Just because I like the music

I had forgotten how beautiful the theme from the movie Cast Away starring Tom Hanks was until I recently watched it again.  I decided to find a link to save for easy listening.  It is just over three and a half minutes if you want to listen.

Enjoy!

When the Piccolo Player Stands . . .

Today is Independence Day in the United States.  Along with the Francis Scott Key’s “Star-Spangled Banner” and other patriotic music easily heard on radio stations or at concerts in the park today, John Philip Sousa’s “The Stars and Stripes Forever” will certainly be on the list.

I love that song.

My father was a piccolo player and one of the pieces I was lucky enough to hear/see him play in concert several times on days like today, was “The Stars and Stripes Forever.”  When it comes time for the piccolo solo, the player(s) stand.  I had to watch my father play from the back of the crowd because I knew I would I always stand, too.

When he rose and took in a deep breath before the first note, my image of him as my dad faded for a few moments.  He was the piccolo player.  He was a very good piccolo player, in fact.

So . . . because I’ve already heard “The Stars and Stripes Forever’ several time s today already, and will likely hear it a few more times before this Independence Day is over, I decided to say thanks to piccolo players for providing an auditory memory of my dad.

Because my father served in the United States Air Force, I am including a link to the United States Air Force Band’s website.  You’ll have to scroll down to find ”The Stars and Stripes Forever”, but it’s there for listening as well as downloading.  It’s in the section titled Marches for Pre-ceremony and Pass-in-Review.   My link is to the ceremonial music, but near the top right side of the page, you also have options to look for other USAF Band music by ensemble and genre.   Enjoy!

And have a Happy 4th!

I wonder what he plays on his radio . . .

While running an errand today, I passed the van in the photo below. 

 

It made me giggle a little to wonder what the driver of the van played on his radio.  Muzak:  founders of piped music.  I checked online and they still do music, but other things as well.  I even found Muzak music on one of their pages.  Click the link and turn up the volume to listen. Move the slider ar the bottom of the screen to select various decades and to read the history.

For as long as they’ve been around, I’ve never seen a truck before today.

Still . . . I wonder what was playing on the radio in the van.

 

“Half-Way Home”

I can’t remember what I was up to in 1981, but it probably had something to do with raising Angel and at that time, she would still have been just a little tyker.  I didn’t get out to many movies then and if I did, they were children’s movies.

Yesterday, there was a movie on a local TV channel that I hadn’t seen or even heard of:  The Earthling, starring William Holden and Ricky Schroder.  Just by title alone, I wouldn’t have watched  it.  It sounded like a sci-fi flick.  But the brief description made me curious, so I watched it.

I liked the movie a lot, but the closing song, “Half-way Home” - the theme from the movie – caught me by surprise and was FABULOUS!  It’s been a long time since I’ve heard anything sung by Maureen McGovern and never this song.  She does her usual wonderful work on this piece.

Do you have any movie theme songs that you like?

‘Il Silenzio’

My Grammy Field Trip for today isn’t really for the ‘gram’ in me.  It is for the daughter that I am and the wife that I used to be.

As we begin our Memorial Day weekend here in the United States, I will take a drive to the National Cemetery where my dad and husband are buried.  I will place flags and poppies there for both of them.  Though I go as a daughter and a wife, the moment I step onto the sacred sod, I feel much more like a grateful citizen – grateful for their service.

When my father was laid to rest, I watched as soldiers folded the American flag and handed it to my mother, little knowing that I would be back five years later receiving my own flag . . . . Officer Friendly’s flag.

I have decided to do something different for Memorial Day.  I plan to drive to Smalltownville for the service there.  I haven’t been to one for a very long time – not since I played int the high school band.  I want to be there for the roll call of soldiers.  Gr8 can’t be there this year, so I am going instead.  I think my heart might break, but I will stand when they call his name. 

I wanted to listen to something beautiful before I headed to the cemetery.  Please join me as I listen to Il Silenzio, performed by 13-year-old Melissa Venema with Andre Rieu and his orchestra.