Hammerstein

Earlier today I was listening to some music from Broadway shows and I was struck by the fact that Oscar Hammerstein II was responsible for so may of the songs we consider standards or are so ingrained in our culture we forget that someone had to actually sit down to write them.

Oscar was the man who introduced us to the "possible" love song. In "Show Boat" he gave us "Make Believe" and in "Oklahoma" he  gave us "People Will Say We're In Love" and we can't forget "If I Loved You" from "Carousel". The man could take the yearning for love in a human heart and put words to it. How gifted he was.  

The last song he wrote was for "Sound of Music" and it was "Edelweiss". Most people actually believe it was an old Austrian folk song when in reality those words came from the fertile imagination of Mr. Hammerstein.

The next time you listen to any music think about the work of the people who sat down and figured out how to get the words and the notes you're hearing melded to make a song. And it makes no difference the type of music. Opera or Rap someone has to come up with an idea and then get it down on paper or the modern equivalent thereof.

Oh, and if you have any doubts about the the man's talent just read the words. The music is beautiful but the lyrics stand on their own. Here is some of "If I Loved You". The man knew the human heart.

                                                                  If I loved you,

Time and again I would try to say

All I'd want you to know.

If I loved you,

Words wouldn't come in an easy way

Round in circles I'd go!

Longin' to tell you,

But afraid and shy,

I'd let my golden chances pass me by!

Soon you'd leave me,

Off you would go in the mist of day,

Never, never to know how I loved you

If I loved you.

Rain Boots & Umbrellas

So earlier today we got one of those catalogs in the mail. You all know the kind, purporting to be 'gifts' and full of those 'as seen on TV' products. One of the things in the book really took me back. Rain boots for women, we called them 'raindeers'. We wore them over our shoes and they were almost clear, sort of frosty, and they had a little loop on the side to close them over. Remember the days when a well dressed woman would never dream of going out in the rain and allowing her dress shoes to get wet? Men too had slip on covers for their shoes and they were commonly called rubbers.  I know I went through more than a pair or two of raindeers when I was in grade school. Back in those days the nuns would check to be sure your feet were dry on rainy days so you better have your rain boots.

And thinking of rain boots made me think of umbrellas. I used to love to walk through the ground floor of Gimbel's Department Store on Market St. and stop at the umbrella display. There were solid colors as well as beautiful prints with wooden and heavy plastic handles in all manner of colors and designs. In a rack of 20 or 30 umbrellas no two were alike. A good umbrella was upwards of $20. and in the late 60's and early 70's that was a lot of money. I remember when the first clear umbrellas came on the market and they were great cause you could keep your head totally covered and still see your bus coming down the street.  

I don't know what happened to those boots and umbrellas that used to protect us from the rain. Can you imagine a teenager today who would prefer to use an umbrella instead of getting wet or imagine anyone under the age of 40 who would wear a pair of boots to keep their shoes dry. Folks would rather carry a good pair of shoes and wear an old pair out in the rain or snow and change shoes.

Ah well it was just another of my YOU KNOW YOU'RE GETTING OLD moments and I thought I would share.