Music, Music, Music

I got an early unplanned Christmas present. I am so happy I can hardly contain myself.

Remember when we could copy music from the internet and make our own private CDs? Well being the 

music lover that I am I made a lot of CDs. My son was going through some old boxes and there they were!

I so enjoyed looking and listening to what I had time for. I heard the Brontosaurus Stomp, The Frog

 Stomp, The Andrews Sisters, Rudy Vallee, Vivaldi, Elvis. Frankie Avalon, Kiss, and the Kingston Trio.

 And so much more. I will be cataloging my music for a long time.

Oh how I wish an unexpected Christmas gift for you.

How Many Do You Know?

Do you remember trains with cowcatchers? They were on the front of the train engine to scoop cows standing on the tracks. It supposedly stopped a lot of crashes.

If you walked rather than rode your horse you went shank's mare. It is sometimes called shanks pony.

Widderdhins is s Low German term for against the way. It usually means to go counter-clockwise.

Belly bands were wrapped around a new baby's middle. It was believed to prevent a hernia.

Rubbering in was what snoopy people did on a party line. There used to be more than one telephone on one line all connected to each other. Etiquette was to not listen to conversations on another phone or rubber in.

An early jukebox was called a nickelodeon because it took a nickel to operate.

Beginning in the 1920's 'Hepcats' (meaning someone who listened to jazz) wore zoot suits. 

Quicksilver is another name for liquid mercury.

Homes used to have a chamber pot. It was kept under the bed and used if the person needed to relieve themselves at night so they did not have to walk all the way to the outhouse.

Peanuts are a good snack. Did you know they are Goober Peas?

When I was in high school the sack dress was popular. It was dress that had no waistline. It was just straight up and down. It is sometimes called a chemise.

A western saddle has a saddle horn. It is an extension of the pommel of the saddle that a cowboy uses to anchor his rope when roping cattle.

Sinister means on the left. No wonder people who were left-handed were considered to be sinister. Sinister has also become to be associated with evil. In the past left-handed people were considered to be evil. Often a left-handed person was persecuted as a witch.

Shmoos loved humans. They were more than happy to provide us with eggs, leather, and butter from their own bodies. They would even be thrilled to become a nice steak dinner.

Are there any obscure terms you have a fondness for? I would love to learn them.

My Daddy

I have often written about my father in glowing terms. I adored him. So did all of my siblings.

We all loved Mom too. It was different somehow. Mom knew it and was happy about it.

We were born before commercial mixes of foods were available. No cake mixes, no boxes of macaroni and cheese, no jars of pre-made gravy. You get the idea. All our meals were made from scratch.

There were also no disposable diapers. Since there was always a baby in the family there were always diapers to wash. Add all that to normal housework and taking care of the rest of us and Mom stayed busy.

Enter Daddy.

Daddy made sure to do all the extras with us. On the first day of school he took us to see we were enrolled and he met our teachers. It sounds easy but I can tell you from experience it can be quite a task.

School often has extra activities for the children. There should be an adult to help oversee a certain number of children. Teachers appreciate the help.

I can remember him chaperoning dances, skating, and swimming. He was the umpire for all the baseball games in the summer.

During the school year we went to all the sporting events and plays. Daddy had a good time at all of them. Mom enjoyed them too. 

Daddy could do anything. Carpentry, plumbing, electrical work. He could make anything.

He taught all my brothers to work with their hands. Even the girls could make small repairs. He kept a small workshop on the back porch. On one side of the porch were simple tools, nails, screws, and pieces of wood. His grandchildren could go out there and tinker to their hearts content any time they felt like it.

We actually built a house. A truck came and poured cement for the floor of the basement. That was the only thing we did not do ourselves. We built the foundation, floors, walls, ceilings, and roof. Daddy did the electrical wiring and plumbing. A licensed plumber and electrician had to examine the work and approve it. We lived happily there until we moved. The house is still there and being lived in.

Daddy loved us. We loved him. What more is there to say?