Most of us don't think about it, but if we recall some of the most memorable times of our lives, we see, as they say, the chords that bind us. While we don't think about it, life without music would be akin to a movie with no sound track.
It starts early in our lives.
I remember Friday nights under the stadium lights in Logan. The LHS band formed a giant "L" at the entrance to the lockerooms, the Chieftains fight song blaring as we charged onto the field, blood boiling and ready to do battle.
And then we stood, helmets grasped under one arm, as the band played the national anthem. And if that didn't send goose bumps up your back, nothing would. It was a feeling I have felt all my life when the anthem is played.
Then there was Roger Williams' "Autumn Leaves." Three of us collaborated to write our class song to that popular refrain.
I remember our long-time family physician made a special effort to attend our graduation ceremony because he thought I was going to sing -- and was disappointed to find we were just being credited with its composition
Little did he know what an ordeal he was spared.
I remember Saturday afternoons working in the back shop of the Logan Daily News with my dad and listening to the rousing sounds of the Ohio State Buckeyes' fight song on the radio.
And I remember the thrill that ran through me as our team journeyed to Columbus for a Buckeye game, compliments of legendary coach Woody Hayes -- yes, I really am that old.
Sometimes in life we are overwhelmed by feelings we do not know we have.
I remember boot camp at the Great Lakes Naval Training Center and another company marching by in full dress uniform, flags -- including Old Glory -- unfurled in the wind and the band playing "Anchors Away."
I would come to remember the "Navy Hymn" and Taps played in a memorial ceremony at Dong Ha, Vietnam, for the first members of our Seabee battalion killed in action.
There are any number of songs that bring inspiration to our lives, most unique to our personal circumstances. Remember "Chariots of Fire," "One Moment in Time," "One Day at a Time," "Theme from Rocky" and the like? How about a long-time favorite, "Battle Hymn of the Republic"!
And, of course, "Wind Beneath My Wings." My niece sang that at my mother's funeral and I still tear up whenever I hear it. Then there is "Amazing Grace."
My tear-jerker of all time is Celine Dion's "Because You Love Me" -- dedicated to my wife, Liska.
May your memories and melodies be as sweet.
ART KUHN is managing editor of the Portsmouth Daily Times. He can be reached at (740) 353-3101, or by e-mail at akuhn@heartlandpublications.com.
Post a Comment
