The Day the Music Died
1970……doesn’t seem very long ago. In the seventies, various forms of music delivery were possible. Everything was hard copy. I had friends with eight track players, cassette players and we all had vinyl. As a young teen, I had a large vinyl collection which soon sat on the shelf collecting dust as I began purchasing cassettes as they became my music media of choice. As an adult, I prefer to purchase CD’s now digitally mastered. Today my kids listen to YouTube or they purchase iTunes which enables them to prepay for downloads. Vinyl had dimension. In comparison to listening to a digitally mastered CD, my belief is that the music is very flat, no volume. With technology continually bursting upon the horizon, something is always lost however the excitement of something new and innovative holds our interests. The day the Music died, doesn't just refer to the death of Buddy Holly from Don McLean's song American Pie. The music has changed today.
Back in the fifties,, several artists might sing the same song hence many covers available for purchase. I think today several artists are doing the same thing. The technology is amazing. The popularity of YouTube is partly due to the social networking it promotes amongst the people. The baby boomers enjoy the nostalgia of searching for old clips from television programs, and all ages enjoy the tutorials. Occasional humorous clips entertain all ages. It is a tool, also a way to spread messages across the masses. Now imagine if we had to go back to the days before the internet. I read an article from WebBiz Winter 2010 issue. It stated that the internet had first been available to college students. A college student Marc Andreeson, age 21, worked on the first browser Mosaic which quickly spread by “word of mouth” [the viral loop] over the internet. According to the article by Adam Penenberg, when Bill Clinton became President in 1993, there were approximately 20 websites. Penenburg said today there are over one billion websites today. From the days of my youth, I would write a letter and anxiously await a reply when today I can have an instant reply either by email or by instant messaging via the web. I can probably say that I am grateful I did not have these distractions as a young girl. How could our kids possibly understand our world before the internet?
The Wall Street Journal dated January 11th, 2010 had an article by L. Gordon Crovitz {Information Age} entitled ‘China’s Web Crackdown Continues’ kept my interest as I read about Nicholae Ceausescu and his oppression of the people of Romania. Who would have thought that owning a typewriter warranted registering it or one could be committing a crime punishable by death?This was in 1967. It was all about the control of information and the power to censor material written against the leader who was eventually tried and executed with the collapse of communism some twenty or more years later. Today, no matter where one lives, governments control the flow of information to the masses. In the
Each year, I like to get together with my mom and sisters and go window shopping in
This year,we walked around the streets darting in and out of shops looking for unique treasures. We went into Gritty McDuff’s for some food and drink. I can think of no other way to spend time during the holidays than with family. Receiving Christmas cards from friends near and far allows me to realize how lucky I have been in life, to have a been a friend and to have friends.
One can’t help but to think of family and friends who are no longer part of our Christmas Tradition. Each year we recall those we have loved and are now gone, keeping their memory close to our hearts. Still, Christmas is about celebrating the gift of the birth of Christ. If anything, it is not our place to cast judgment upon others. When I read tragic news headlines, I wonder how families can cope with their tragedies. Then I think that we are human so it is beyond our ability to sometimes forgive. I suppose that is one of the reasons I believe in a higher power. I believe casting judgment is in God’s hands, not mine and I also believe he is not vengeful, because that would make him human- like. Treat others with regard to how you would like to be treated. Unfortunately, Christmas is stressful because many emotions are tied to the holiday season. Christmas time is when we think of many with whom we are acquainted and for whatever reasons, we have lost touch. Maybe we had a falling out, a misunderstanding, a fight, yet we are too stubborn to make amends. Pride stands in the way. Time does not heal wounds, it only masks them. Years pass and memories come and go and I often wonder how people are doing at this time of year. I know there are many who struggle this time of year. Every family experiences loss.
This Christmas was spent at my parents’ home with my sisters and their families. We had a wonderful dinner and spent a great deal of time playing games organized by my sister, Sharon. It was a great way to spend the day. It was perhaps the simplest Christmas we have ever had, very few gifts and little stress. It was all about spending time together. On one shopping excursion, a cashier at the bookstore told me that many people this year were paying with cash and using their debit cards, instead of credit cards. In the city
Wishing you all the very best for the New Year, in prosperity, health and the compassion and love we all need to get by in our lives. For those of you with children; remember a television does not teach our children to love and to have compassion. There is no substitute for family, one that is involved in each other’s lives. A family is about caring for one another. It is about treating grandparents with respect and making them feel they are still vital members of our families. The older I get, the luckier I am to know I have had the love and support of my family all along the way.
Please excuse my long absence as I had a longtime visitor at my home and enjoyed the visit. This is not to say I was empty of thought as each day I would write notes to myself about topics with which I was concerned. The following gives testament to some of my mind wanderings. Oh the places I have traveled……
Each day, we are updated with blurbs and headlines regarding current news across the Globe. How much news do we really need? When 9/11 occurred, I became obsessed with news 24/7 and in fact found my sleep interrupted as I would awaken several times during the night to keep updated, as if I might miss an important piece of news. Some would call this phenomenon a little crazy. I must agree now, that it probably was crazy, and I was not the only person in the Nation watching CNN Headline News at all hours of the night. I continued watching the CNN Headline News for over a year. Then I realized that this was not the norm.
Once I read an article which mentioned a concept that we reserve the right ‘Not to Know.’ I believe over one hundred years ago, an idea that one day we would become over saturated with so much news that we could actually go crazy. Today, I can be watching something on television and it will be interrupted with a sensational crime story, with no warning of graphic material. This is total disregard for any children who may be watching. It is as if sensationalism has replaced decency. I am not really sure that what I see portrayed as news is really news. What I sometimes see and read is more information than my brain can handle. Sometimes, I do not know what to do with disturbing graphics and information and I am not good at processing it. I wished I had never even heard the story, because it continues to haunt me Surely, I cannot be the only one who feels this way. My belief is that we will never have the ability to keep up with the fast pace of technological advancement. We purchase our computers and they are obsolete before we bring them home. The news feeds which bombard us minute by minute are similar in the way that it is unfiltered, out of control information and media.
Everyone has a cell phone with a camera, a digital camera, spy novelties, or a video camera. At any time, you can be filmed and never know it. I saw quite by accident a piece of footage showing a young man’s death on his motorcycle doing a stunt he had probably done hundreds of times. It had been posted You Tube and unfortunately, I never intended to see it but caught the gruesome scene. I wonder how anyone tcould take footage like that and post it with no regard to the grieving family. Although I live in a country which has alternative media, uncensored this and that, I would fight to keep it this way. I would prefer to filter out the nonsense myself, by avoiding horrific headlines and turning off the TV and radio when I am feeling bombarded. Who really needs news 24/7? Long gone are the days when my ancestors read a weekly rag which covered topics around the Globe. I think there were fewer crazier people back then too.
The media has a way of pushing our buttons and even if we enjoy a certain program, sometimes we need to control our response to the material… and turn off the radio. I am not sure our media is doing a good job covering important issues. It seems the local town rags do an excellent job of covering the responses of everyday citizens to the news media. I was not interested in the antics of Britney Spears or the death of Michael Jackson or the OJ Simpson trial. Why do we hold these Hollywood types in high esteem? Do we wish to be like them? I think if we all took an interest in what is happening in our own four walls, the world might just be a little more interesting and healthier.
Another topic of interest is our dependence on China. We owe them a great debt, because we think we need all this crap made in China. How much junk do we really all need? The proof is in the hundreds of yard sales in my own vicinity. If we were not obsessed with stuff, there would be no yard sales. It reminds me of an old newspaper article I read about the American South while sitting in my doctor office. The South was very angry with the North shortly after the Civil War. The wounds were very deep. One Northerner wrote, “You can’t blame them because they wake each day from their Yankee made beds, which are covered with their Yankee made sheets and pillows. The slip into their Yankee made clothes, and groom themselves with their Yankee made brushes, combs and razors. They sit down at their Yankee made table and chairs and eat from their Yankee made dishes and silverware”….You get the point. Look around your home to see all the items made elsewhere, usually China. Today, we are like the Southerners of long ago in comparison with our dependency on China. The Chinese said that America spends tomorrow’s money today and the Chinese do not do that.
Even the media cannot keep up with the pace of the wonders of the Internet like Twitter, You Tube etc. One has to research so much to gather stories of interest and to investigate. I do not see much of that going on in too many newspapers. You would think that the newspapers would complement their news stories with the likes of alternative media sources. I would think in the news business, one would have to search and search for newsworthy items in all types of available internet media. Perhaps this is why the newspapers are failing. Soon they will all be similar to the Tabloids which are commonplace in England. News as it is delivered will be over, if that is what we will be reduced to for our news. It is not unusual for me to read a story and leave with the feeling that the story was unfinished. I always look for what is unwritten, much like in conversation, the unspoken is sometimes more important than what was spoken. Maybe too many choices are just as bad as not enough choices. That is why I believe the online comments are a fine addition to the online newspaper editions. Sometimes the comments are disturbing, but usually they give a sense of closure to the story and commenters even question pieces of the story.
On another matter; a short time ago that there were no supermarkets, only corner markets. As a child, I seldom recall going to McDonald’s Restaurant. We went to Old Orchard Beach for rides once. As a big family we did things together, and went places which cost little to nothing. There was not this urgent sense of consumerism. Why do so many feel like they cannot ever wait for any purchase? They want it all now. Supposedly ATM card users spend more than people who carry cash spend. We are still in control….turn off the TV, throw out the sale flyers, stop shopping on the internet, and don’t allow yourself to be told what you need. Most of all on a humorous note, don’t look at those magazines at the checkout, always reminding us of what a man needs. No wonder we feel inadequate… and to think we even pay for it at the checkout! Come to think of it, I have not seen many magazines about what a woman wants… unless of course a woman is writing it for another woman. You can make that choice not to buy everything in sight and put a few dollars in your pocket.
There is something about the allure of the sea and growing up on the coast of Maine that there are certain pleasures not to be taken for granted. The smell of the salt air and the sounds of bell buoys and foghorns on a foggy night are good memories of living along the coast. Having lived on Peaks Island for a short time, my ties are strong to the sea. Painting mussel shells with designs and combing the beach are among my favorite things to do along an ocean beach.
The sea creatures seen in the tidal pools and the sight of seals as they feast along the jagged rocks were truly a pleasure to witness on a recent excursion to Monhegan Island. A gem in Muscongus Bay, Monhegan Island is nearly ten miles out to sea. We saw a lone fisherman out there in the middle of the bay, and I realized that it must be a lonely job for hardworking fishermen. I am sure that the catch can be plentiful but their livelihood is tied to the sea. With regulations and the current low cost of lobster [current prices are about 3.99 lb]; it must be very hard to make a good living at times. I am reminded of my last trip to Damariscotta, when I purchased native artist Dahlov Ipcar’s children’s book, The Lobsterman, filled with delightful night scenes of the lobsterman at work. Matinicus Island has been in the headlines regarding fishing territory disputes. I wish their island community the best to come together as a community again.
Prior to the boat ride to Monhegan Island, I went on a trip to downtown Damariscotta, on our yearly visit to Reny’s. I met Mr. Robert Reny years ago in his store here and was impressed with his strong work ethic and dedication. He passed away this year and I am sure many people here will miss him as we saw a large banner “Thank you R.H. Reny” upon our arrival to the area this week. We spent a lot of time and money downtown. As always, I highly recommend Reny’s for the fashions, bargains, jewelry, souvenirs, stemware, and all things that could be considered necessities. Everyone on the street was either talking about going to Reny’s or carrying Reny’s bags like we did. Afterward I found a nice boutique named Darling and Delisle filled with beautiful jewelry, whimsical and classic designed hats, scarves and lovely hair pieces made with rhinestones and materials similar to Bakelite and tortoiseshell. While there I purchased a mermaid pendant with three natural pearls on the strand. Later on, I purchased some hairpieces for my sisters because they are my best friends.
During the week, we had a karaoke night with a sing-a-long with our Canadian Cousins, “We Are Family”- a night of insanity and reminiscing and before the night was over, we were saying, eh?” Another old neighbor from Redbank Village came up the same week and we had a grand get-together. My brother came by with his family a few times and music was the central force. We had wonderful times playing music and singing by the campfire.
My husband planned an evening lobster feast, chicken, steak, corn, margaritas, potato, and salad, along with many extras, to feed some twenty-five people. It was an evening to remember. The week was filled with horseshoes, skateboarding and basketball, canoeing and fishing, for all the teens-as well as plenty of teen action down by the pavilion with lots of socializing.
Hot tubs, Jacuzzis and ice cream, slushies and snacks from the general store made our evenings worthwhile. Camping at Lake Pemaquid was a blast, so I am told. Family is what it is all about… I love them all and they make the trip worthwhile.
The weather was perfect, except for the visibility of the annual meteor shower [August 12th]. The visibility was not good. In Weld , Maine back in 1970, on a camping trip, we witnessed at Dummers Beach, the most spectacular meteor shower ever, with hundreds of shooting stars. Never again have we witnessed anything as spectacular.
Lake Pemaquid camping is really about all the kids getting together and making memories for them. Our family has been camping since 1967, so this is our forty second year of making memories. My father built his trailer in 1968 specifically for camping. This past year he used the same frame but rebuilt the whole trailer body for the third time.
We learned to play dominoes on our last evening together making Dad happy. It also made us happy as we maneuvered the crazy game of Mexican Train Dominoes and laughed hysterically all evening. All in all, it was an excellent staycation, as I think that I prefer to keep my money in Maine whenever possible. I especially choose to shop in lovely Damariscotta and not in Wiscasset because the long traffic delays have made me realize I will never spend a dime there. Our vehicle moved five miles in forty minutes. On the way back we sailed through Wiscasset with no delays and I did not stop to spend any money either. As usual, it is always nice to be back home. Next year will be a grand trip to Vinalhaven or maybe even Matinicus.