A Christmas Memory

Sheeeze, drom. You play sax? Tenor or alto. Wow!

A couple of memories ago, I remember the very first professional gig in which I sang with a wailing sax as back up...It was Christmas, and I was young............................................................................................

Hmmm. Letty and the sax man?? Methinks there may be a story or two there eh?

fishin', The music business ain't even close to earth.

Oh, yes! More stories to tell than Poe's Bells...

Goodnight with a memory and a sigh.....


From Florida

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Have any of you seen the movie, A Christmas Story? One of the funniest pics I've ever seen.

I was always thrillied to spend Christmas with grandparents in Colorado. Home in Tucson with little snow just didn't live up to all the movies of Currier and Ives scenes filled with sleigh rides and jingling bells.

We did put lights on the saguaro cacti and spray painted tumble weeds white and gold. At least for children, Christmas Eve was magical, no matter where we happened to be.

Joe, Love your avatar. Is that You?

Ah, Diane. I swear, honey, every time I see a Christmas Story I laugh. "Soap poisoning". Yes, Christmas Eve is special anywhere.
I remember the first Christmas that I finally begin to realize that there was no Santa Claus. I had gotten a blue tricycle and I questioned how Santa could have gotten that big, bulky thing in a simple sack--the end of innocence. <smile>

Yeah, I do! Thanks for your interest . I'm a satisfactory pianist and guitar player, so I thought at the start of this year that I should challenge my musical side again. I had always wanted to play the sax, as I loved jazz as a child and when older- what an expression! So I thought, 'I'm going to be able to play the sax well by the end of the year.' With a bit of determination (obstinacy!) and practise, I learnt! I did think that I would never be able to play though. I play tenor sax... I preferred it.

Wow, Letty; where was your first gig? How long ago was that? Do you still sing? Did you ever get an album out? Was it an ensemble thing, or were you on your own? I was with a band, but it was never wildly successful...

That is Joe himself, yes.

How old were you when you realized that there is no Santa Claus? I was about eight! As we had no chimney, my mother and I made up fantastical stories about skeleton keys... I realized using Science. (sigh)

Wow, Christmases in Colorado! It must have been wonderful for you, seeing the snow and really feeling Christmas. Where are you planning to spend this Christmas? I remember that the first time that it snowed around Christmas was when I was about eleven or twelve- it had never snowed before then. It was 2 am on St Stephen's night, and I started to videotape the snow falling down, everything glittering. I then went outside, thinking that the snow would be gone in the morning. My uncle followed me, and we bonded as the snow fell... I always remember that.

Gorsh, drom. I don't quite remember how old I was when Santa became my parents.

My first professional gig was when I was about seventeen or eighteen. I would have done it for free, 'cause I was enthralled at performing for an appreciative audience. Jazz has always been my thing, but over the years my tastes have become more eclectic.

I finally married the bass player. and the only chirpin' I do now is spontaneous or when I play the piano.

I was the vocalist for an eight piece group, but mostly sang with a jazz quartet--piano, bass, tenor sax, and drums, and it was strictly an avocation, but often paid more than my day job. You sound quite versatile, Drom. The music business ain't easy, ya know.

Do you think that having Santa and then breaking kids' dreams is worth it, or not? Would Christmas be any less special for a child if it were a parent, rather than a fictitous Santa character, who gives them presents? I'd probably say 'yes' and 'yes,' but I don't know kid's mentalities.

Have you good memories of that gig? What was the best gig that you played? How long were you in music? (Sorry for the myriad questions!)

What was the quartet called? Did you ever hope for fame, or was it strictly a hobby/ a manifestation of a long-time love? (And aw... was it love at first sight, or an eventual thing?)

Thanks; some people would call me multi-faceted, some would say that I'm a jack-of-all-trades. I didn't want to specialize on one language, so I ended up doing three (and three more on the side); I didn't want to spend my first holiday on my own, without the school, family or friends in just one place, so I went all over Europe; I didn't want to just play one instrument (bad idea!), so I set about trying to learn how to play the whole orchestra... I don't know.

I know that the music business is not easy; I have an ideology like the one that you had: to do it for fun and as a pasttime. I don't think that I'd want to be famous for music; I'm not one for flunkies and burning out. If I were to be famous, I suppose that it would be for novels (if I could ever stop my perfectionist side from completely changing things and taking seven years to finish a poetry collection, etc!) No, I never imagined that I would ever become famous for music, which is why I concentrated on academic study... unlike the ex-singer (we ousted the weirdo) of our attempt at an alternative band, who completely messed up his A levels and didn't go to University because he always thought that he would be famous. Now he's a very sad perverted little man, living in a council flat. A case of 'i sogni non sono la realtà.' Too many people think that they will become famous footballers, or big pop stars, and end up with nothing... that's what happens when one pushes a wide crowd down a narrow lane.

drom, as a matter of fact, when my children discovered that there was NO Santa, they thought it was quite mind boggling that their parents let some fat man in a red suit take the credit when they did all the stuff.

The name of the four piece group was The Townsmen and the name of the larger group was The Robert Bruce Orchestra. Our calling cards said:
Music for the middle ages. (Robert the Bruce). I come from a very musical family, drom, so nothing was eventual. I simply fell into the business. The best gig the group ever played was at The Greenbriar Hotel in White Sulphur Springs. I never hoped for fame because I knew early on that I did not have the personality for that type competition.

Another funny memory:

In elementary school, kids exchanged gifts. I was soooooo hoping that my little boy friend would give me something. He did, but it was a bunch of marbles. I said in my heart "No Good" but I told him, "Thank you. I love these things."

Good luck in your endeavors, my young friend.

Lornas eggnog story was a hoot......lmao!!!!

My mother used to try to hide our gifts. But it was no use, we were the slickest kids on our road. She even tried to hide them in the camper one year. But we caught them gone, snuck my sister in the camper window...and to the door to unlock it. We climbed in, opened our Christmas and wrapped it back. Well...we thought we were slick till she caught on......

It used to just peeve her that we always had this fake surprise look on our faces when it come to unwrap gifts. So she started to put jars of water....or rocks wrapped in paper to really throw us at the moment of truth....so then...the joke was on us.

Makemeshiver, She could have given you a humbug for Christmas that said, "Bah"

My idea of decorating the tree was to stand back and throw tinsel at it, sooooo, my sisters made certain that I was otherwise occupied when it came to decorating time. Being innovative for a little thing, I decorated their shoes with candle wax.

lemme think a while

I think I'll let husker think.

Thanks, so was yours...

I apologize in advance if I have told this Christmas story before...
Back in 1970 I got home from VN and went back to work for the CPA firm I had been with after finishing college but before enlisting in the Army.
I lasted a year and a bit before I got "itchy-feet." I quit my job and spent the next three plus years thumbing around Europe and Turkey and, through a random comment, into Africa. From Cairo to Capetown.
Malawi is just below the equator; a long skinny country with Lake Malawi on its eastern border. There is some flatland next to the lake but then there is an escarpment rising maybe 600 feet.
I had come down through Malawi along the lake, after cutting off my long blond hair at the border in order to conform with Malawian rules. When I got to the bottom I met a young lady from NZ who was traveling north through the highlands. I had just finished reading a book, by an awesome writer, about the high plateau region. So I headed north with her..
On Dec 22nd, we ended up throwing our sleeping bags out in a small field overlooking the lake. It was starting to get dark. We were talking some and then, from behind us, came a voice; a very deep voice. "You can not stay here," he said.
We instinctively started to gather together our stuff.
"You can not stay here because you must stay at my house."
We turned around to see a very large old man wearing a three-piece black suit. He was speaking in Swahili which, at the time, I had a reasonable knowledge of.
We were on the outskirts of a town called Livingstonia. Beautiful brick houses, sligltly Victorian, lining a straight street down to the Baptist church at the end.
Our host turned us over to his wife, who fed us. He said there was going to be a Nativity play at the church. We were welcome to attend.
We tried to make ourselves look as presentable as possible using the clothes we had in our backpacks.
We walked down the street to the church just before the service began.
The chuch was beautiful, lit by latterns on the side walls.
We slipped into the back pew, the only white people in attendance.
A young man came up and said we shouldn't be sitting there; we needed to be in the front pew. A couple of people were displaced. I felt badly about that.
A couple of minutes later we were told that that wasn't the right place for us either. We needed to be in the vestibule, right next to the manger, facing the audience.
The play was great, with some unusual twists. I had done some acting as a youth so I had no problem with reacting to what was was going on. My friend from NZ was pretty nervous but people from NZ are naturally so sweet and gentle. She did well.
That's my Christmas story. Thanks for reading it, if you did. -realjohnboy-

John, I read it quite carefully. I think you just outdid Truman Capote. There is something special in your beau geste.

A gentle touch that says so much, and yet a firm resistance to crying, "Why me"...

Do you ever hear from your friend in New Zealand?

No, I can't remember the name of the lady from NZ. The South African writer I alluded to is Laurens Van Der Post. "Venture to the Interior" is the one I was referring to. Not his best work, but pretty good.
Truman Capote wrote a fantastic holiday story but I am drawing a total blank about it. Can anyone give me a clue? Thanks, -rjb-

Gah, I had forgotten that this was the post in which I was talking to you. Sorry that I was a bit delayed in my responding.

That's much what I thought; why do parents do it? I reflected on it, and then thought, perhaps to bring a little bit of magic to an uninnocent age.

How long were you with these two groups, Letty? What caused you to stop being in the bands? You had a day job whilst singing, am I right? If you were to relive your life, would you still have sang with the groups?

I agree with you in not looking a gifthorse in the mouth. Whatever your present might be, at least it shows consideration and thought. (Unless it's something given grudgingly as a regift at the last minute, because they've forgotten to buy you anything.)

Thank you, Letty, but as I say, whatever isn't a success is an experience.

John, Capote's "Christmas Memory" was about a young boy who stayed with a "crazy" aunt at Christmas time and they worked together making fruit cakes. If I'm not mistaken, Capote also wrote a wonderful short story called "The Jug of Silver". Haven't researched this so I could be in error. Capote had a beauty of description that defies explanation.

Well, drom. I was a teacher, and am now retired. I first began a career working in radio, and then in radio and television. Then, I finished undergraduate and graduate school and taught for many years, singing on weekends and during the Christmas season. Would I do it over again? You bet, my friend. It was good money and lots of fun (sometimes).

Good morning, all.