I am consistently reminded of Mom, who passed eleven months ago. Since I still like noisy indie rock'n'roll and usually don't find it on the radio (thanks to all the corporate chains, who have ruined my life in more ways than I can mention) I often listen to a station that plays stuff my Mother loved.
Yes, I love "old people" radio: Sinatra, naturally, and the other day I heard Matt Monro's version of the heartbreaking "Softly As I Leave You." Growing up with Mom playing all those Sinatra and Nat King Cole records, and later buying things by Matt Monro, I had a constant music appreciation course going at home.
A couple of weeks ago, there was Raymond LeFevre's "Soul Coaxing" on the car radio. For easy listening, it's pretty bluesy and I find it delightful (especially compared to wimpy stuff of that era, like "Love Is Blue"). I was especially touched by hearing "Soul Coaxing" because it was a record that my mother came home with in 1968.
It's still in my collection.
At the end of my errand, the Mariners were in Detroit and the Seattle station started their radio broadcast with old clips of Ernie Harwell calling Tigers games. They played one from the night the Tigers clinched the American League pennant in 1968. My Dad took brother Joe and me to that very game! We were amazed when fans poured over the fences and onto the field as Don Wert's single knocked in Al Kaline and Detroit won its ticket to the World Series. So I got big audio doses of my late parents within 30 minutes. Let's just say it was bittersweet.
Happy Mothers Day to all the moms: my loving wife Gina, my sister Margo, and to everyone else.