Saturday, September 6, 2014

A family time capsule...

I've been indulging in a little narcissism. (Thank you spell check.) I decided to, once again, try to get the family photos organized, or at least in one location. As I went through a box I came across a Ziploc bag containing a cassette tape (Remember those?) of myself and two other gals singing. We called ourselves Grace Trio and the year was approximately 1986. (Someday I'll unearth a photo of us in all of our 1980's splendor.) I wrote a note intended to be read by someone who comes across this tape in the future. :)


I thought to myself, "How on earth can I listen to this?" Well, lo and behold I had also saved a little cassette player which, believe it or not, still works!! So, I've listened to the tape of Grace Trio, which is quite a step back in time. One side was recorded at church, the other side is a very casual tape I made while we were practicing at one of the gals homes. The little baby voices in the background are my boys, Jordan and Josh, playing. They would have been maybe 4 and 2 years of age. (They're now 32 and 30!)

Besides the Grace Trio tape, this bag contains several tapes my kids made when they were little. Precious little voices. In the note I advise the reader not to spend too much time revisiting the past. The best is yet to come! (I get very weary after a couple of hours spent walking down memory lane.)

My parents also made this box full of CD's from cassettes I made while living in a little apartment in Angleton, TX at the age of 21. I'm doing a lot of cringing and wincing while listening to these. My guitar playing is abominable and my voice...shrill at times. That's what happens when an alto tries to sing things that are too high for her. Heh, heh.

 
My folks made me feel quite famous by putting my picture on the fronts of the CD's! Dig those crazy bell-bottoms! There are actually several songs on each CD, but one title is featured on each.

 
 My "boy cut" from high school years. (Actually, it was probably GrandPA Zimmerman who put these on CD's. Right, Glenn?) On some of these songs I just recorded myself singing along with an album, such as this one.
 This CD is decorated with one of our engagement pictures, circa 1980.
 This photo was taken when I was flying back to Colorado after a visit to Texas.
 This is a recording of my brother James made in 1975.
 And I have a couple of CD's of my cousin, who writes songs about God and family. Very nice stuff which he sings at small venues in the area around Georgetown, TX.
 Oh, and this is a copy of an album recorded in 1980. The group is called Doxology. They auditioned people to sing background on the album, and I got a spot singing alto. This is my only recording studio experience, and it was a lot of fun.
 And this is the time capsule which contains these CD's, plus a plethora of other stuff, such as boxes of videos of the kids and myself competing at taekwondo tournaments, my TKD uniform and last belt, an old cassette recorder for listening to some of these old tapes, and various other odds and ends that might be of interest to someone down the road. I'm contemplating replacing the trunk with a plastic tote. This old trunk is quite a safety hazard. The lid is kind of guillotine-like and probably unsafe around small children.
 
I started this post a few days ago and then had internet problems which required a visit from a tech guy, so I'm just now getting it posted.
 
I've been reading Letters of C.S. Lewis on my breaks at work.
I love this description of the library where he studies. (Click on the photo to actually read it.)
 

He expresses what I feel about William Cowper's writings. I especially have loved the letters he writes, though I've only read a few.


 
 
I've ordered this book, hoping I'll enjoy the letters as much as I remember. (Although, I don't expect I'll receive this really cool old copy.)
 
 
I've also ordered The Inklings by Humphrey Carpenter.
 
Oh, it's getting late! Work tomorrow, so I'm off to bed. I hope to catch up on visiting some blogs tomorrow. I've been indulging in lots of reading and even did some lawn mowing yesterday.
 
Hazel Jane had her second birthday yesterday! What a fun little character! :)
 
 
Goodnight all, and shalom!

6 comments:

  1. There's nothing like a trip down Memory Lane! I'm glad you got your internet problem fixed. It can be a vexing problem. I am so fortunate to have my personal tech guy ( # 2 son) living right here. I'd be in a fix so often without his help.

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    1. It's always nice to have an on-site computer guru! :)

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  2. Wow! THAT was very interesting, Lisa! Thank you for sharing! Keep on singing! You must!
    I like the idea of writing letters even though we don't necessarily have riveting news to share. Letters are treasures.
    It's good to hear from you! (BIG HUG!)

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    1. I think most of us are getting too impatient to wait for a letter to arrive via the USPS. Everything is so instant. I think I'm getting that way. But I think I'll enjoy Cowper's letters. They will be full of homey scenes, I'm thinking! :)

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  3. Your collection of music recordings is marvelous! And I find the two parts of your post to be connected in this way: Just as few people today would want to take the time to sit in a library all day reading from their growing stack of books, so I wonder if our grandchildren and great-grandchildren will ever want to listen to our recordings or read our letters and journals. It seems that everyone is so busy being constantly connected to many many other people electronically, they have little time for delving into the past the way previous generations - and maybe ours - have liked to do. At the same time many of us have generated a lot more "historical stuff" for them to look at!

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    1. I know what you mean, Gretchen. I was just thinking about all of the stimulus and input in this culture. It would be amazing if anyone actually listens to these old things. But I hate to throw them away, so I'll just keep them in the trunk which I can use as a piece of furniture, so at least it will be useful! :)

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Thanks for dropping by! I'd love to hear your thoughts! :)