Tonight I'm enjoying some good 'ole Glenn Miller music being played via a turntable on a original 33 (present from the Mrs.)...  Great tunes.  They take a person back to a time when music was one of the only outlets people had during a time of war.   Not just any music.  But music that people love to dance to.  Music that made people happy and was played with real instruments!

     Along with the Glenn Miller music, I also, FINALLY, broke out the clarinet the Mrs. purchased for me over a year ago.  They both brought back a flood of memories for me.  Memories of a time of my youth when music played such a large role.  You see, I was a band freak and proud of it! 

     It was my uncle, who I also loved to sit and listen to playing the classical favorites, who first got me interested in the clarinet.  Once I tried it, I had to learn.  For the next 12 years I played nearly every day.  Through High School and then in the ORU Wind Ensemble & Pep Bands.  Along with the clarinet, I was picked to be the Drum Major of the Jr. & Sr. High Marching bands leading the band down the street and in front of the half-time crowds.  What a rush that was!

     I pass by the chair in today's photo (at the bottom) often but, the other day when out taking shots downtown after a rain, it stood out to me.  The tone and timing all made me think back to earlier days.  Days when life was different.  Music was a big part of that but, the people who were there then who came along with the music, were even more special.  My band director was one of them who had a large influence on my life.   He was also my Youth Minister and friend.  He would always take extra time to walk me through the music and life.  A large part of who I am today is because of the seeds he planted years ago. 

     Memories, whether good or bad, all combine to make us who we are today.  It's often the times in our earlier years that we don't even realize will have so much of an impact on us.  Speaking of WWII times, the Mrs. has a special way of helping the elderly in our neighborhood.  One of them, a neighbor just around the corner, was a teenager when she lived in Paris during WWII.  Oh, she has some stories to tell, and then some, about being part of the French Resistance, helping deliver messages, and just staying alive!  I wish we could just record all of them and put them in a book.  It's those memories, and experiences, that shaped her life and the lives of many others.  What a joy to hear them.  

    How about you?  What are some of those special memories that you can look back at and cherish?  How about that one person who had a huge impact on your life?   What is it that reminds you of them?  I don't want to live in the past, but I surely do want to hold onto the good things; the things that helped shape me for the better.  I want to honor the memories of those who have helped along the way and try to be the best person I can be to help others because of them.  

Love always friends!

Brad