tom

1966. I was a 16 year-old dreamer and he was a dreamy 17 year-old. I was the school Mascot and he was a big-time Jock.

It was after a brutal defeat in basketball, that I, having removed my bird outfit (Rockin' Robin), walked out onto the gym floor. This was dubbed the "girls" gym because..., I am not sure. But it was here after sporting events that the school held dances. As I entered the gym, this song was playing. He walked in from the opposite direction, slowly and despondently, shuffling toward me.Together,we danced as only teens in love might experience this "Sound."

Memory floods through me to this day. As teens we shared our fears, joy and plans for a future. Off he went to live his life and so did I, not together but the memory remains. Even though he came into my life ten years ago, and it ended painfully, it still left an imprint on my future; it could not be sustained. Sad as this might be, and I can question its purpose,this song still remains pure in my memory.

aidan

My dreamy introspective Aidan Donovan Schwartz is now seventeen years of age. A senior in High School he has set a path for his future by signing up for the Air Force National Guard with college in the mix.  A team player in hockey, he enjoys his time alone. Like his Uncle Pete, he loves order and organizes his room more frequently than any fifties housewife.
 
Aidan has always been a melancholy, relatively solitary person. He isn't as much a loner as he is selective, I guess. As a child he was always intrigued by what his brother thought gross: dirt, bugs, etc. I bought him his birds, (funerals to follow), gerbil, fish, and those goofy crabs that hide inside their shells and run sideways.

It is known that I incorporate music into most aspects of my life. Over the years, my grandkids, daughters and I did a lot of dancing and frolicking around to the sounds of music. Mixed genre was important.

I chose this song because it sends me back to the time Aidan was about four. I came to the Schwartz home one day, excited to share this song. Aidan was sequestered in his room doing Aidan stuff. I put this baby in the CD player and cranked it. That was all it took to send this little guy hunched over, seriously rocking with the music! I can still see him catapult himself into the living room and dance with abandon.I want his life to be filled with the joy he exposes on such rare moments.

dave noe

Dave Noe became the love of my life when I was just starting my life as a young adult. Actually, I met him when I was only eighteen. The day before the 4th of July I was out with friends at the local 21 bar, when he was spotted looking at me from across the bar. All the ladies with me had to announce: "He's looking at you...he is coming over ---oh my god..." (Or some similar remarks). Mom and dad would have grounded me till I was 35 if they knew he took me out on his boat, that very night, when I had just met him!

I spent most of my free time floating around Lake Winnebago with Dave and friends. This boat was 54 feet and resembled a tugboat. Lots of room for lots of people! The second summer Dave and I took a week's trip around the lake. There is little I remember specifically, but I do remember one of the last glorious mornings, feeling life couldn't be any better, greeted by Oliver and this song.

Faithfulness was never a quality Dave seemed to possess; He was a charming charismatic man. He later became a great businessman, owning many restaurants, bars, and staffing these with loyal employees. Yet that environment was a breeding ground for new "friends." I am relieved that I saw this and ended our relationship before he reached this status.

He contacted me a few times over the years, and it was good to see him, in fact, after his second wife left, he talked me into going out over Christmas. Our "12-hour date" was marvelous but could only end there. He remarried and lived happily ever after. Except he died of Covid nearly two years ago. He was on life support for two weeks. When I found out he was ill my heart ached, but I was sure this larger-than-life man would rally.  My heart still aches for this loss. He was this fun loving, generous person and the man who took my virginity. He is my Starshine.

PHOTO

mom and the brothers

Charlie and Pete had a playfully delightful connection with our mother. This led to many experiences that have become part of the collective family stories. Mom had such a funny, creative and daring aspect to her life and I think my brothers blew the doors open for her. Pete can tell story after story of such antics as well as serious moments that were created over their childhood.

Enter The Beatles, "When I'm 64." As I remember, hearing it mostly second hand, mom would sing this to these two, and maybe a few times to others of us.

Here I am at 72, eight years older than this song, but I can still remember thinking mom would live forever, and 64 was soooo old.

sharon

This lady and I go back to 1969. My first date with my future husband (no longer, but he's a good guy) included his brother and sister-in-law.Thirty years after the divorce and I still call her my ex-sister-in-law.

Sharon knows more about me than I know, or so she believes. We have spent countless hours talking about what we are "going to do", as in Spring Cleaning at each other's house. Countless cups of coffee and donuts consumed, children put down for naps, and this was only the beginning of our shared experiences.

On one of our "Spring Cleaning" days, we decided to load four of our 5 elementary school age kids into my relatively small Mazda, and drive to Milwaukee. This decision came about as the result of a Mermaid exhibit at the Milwaukee Museum. Sharon had taken her class recently and thought our kids should see the mermaid. Loaded into this car, sustained for the hour and a half drive by cheetos and who knows what else, we left about 10:00 p.m. Hairdryers, pillows, clothes, and four kids laid out in the back.

We stayed at some friend of Sharon's who actually jumped at the chance to have a hoard descend upon her. Next day at the Museum, here we come with bags of food...too costly in the cafeteria. When we reached the Mermaid exhibit it had been cordoned off with some rope. Not a problem: Sharon climbed over, found a Museum guard and had him escort us through the exhibit,
One of so many adventures.

Sharon helped with my move to Minnesota, in 1994. The night before we sat in my emptied house with a bottle of something. Lots of tears. I lived in Minnesota (New Prague), for seven wonderful years. My calls to Sharon during this time began with my singing the opening verse, "I just called to say I love you." I will sing it once and a while, just to remind her how much I really care.

hymie

I was married close to 22 years, then I was divorced. I had two daughters, one in college and the other nearly a High School graduate. I worked for what I  call "Mother Church",  I had a degree in Religious Studies with a Secondary Ed Minor.  I loved the work, not the boss.

Talk about a Middle Class life. A woman doing godly things did conflict somewhat with being divorced, but still a rather small town limited life experience... it seemed. So many of us have lived in angst, not knowing but feeling this is not all of who I am.

Well that little bird's ground was shaken when Hymie came to work as the musician at our church. He was in his mid twenties and I was in my early forties, yet as gossip runs wild in such environments, I became the slut and he became the boy toy. Funny thing: he was gay! I would keep this to myself as our crazy friendship progressed. He was a wild, creative, tormented, tortured soul. I loved and feared being around him.

My comfort zone was trashed as I gave more time to him. We traveled miles to go to his favorite bars and I danced more than ever before (hard-as-rock thighs!). We drove to Alaska to visit his friends. We stayed up all hours smoking clove cigarettes and playing cards, listening to music, talking about our lives. His "tragedies" outweighed mine.

Hymie challenged me constantly. He pushed me to imagine, reinvent myself and let go of my so-called limitations. I wondered and feared what was happening and how it would end, and it inevitably had to.

He "left in the dark of night", leaving his belongings at my place after the final straw in the gossip chain broke. I had to try and pick up the pieces at work, without telling his story.  I sit here today and  marvel at how I morphed into this person who left the life I had, my home, my job, family and friends, to move to Minnesota. I felt like that bird falling out of the nest, who had to put her wings to test.

My seven years in Minnesota led me to a revelation that affirms my personhood. I morphed, but intrinsically remained the same. No hypocrite here.

peep

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum.

Sed ut perspiciatis unde omnis iste natus error sit voluptatem accusantium doloremque laudantium, totam rem aperiam, eaque ipsa quae ab illo inventore veritatis et quasi architecto beatae vitae dicta sunt explicabo. Ut enim ad minima veniam, quis nostrum exercitationem ullam corporis suscipit laboriosam, nisi ut aliquid ex ea commodi consequatur? Quis autem vel eum iure reprehenderit qui in ea voluptate velit esse quam nihil molestiae consequatur, vel illum qui dolorem eum fugiat quo voluptas nulla pariatur.