The Circle of Life
Isn’t it funny how life comes
around full circle sometimes? When our family went to Hawaii last year,
crazily, I took a suitcase with seven ukuleles in it. They were cheap little
colorful ones that as it turns out don’t want to stay in tune very bad. When I
passed them all out to the kids and Kerry and they were "underwhelmed" with my surprise ha. Shelbey and I however loved it! We plunked out
The Lion Sleeps Tonight and another one or two. Since I got back I still love
to strum away, and sing You Are My Sunshine to Easton. When I got a gift
certificate from Brendon and Melissa for Christmas, I even upgraded my little
red ukulele to a little better one that holds its tune a little better.
I didn’t really make New Years 2015 resolutions
this year except as always; I vowed to take better care of myself, especially
after the Bell’s palsy experience. Second, I kind of reviewed the things I
found fun, because I don’t have enough fun and I heard someone say the only fun
they were actually having was what they watched on TV! I thought yeah
Pam…that’s you! So more fun is on my list this year! Playing the ukulele
reminds me so much of my Mom. Some of my best memories of her are her playing
the guitar for us as kids.
Mom never sang or played, in front of my Dad. Therefore when
he was out in the barn or fields, she would pull her guitar out from behind her
blonde dresser with the mirror, and position herself so she could see the barn
or grain bins… wherever he was. That way she could hurry and put it back in its
secret place, if he started for the house! The guitar had been a birthday gift
from her brother Julius on her seventeenth birthday. She had many brown covered
raggedy “composition” books with handwritten songs in them. There was the title
of the song, and singer of the song underlined beneath the title. The pages
were yellow and were written in ink from one of those sharp pointed fountain
pens with the ink cartridges. There were letters over the word of the song you
change chords on. She wrote the lyrics
down by listening to the radio and scribbling the first and third lines the
first time, and the second and fourth lines the second time she heard the song.
Then in her beautiful handwriting, added it to her songbook. Many, many hours
spent on her music. She tuned her guitar
by ear, and played it so much the neck of the brown guitar had white spots worn
on it where her fingers had chorded over and over and over, while strumming (
that spot was worn too) with her white, thumb pick.
We would look through her books and
choose songs. Some of my favorites were, At Mail Call Today by Gene Autry, A Soldiers
Last Letter by Ernest Tubb,
Have I Told
You Lately That I Love You, Don’t Pop and I’ll Be Good, I Just Don’t Give a
Hoot,
The Old Rugged Cross and Down in
the Valley. Many were sad songs it seemed.
I have written before about all the musical
talent in the Bruhn family down the line. Many who could play instruments and
sing with no formal training.
The other great memory of a ukulele for me
is being in Palermo school, up on the stage behind the curtain with our unforgettable
music teacher. Mrs. Hook was probably “seventyish” at the time. She was a little lady,
white chin length hair cut straight off and held to one side with a barrette.
She
was always in a hurry and you could barely get her attention to ask her
anything.
Always in black tights a skirt and top, she was eccentric, scatterbrained and unique...my kind of people. She was a dynamo, who took on huge projects.
One of those projects she tackled was teaching a bunch of kids a few cords on
the ukulele. Seems half the music session was used up tuning them. With her exuberant encouragement we finally, all proudly played
Little Grass Shack! I think I could still sing it. Later that same teacher took
on the musical Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dream coat, when we were
teenagers. She was so much fun, and definitely someone I never forgot.
So this year I plan eat healthier as I always do,
and find time for more ukulele, more card games, more theater, more music, more
knitting,
more thrift stores, more
knitting and things I really love. I encourage all of us to remember this year
to make time, schedule time, to do things we enjoy. I think it makes us all
healthier, happier and set good examples for those watching us as well. One day
our kids will remember something they did with us like I do Mom’s guitar
playing, in a full circle. Why not make it a colorful, well rounded circle?