Category: musings

Via “Die Forelle” by Schubert #Music #Mp3

The Trout #Monday Musical Memories

When I was little, my parents played recordings of classical music to help me fall asleep. One selection was Schubert’s Trout quintet. I especially liked one of the movements, which you’ll hear today.

When I took a music history class in college, I learned that this movement was originally a German art song about a trout being caught by a fisherman, sung from the viewpoint of the poor trout. If I’d known this as a child, the lovely melody would probably not have lulled me to sleep. I also wouldn’t have tried my hand at fishing the few times my family ventured to a lake or stream to partake of this activity.

I’m doing something a little different with today’s song. Instead of a video or recording of me singing the song, I’m providing a link to a lovely rendition of this movement from Schubert’s Trout quintet played by Dr. Crystal Grimes on the zither. Enjoy!

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The Thing #Essay #Writing Prompt

Remember the song about the man who discovers a box on a beach? He opens it and finds a treasure. He tries to sell it to a friend, but the friend threatens to call the police if he doesn’t leave the premises. He takes it home to his wife, but she tells him to go away and never return. He tries to give it to a desperate hoboe. But the hoboe runs away when he sees it.

For years, this man travels far and wide with a treasure nobody wants that’s doing him no good. He finally ends up at The Pearly Gates, where St. Peter tells him to take the thing down below.

One wonders why he didn’t leave this unknown treasure on the beach where he found it if nobody wanted it. But if he did, it wouldn’t be much of a song, would it? One also wonders what was in the box that nobody wanted.

At the end of the song, the singer advises that if you find such a box on the beach, don’t open it because you’ll never get rid of whatever’s inside. Likewise, if a friend came to me with a box and claimed that what was inside would change everything, I’d say to my friend, “Why don’t you open the box?”

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Five Things I Don’t Like #Blog Tag

Thanks to Beetleypete and Stevie Turner for inspiring this post. Now, here are five things I don’t like.

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Barking dogs. Please don’t get me wrong. I love dogs. But when a dog is left in a yard unattended and barks and barks and barks for no reason, it drives me nuts. Put yourself in the dog’s shoes. How would you like it if you were left alone in a yard with nothing to do but run around. Unlike humans, dogs can’t occupy themselves with smartphones, tablets, and other devices.

2. Drivers who don’t stop. Here in the United States, drivers are required by law to stop and let a pedestrian with a white cane cross at a legal intersection. In case you don’t know, a person using a white cane is either blind or visually impaired. Because many drivers don’t obey this law, I try to cross where there are stop signs. But some drivers ignore stop signs and keep going. Fortunately, I can see them coming, but others aren’t so lucky. Someone needs to invent a cane with a camera that would allow its user to snap a picture of an offending vehicle and send it to the local police department.

3. People who drive while texting. Many accidents have happened as a result of this inconsiderate behavior. It may be a good time management tactic, but how many people must die or be seriously injured before folks realize that the human brain is not capable of handling such multi-tasking? There should be a law against this and a way photos of offending drivers can be sent to the authorities.

4. Able-bodied people who park in spots reserved for disabled drivers. Yes, these places are usually located conveniently close to entrances. But if you have two perfectly good legs, there’s no reason why you can’t park in a regular spot that is perhaps farther away. So what if you’re at the supermarket and anticipate carrying several grocery bags and have three whining, crying kids. A person in a wheelchair can’t walk, let alone carry groceries. So, think about that the next time you’re searching for the perfect parking spot.

5. Companies that employ skeleton crews during the holidays. The week before Christmas a couple of years ago, I lost my Internet service. To make a long story short, it took almost a week for it to be restored. I then learned that it was a simple matter of flipping a switch in the local office, but the person responsible for doing this was on vacation. Now, I’m no Scrooge. If this had happened on Christmas Day, I certainly wouldn’t have expected same-day service. But there’s absolutely no reason why the problem couldn’t have been fixed when I first lost service the week before. I have since switched Internet providers.

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How about you? What are five things you don’t like? You can share them in the comment field below or on your own blog with a pingback. In any case, I look forward to reading them.

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White Christmas #Monday Musical Memories

When I was growing up in Tucson, Arizona, during this time of the year, I heard many songs and stories about snowmen coming to life, riding in a one-horse conveyance through drifted snow to Grandmother’s house for fun, pudding, and pumpkin pie, and Santa riding through the snow in a sleigh, pulled by eight reindeer, to deliver packages to many good boys and girls. In the warm Arizona climate, I longed for snow. On the rare occasions we were blessed with the white stuff, it didn’t last long enough to build a snowman.

When we moved to Sheridan, Wyoming, in 1973 when I was twelve, I learned, first-hand, the meaning of the saying, “Be careful what you wish for.” After slipping, sliding, and falling on my butt a few times, I realized that snow wasn’t what I expected it to be. I didn’t know what I expected it to be, but that didn’t make it any more likeable. By February of our first year, I was sick of it. But we were settled here, so all I could do was put on my big girl pants and deal with it.

As an adult, my perspective on snow hasn’t changed. I could move to a warmer climate. If I could afford to do so, I’d spend winters in Florida closer to my brother and summers here in Wyoming. But at my age, the prospect of moving is more daunting than putting on my boots and getting out in the snow when I need to go somewhere. But every once in a while, I can’t help wishing for a brown Christmas instead of a white one.

Despite my lack of enthusiasm about snow, I enjoy singing songs about it, like the one you’ll hear me sing when you click the link below. If you like white Christmases, may you always have them. May your days always be merry and bright.

White Christmas

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