It’s been bitter cold outside, but that doesn’t mean we’re not having a good time around here.
Okay, “a good time” in frigid temperatures is relative. But last Saturday, I really did have fun.
Thanks to Paul August, who is a poet and a collector of many cool things, I came into short-term possession of a portable LP player. Because my husband is also a collector of sorts, I had no shortage of records from which to choose for the player. And, I had an audience of listeners: the writers at Harwood Place retirement center.
Melissa Tydell wrote a great article about pairing music and writing for The Write Practice, in which she says, “Music has the ability to move us—our memories and our imaginations.” That’s what I was hoping for on Saturday–music that would fill the room and stir the minds of the writers at the table.
The exercise was a hit even before we got started. As soon as I set the records out on the table, I heard ooh’s and ahh’s and “Oh, I remember….” The air was electric, but the hour wasn’t without challenges.