her concession to being a secret “pinko” given that he was a Russian composer. I was going to do my 5th grade composition on Rachmaninoff’s life, but switched at the last moment to Felix Mendelssohn, for whom I found a nice reference in the World Book Encyclopedia. It was a time when I was flexing my literary muscle.

Mom also played more "contemporary" tunes (and I use the term loosely) whenever uncles Harold or Derald came over. They would sing and she would accompany them on the piano. Most of these were church tunes or show tunes from the 40s. Her mastery of the keyboard was an inspiration to Ron who, after 3 years of technical lessons, was able to master “Old Black Joe” for a recital….nowadays quite politically incorrect! I think that was the pinnacle of Ron’s musical career. What a pity! Such talent lost.

Springfield- Summer-Illinois State Fair

What would summer in Springfield be without a trip to the Illinois State Fair. Dad, being raised on a farm, had a natural attraction. As kids, we would pile in the car on a weekend day and head about 10 miles to the fairgrounds.

After parking, we would all just hang around with mom and dad for a while visiting the various stables, crafts, food exhibits and then go to watch the prime entertainment at the racecourse. After this, we would break up and go out own way..... usually to the Midway!!!!

The Midway was fascinating. No, no, not just your routine fair rides, but they had exotic shows! Hey, I mean, really exotic..... As you passed by the siamese twin boys, they brought them out and here were two young boys conjoined at the hip...awesome. Then there was the bearded lady, but I always doubted that one. And, of course, the guy that turned into an ape, but you had to pay to go into the tent to see him transform.

But the best was all the way at the end of the Midway... the burlesque show. As young boys, we only went down that far if we were with our buddies on a day trip to the fair. The barker would bring a lady out on stage in front of the tent and she would shake a bit then go back in. All the time the music "WIPEOUT" was blaring as she wiggled and paraded in front of us.

To this day, when I hear that song, I don't think of some surfer boys in Hawaii, but the Illinois State Fair and that great Midway.

Nana's Glasses

Nana's Glasses

Growing up we did not get to see our grandparents on my dad's side very often because they lived in California and we were planted in Illinois. California, in the pre-interstate days, was a very long, hot, crowded car trip away and plane rides were really not an option. My grandparents did come to visit us in Illinois on a few occasions. They would travel by train and we would pick them up in Galesburg for their week stay. Mom would always be in a cleaning frenzy the week before and we were all expected to be on our very best behavior while they were visiting. There was a lot of pressure not to bicker with your siblings and mind your manners and act like the "Father Knows Best" family, not our family. There was always a list of Illinois tourist hotspots to take them. Lincoln's Tomb, Lincoln's House, and New Salem were the Springfield favorites.

We had a guest room in our house in Springfield and my Bob Bob and Nana would spend time away from the chaos of the house relaxing in their room. My bedroom was next to theirs, so I used to wander into their room and yak their ears off. The main reason I would wander in was to see Nana's jewelry and her case with her extra glasses pieces. She had frames that had removable top pieces. She could change the color of her frames to match her dress. THIS WAS COOL. The frames top piece was a hard plastic in blue or green or black with little flecks of silver glitter. I loved watching her change the color by snapping on and off the top piece. The color of her glasses frame was the first thing I focused on every time I saw my grandmother. Unlike today where people get new frames every few years, I never remember seeing my Nana with any other glasses the entire time I knew her. My fascination with her glasses was the glue to my relationship with my grandmother. She taught me some Danish, the name for your fingers (Tumble Tot, Schlik-a-pot, Long mon, Gulda bron, and Lille pate spille mon) and knit us wonderful slippers or sweaters for Christmas, but the glasses, for me, was what was special. Her glasses were the constant, the one thing that did not change and the one thing that we connected on that brought us together.