Music...Then and Now

I have no idea why this thought popped into my head this morning when I was in the shower, but I suddenly remembered the stereo that my parents bought when my sisters and I were in elementary school. Weird, I know! But thinking about it brought back such sweet, familiar feelings.

When my parents finally sprung for a stereo it was a BIG thing...in more ways than one.  First, we didn't have a lot of extra money, so when they went out and bought it, it was a really big deal.  This was an investment.

I was too young to really understand anything about this new purchase until they brought it home. However, I do remember how excited Dad was.  He was throwing around terms like "mono,"  "stereo," "AM," and "FM" which meant absolutely nothing to us.  My parents had also bought a very few albums so they'd have some music to play.  Dad was so proud of how the music sounded coming out of that wonderful machine.

But, like I said before, this was a BIG thing in more ways than one..because IT was BIG.  We're talking a full fledged piece of furniture that took up an entire wall.  My dad was a lover of fine furniture, so it had to look good as well as sound good! 



Yep, it was at least this big but wasn't such a contemporary style

But, as far as my sisters and I were concerned, the best part of this stereo was...the box it came in!  For days, that box was the most marvelous toy.  First, it started out as a playhouse.  We cut doors and windows and hung curtains.  There was a table with dishes and several baby dolls were napping in it at any given time.

When playing house lost its allure after several days, the box was tipped on its end and it became a rocketship.  And from there, it was flopped back on its side once again and we simply rolled in it like a giant drum from a clothes dryer.  Finally, our parents had enough of it filling up whatever room it was in, and it was carted out to the trash.  But not before making many wonderful memories!

Yet, we loved the music that stereo played as well as the box it came in.  We knew all the words to musicals like "My Fair Lady," "Camelot," and "The Sound of Music."  We sang along with the folk sounds of "The New Christy Minstrels" and "The Brothers Four."  And every Sunday morning, we listened to Tennessee Ernie Ford singing the good old hymns as we got ready for church.

But best of all, were the annual Christmas albums that Dad would pick up on his way home from work every December.  Oddly enough, these were produced by Firestone Tires and Good Year Tires and they were wonderful compilations of different artists performing the classic Christmas carols. There have never been any Christmas albums quite like those.

It makes me a little sad when I think of how we get our music today.  Sure, with headphones, you can listen to music while you are walking, talking, reading; in your bed, the office or at school.  You can stick your little music machine in your pocket, your purse, or wear it on your arm.

Is she sure she's not getting her blood pressure taken?

But think about it.  What can you do with the packaging that it comes in?  Oh that's right...you can get a trip to the emergency room to stitch up the deep gash in your hand from the plastic clamshell package it came in!