Summer Wind

Wow! The wind chimes are on high volume and the wind is howling as it comes around the north side of the casa. It has been very windy here for several months. We are not getting anything as strong as we did back in the northwest, thank goodness, but it is perfect.

It is one of the advantages of living up on this little hill, lots of breeze that others are just not always getting down in town. The other advantage is we get sounds from all over town, from all directions. Sometimes they are faint and other times, like this morning, they are right in the bedroom with us.

The church bells, chiming at 6am this morning, were of a volume I have never heard before. They were in our bedroom, on the bed, bouncing off the walls and the ceiling. One little shift in the wind brought the church right here, and instantly, the cats were off the bed and underneath it, and Bill and I both sat upright in bed and said, "wow!".

Another thing we get to hear is a remarkable, eclectic array of music. We hear live mariachi music, we hear live bongo music, live clarinets and saxophones, music from parties, love songs from the radio, madonna from a car going past, and of course, the parrot who sings, 'hey, jude.'

We love listening to music and last July, I discovered Radio Sonora, an FM station, broadcast from which Sonoran city, I am not sure. When I first turned on my little radio, it was playing, 'Three Coins in the Fountain'. This is just about my favorite song in the world. I can still see my parents swaying to that song, in our living room. I can see my mom's curtains, the stereo console, the couch, her paintings and the two of them dancing to this song. It is one of my fondest memories, so of course, I have loved Radio Sonora since I turned it on.

In the morning, there is news and lots of mariachi music.
I call this mercado shopping music, because when I go the the mercado, Radio Sonora is always blaring, and everyone is festive, upbeat, and chattering away.
Before noon, a female broadcaster comes on and she discusses all kinds of issues with guests and callers, none of which I can really understand because she is a fast talker. I know she likes to talk about Brittney Spears alot.

In the afternoon is when I will hear things like 'Three Coins in the Fountain', 'Singing in the Rain', and similar tunes. One afternoon I heard an entire CD of Nat and Natalie King Cole. Another afternoon, Tony Bennet and Frank Sinatra.

By four o'clock, my favorite broadcasters are on. They are Beatle lovers. They also talk very slowly and I can understand most of what they say. They usually play an old original Beatle song, and then, they will play the same song, performed by a mexican artist.
The two announcers also have other favorites, they love Donovan, Peter, Paul and Mary, Woody Guthrie and Johnny Cash. The Mamas and the Papas, Simon and Garfunkel, even Joan Baez makes their playlist.
Every song, of course, brings back a brief little memory from the past, along with a feeling, a smile, a shake of the head, a laugh.............something.........

Yesterday, Frank Sinatra was singing, 'Summer Wind.'
I had my first kiss, in eighth grade while listening to this song, in Lubbock, Texas. Jimmy Jones and I moved quickly forward, toward each other and our lips just barely even touched before we both pulled our heads back as fast as they had gone forward; it was pretty scary, especially because it was his twin brother Jerry that I had a crush on. I am sure we both had whiplash. Now my sister is going to read this and find out that I sort of kissed Jimmy. I think he was her first kiss, too.
Ahhh, anyway, the summer wind came blowin' in from across the sea...............
It is almost like being in a different time, a different year, as if the music of the 50's, 60's and 70's has only just arrived here........