Remember discmans? I remember my first cd player. It was a discman dinosaur! Do you remember having to carefully balance it, just so, on your lap? It was always important to find the proper placement of a discman to ensure that the cd didn't skip. It could not ever be turned on its side. I would get so aggravated when my mom was driving the car and we would hit a bump. Or worse, we'd hit an entire bumpy road to drive down. Ughh. I remember the distress in that. Think about how easy it is to plug an ipod into a car stereo now a days. When I used my discman as a kid, I had to plug it into a tape adapter. I guess that's just one more thing kids these days will never experience.
So, I don't have my notes or journal with me, currently, but I really want to focus on sounds today. Have you ever thought about losing one or more of your senses. Imagine your childhood without sight, touch, taste or smell. The only way you can remember your childhood is by ear. What do you remember hearing? There are specific sounds that come to mind when I reminisce. Interesting enough, though, its not all music.
1.) We had a trompoline in our backyard when I was a kid. I don't know where it came from. I think the neighbors moved and my dad allowed my brother and I to drag it over to our backyard when they left it behind. It wasn't fancy. There was no safety net. This was the nineties. A cushion for the springs didn't exist and we recieved this trampoline with at least 3 or 4 missing springs. Why my dad let us play on this thing unattended beats the hell outta me. Many days were spent jumping with the olther kids on the cul-de-sac. Many nights were spent laying out watching the stars. Many hotdogs, watermelons, chips, and hamburgers were consumed on this trampoline. Many games of truth and dare were played with the other kids in the neighborhood. If this trampoline could talk, oh the stories it could tell us. Whenever my dad jumped on it with me and Jonathan were the best times. We used to play this game called popcorn. He was so heavy and we were so light that whenever he jumped we would sit curled up in a little ball and wait for him to bounce us 6 feet high like popcorn kernals. It never got old. The constant, unrhythmic noises related to this trampoline still play in the back of my head. I can see my gappy toothed self giggling as my dad would pop me into the air as I was wearing ugly lion king shorts. Taking away all of the smiles and silent actions, you are with springs squeaking and unmuffled, free spirited giggles.
2.) Do you remember those merry go round rides below. The liability are the cause of its slow extinction. What were parents thinking letting us on these things? I remember the distinct creaks these things made as its spun in a dangerous whirlwind. As you were spinning, the entire world disappeared. All you had to do was tip your head back and let the wind wash all the worries away.
4.) On a child's list of fabulous things falls McDonalds and the ice cream truck. Seriously, hearing the ice cream truck music on a summer day, what more could you ask for when you're 8. I heard a joke one time about a dad that told his child if the music was playing, the truck was out of ice cream. Cruel, but hilarious all the same. I would always buy the power ranger pop, snoopy or the flintstone push up pop. What did you buy?
5.) Do you remember blowing into the nintendo games to make them work? Yeah, that noise. That noise will forever remain on my list of noises encountered in my childhood. Many days spent tilting side to side on the curvy roats, playing mario kart, trying to avoid the slippery bananas. Remember those races?
6.)"Marco?"....."Polo!!!!!!" Are any more words needed?
7.) "Light as a feather, stiff as a board." "Light as a feather, stiff as a board" "Light as a feather, stiff as a board." I played that game all the time at sleepovers with girlfriends. I don't know why we thought it was so cool. We never lifted anyone off the floor, but as everyone whispered, it was like I almost got lost in a trance. All of us focused on one desire. 12 years old, completely clueless about life.
8.) My dad recieved his first banjo when I was younger. This was a rough time for me. My dad is a very talented musician, but when he first picked up the banjo, he would come into my room and wake me up for school playing it. It sounded like two cans banging together three inches from me ears. He's better at it now.
9.) I spent one summer, one whole summer, on my bike. I rode it everywhere. No shoes, rarely a helmet. The continual clicking of the gears as I peddled uphill or soared downhill is a sound that comes to mind. An almost, second nature sound that people often forget about. Maybe this whole idea is stupid, but taking out the other senses really helps me focus on the passions I had as a child. Even, if my passions only exsisted of ice cream, and marco polo. At least, that's something.
DG
No comments:
Post a Comment