'Gem' of a gift stirs up fond memories

By Marilyn Miller

Lines From Ironquill

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Well…I finally did it. I spent the money that Bob gave me for Christmas. After several years I finally convinced him that I would rather have money than a gift.

Why?

Because after Christmas there are some absolutely great sales and bargains, and I could get a bigger bang for my money. This money was burning a hole in my pocket, but I decided to wait 'til the winter sales began, rather than the "after Christmas sales."

It was well worth the wait, when I finally decided to part with my money, Younkers was having their 85 percent off sales. Now this was my kind of a sale.

I didn't have anything particular in mind that I wanted but I knew I would know it when I saw it. One evening Bob was reading all of those tons of advertisements that arrive in the paper almost daily. He is the only one I know, besides my Mom, that reads every advertisement.

Bob said, "Hey, you will never guess what is on sale at Younkers: a record player."

For several years I have been waiting for a good record player that would play 33's and 78's. Years ago we had one and we had tons of records.When it finally gave up the ghost and refused to play, we got rid of it, and I put all of my records away in a record cabinet and thought to myself, "Some day I will find another record player."

Well, this one plays 33's, 45's, 78's, tapes, CD's and it has a radio. It is a replica of an old fashioned table radio like we had when I was a kid.

I remember when I was in high school, we had one of those consoles that played a stack of records and was also a radio. I always thought I would like one of those. In fact I had a chance a couple of times to buy one, but we simply did not have the room for it.

We took off for Rapids and raced into Younkers and there it was: just what I had been waitin' for. I could hardly wait to get home and start playing my records, but first I had to make room for it in the dining room.

After much re-arranging, I had a spot for it. I dragged out the record cabinet and records that had been stored in a closet, sat my new 'gem' on top and I was in business.

But, before I played any of my treasures, I had to look them all over and sort them and rearrange them in the cabinet.

As soon as I started checking them over, I knew it would be a while before I would start playing them, because I immediately was transported back into time.

First, I arranged the ten records of big-band music that I had ordered from Readers Digest many years ago. I could listen to big band music forever.

To name a few band leaders, there was Tommy Dorsey, Sammy Kaye -- now when I do my ironing (my most un-favorite job) I can swing and sway with Sammy Kaye -- Duke Ellington. Glen Miller, Benny Goodman the "king of swing," Guy Lombardo, and Les Brown -- he had the "Band of Renown" on Bob Hope's Radio show. There was also Vaughn Monroe the singing bandleader, Xavier Cugat who specialized in Latin-American music, Ozzie Nelson, Artie Shaw, and Rudy Vallee.

These are just a few of the big band leaders. But I have tons of other records: The Statler Brothers (and my favorite of theirs "He Went to the Cross Loving You"), Mitch Miller (I love his 'sing along songs' ), Hoagy Carmichael (what is sweeter than his Stardust?) And how about Louie Armstrong and "Hello Dolly"?, Patsy Cline "Just A Closer Walk With Thee," Johnny Cash singing "Folsom Prison Blues," Roger Miller singing "Me And Bobby McGee," Buck Owens, Dottie West with "I Fall To Pieces," Mel Tillis, and Al Hirt with his "honey in the horn" trumpet. And my most favorite of all singers, legendary Jimmie Rogers, who was born in l897 and died in 1933 of TB. At the time he died, he was living in New York, but was returned to his southern homeland on a funeral train. Rogers had a God-given ability to tell a story in song and was an absolutely great yodeler. His "Train Whistle Blues" is one of my favorites.

Now you know how I will be spending these long winter days.