Have you ever had a totally random event trigger off a memory of a friend or loved one who has passed away? I mean a memory that is so sharp you can see it, feel it, hear it —- maybe even smell it or taste it? I’m not talking about the approach of the holidays or an anniversary but a, seemingly, random event.
Earlier this week I was taking a walk with my grandson in his stroller. Liam likes the new Mickey Mouse Club and especially the music. So much so that my daughter, Sarah, and I have gone on Spotify and downloaded the playlist so that we can play it on our phones on a car ride or, in this case, a walk around the neighborhood. I have to admit that the music is pretty good. His favorite song is “Hot Dog.”
Back to my story.
It was a really nice day so I walked a little longer and, of course, the playlist went a little deeper. One of the songs was “A Bicycle Built For Two” (sung by Daisy and Donald fyi), and when that song played — I was instantly transported back to the mid-70’s and I could picture my mother singing that song in a church Pops Concert.
I grew up in the north end of New Bedford and attended the First Congregational Church at Lund’s Corner. One year, I think it was around 1975 because I would have been 14, we had a Pops Concert. I have no idea what I sang, but my mother did a duet of “A Bicycle Built For Two.” For the life of me I cannot remember who she sang with but I can picture her, in a summer romper, standing next to a bicycle that we had borrowed for the show. I could see it. I could hear it. I could see the room the show was in and I haven’t been there for almost 40 years. Wow! I haven’t thought about that show since….. well probably since it happened.
That’s the power of music I guess. Do you have songs that do that to you? That’s probably why radio stations that play the oldies tend to be so popular.
This is the second time this week I thought of my mother. I had a dream the other night with all this Covid 19/Corona stuff. I dreamt that I had to make sure I checked in with my mother to make sure she had everything she needed whether it was groceries or a mask. Again, it was so vivid that when I woke up I had to remind myself that mom’s been gone ten years now. I have no idea why I had that dream. I guess I was always checking on mom in the later years that it only makes sense that I would be concerned with the current crisis.
Some people feel our deceased loved ones do still connect with us. I’m not sure if I believe that or not, but I always keep the door open to the possibility. I do know that I thought about mom at least twice this week —- and there’s nothing wrong with that.
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