Friday has rolled around again and it is time for a contribution to the Loose Bloggers Consortium. The subject chosen by the Loose Bloggers Consortium for this Friday is Childhood Goals.
I have been working on geneology all week and somewhere along the line I found a cousin of mine had added this picture to the family tree. Li was taken when I was 12 of 13 years old. I think it tells better than anything else my childhood goal for my life.
My goal was to be an entertainer. I had dreams of being a female version of Dick Contino who I believed to be the epitome of success in the world of the accordion. I could belt out Lady of Spain with much drama and little ability, I even mastered a polka or two in the style of Whoopee John of Midwest fame.
About the time this photo was taken, I was playing duets with a friend named Jeanette. We called ourselves the Accordionaires and dreamed of the day we would play for large audiences, perhaps even perform on the Lawrence Welk show.
Truth is the only audience we ever captured was one in an Old Folks home. Gigs were set up for us by Jeanette’s aunt who worked there. We would arrive promptly at ten on Saturday mornings. The elderly patients would be wheeled in or if ambulatory, would enter with the aid of their walkers or canes and find comfortable seats anxiously waiting for the entertainment.
As we progressed through Lady of Spain and the polkas there would be smiles and a foot tap or two. However, soon most would begin to nod off and by the end of the half hour, Jeanette and I would have managed to put almost everyone to sleep.
This goal soon faded. Lugging the accordion around was an ordeal and my talent was sorely lacking. A fight over some boy ended Jeanette’s and my friendship and I began to readust my thinking.
My new goal to teach accordion was lack-luster in comparison to the call of the bandstand and I soon abandoned that one too. Growing up took over, the accordion was first stowed in a closet, then the attic, and finally given away.
Looking back, the goals I set as a child seem dramatic, silly, and terribly unrealistic, but isn’t that what childhood is about. . . dreams, blind ambition, and the belief that anything is possible.
Take a moment and read other favorite bloggers goals. You can find them under Writers Consortium on the right hand side of my blog.
Reminds me of my youth, when I wanted to be another Harry James. I joined a local boys band, but never got farther than playing the national anthem (badly!).
You began sharing your talent way back when…. and still do with so many more talents that you gained along the way. Just think of how many children passed through your hands and faced life with a love for something you taught or shared with them. A life well lived.
Grannymar,
Your words touched me. If I taught anything, I hope I taught my students how to laugh, how to tell a good story, and how not to take life too seriously.
It was indeed a fine childhood goal but as you experienced we leave childhood things behind and gain a more important goal to master. Great post Maria
I still play piano, but lugging that heavy accordion on and off city busses was no fun at all and although it was an interesting experience, this was one childhood thing I was glad to let go of.
It is the desire as a child that is so big! And it sounds like your parents weren’t the type to squelch that and I applaud them.
Now, maybe we could meet halfway, in Fresno or someplace and you bring the accordian and play “Lady of Spain” for me and Carol! Then we party the night away.
How about if I ditch the accordion and travel up to my son’s place in Palo Alto and we could all go out to lunch some time. Now that would really be fun and far less painful than Lady of Spain!
Give me a heads up and we have a date! I would absolutely love that. Even if the accordion came along.
That was a remarkable goal Maria and though it did not turn out to be the way you thought that it would, it at least gave you an insight about old people’s homes and their habits!
Ramana,
What it actually did was scare the hell out of me. The Old Folks Home was about a mile from my house. There was a sign that hung on the outside of the building that said, “Even you are growing older”. Every time I saw it as a child, it made me shudder. I wish I could say it made me more compassionate and understanding. Just not sure that it really did. It in some way made me realize that I never wanted to spend time as a resident in any kind of home for the aged or for that matter, grow old. Thinking about it perhaps since my grandparents all died before I was born, I simply was not prepared for the scene.
Even though some seniors may have dozed off Maria, there is no doubt that you brought joy into their lives. You took the time to share your talent with people who had little to look forward to.
blessings ~ maxi
Maxi,
You are too kind. I was a child with feet of clay and I had little talent. Yet, looking back and with the knowledge of today, perhaps we did bring some joy to those with little in their lives. I hope so.