Koigu and family memories.
Well, today was the last day of school, so I decided to head on up the road to Davidson to hit the Needlecraft Center, because it’s going to get a lot harder to take road trips after today. So I snagged myself some Koigu! See the pretty? I do have immediate plans for two of the skeins. More than this, I cannot say. Out of curiosity, which of the two colorways do y’all like best?
While driving back from Davidson, I was listening to the radio and my mind was wandering. I thought about the influence of the media, and a story my dad had told about being a kid in the audience at a radio show when the host commented on he and his buddies. They were all tow-headed*, and since one of the people in the band was called “Whitey” for his hair, it was remarked upon. 60 years later, and he still remembers it. And so did my grandmother, since I remember her talking about it too, saying that when she heard the fellow say that on the radio, she knew he had to be talking about her kid. I started thinking about it, and realized that while I knew it had happened, I couldn’t think of exactly where. It was 60 years ago, though, and the buildings have changed a bit since then. So when he called today to mention something, I asked him where he used to go and see the shows.
We had a great trip down memory lane, and the landscape of Charlotte music. The Briarhoppers (left) were mentioned, and so was Betty Johnson and the Johnson Family, Fred Kirby, and Arthur Smith, among others. I got to hear the story of how my dad got his first new bike, too.
So here are some questions for you: have you ever asked a parent a question that got you an unexpected or illuminating answer? Is there a question you wish you could ask your parents?
By the way, here’s what my dad was calling about. The Little Girl Giant, which I really recommend you check out.
*The things you learn. According to http://www.wordorigins.org/ , “Tow is an old (14th century) word for flax. People whose hair resembles flax–light colored and tousled–are tow-headed. The term dates to the 19th century.” Neat!
Very rarely I will catch my mother in a talkative mood and learn all sorts of crazy shit about her or my father. She had a VERY interesting life. She had told me once about being friends with George Jones and Hank Williams Sr. when they were all quite young and they were just starting out. I admit I didn’t really believe everything she said. Until I found a letter from George written around 1972 appologizing for Tammy not buzzing her through when Mama was visiting and giving her his direct number so it wouldn’t happen again. From then on out, I decided that I should probably have a lot more faith in Mama’s stories!
Very rarely I will catch my mother in a talkative mood and learn all sorts of crazy shit about her or my father. She had a VERY interesting life. She had told me once about being friends with George Jones and Hank Williams Sr. when they were all quite young and they were just starting out. I admit I didn’t really believe everything she said. Until I found a letter from George written around 1972 appologizing for Tammy not buzzing her through when Mama was visiting and giving her his direct number so it wouldn’t happen again. From then on out, I decided that I should probably have a lot more faith in Mama’s stories!