Yesterday, Ross and I went RV shopping. All the RVs for sale in the whole world are in Fife, Washington -- between here and Tacoma on I-5.
On the way there, we stopped at a chain restaurant called Bahama Breeze. They were playing calypso music, which reminded me of Harry Belafonte, which reminded me of our music "system" when I was a kid.
I don't know what to call that particular piece of furniture. It had a big radio that squealed between stations. We typically heard this squawk on Sunday mornings, while Daddy was tuning in Dr. DeHaan on the Radio Bible Class from Grand Rapids, Michigan.
We called it "The Radio," but I'm pretty sure there was also a record player in it. The records my parents played included Harry Belafonte (Day-O, aka The Banana Boat Song), Victor Borge (phonetic punctuation) and The Nutcracker Suite. I still have this particular one. I stole it when I got my own record player that could play LPs -- and took it with me to college and beyond. When I was small, I'd dance around the house to the music all year long. I had no idea it was meant to be a Christmas thing. I think I had a little girl crush on the beautiful blonde woman on the album cover.
What other records did my parents own? I don't remember. Maybe a sibling can help me out with this.
The cabinet that held these wonders was huge (or, anyway, it's huge in my memory). If I had been naughty and was told to stand in the corner, the corner made by The Radio and the wall was the one I stood in. So that means it was taller than I was.
The Radio was a symbol of both delight and terror. Yeah, I'm exaggerating again. I was embarrassed by having to stand in the corner, but not terrified.
The music we heard yesterday also reminded me of Lucy and Desi. We recently watched The Long, Long Trailer and it's still very funny. He's very Coo-ban.
Which brings us back to to the whole RV shopping trip. We learned a few things. I learned how much I dislike being sold. It's a little distressing to realize how much I prefer to buy things from people I like. I wish I could be more rational than that. Better yet is buying from no one in particular -- by which I mean "on the Internet." So we're putting in a bid on an RV on eBay today. If it works, we'll get a much better deal, without the aggravation of working with a salesperson.
Best of all would be not having to go halfway to Coo-ba to pick it up. But that's a trade-off I'm willing to make.
Wish us luck!
3 comments:
I do wish you luck. What an adventure you are beginning! My neighbor was born in Coo-ba, and between him and some artists and writers here who have travelled there, it sounds like a beautiful old-worldish place to be, like your Dad's 'radio' would fit right in. Much enjoyed your description.
Besides the records you mentioned, I especially remember "The Lone Ranger" (William Tell Overture) and "Cool Water" by the Sons of the Pioneers.
It's a "console". My Grandpa had one also. Radio, records, and storage for records. Funny, he never had more than two dozen records. By the time I got out of college, I had hundreds. Which eventually succumbed to a basement flood.
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