A miraculous event

I am still unpacking boxes from our move.  One of the boxes contained old records and in it a set of 78 rpm records that came into my possession through something so unlikely that it seems miraculous to me.

My father was a musician - a violinist.  He died when I was five years old, but I still can remember him practicing his music for many hours.  My family lost contact with most of his friends and I had very little to associate with him.

Two years ago, I received a call from a  man living in Manhattan.  He started the conversation by saying I did not know him, but he was a student of my father's many years ago.

He said he was walking down the street he lives on in the upper west side of Manhattan and he saw two homeless men with a pile of old records on the sidewalk that they were trying to sell.  He told me that he never bothers to look at things like this, but at he walked by the pile of records, he reached for an album of 78 RPM records and picked it up;  it was a recording made by my father and my uncle in 1938!  He bought the album and looked me up.

I met him and he gave me the album and a tape of the records that he had made in a fancy recording studio that still had a turntable that could play 78 RPM records.  I had a CD made from the tape and when I played it it was a miracle to me.  The record was scratchy and sounded like it was 65 years old - as it was; but to hear my father playing after so many years was truly amazing experience.

As soon as I unpacked the CD, I played it again.

[jdwithhcv]

What a great story - that CD must be your prize possession!  My own excellent father died (very suddenly) when I was 8 years old and I treasure anything that connects me to him.  

Recently I was moving my mother into a nursing home and while packing up her house I came upon my Dad's Phi Beta Kappa key from Columbia University.  I remember how he wore it as a watch fob.  I got a chain for it and wear it as a necklace, it makes me so happy to have something close to me that he once held in his hands!  

nostalgically yours,
jd

[Myown]

What a great story, and I totally agree its a miracle too.. Nobody could convince me that God didn't pre-arrange that whole thing....amazing!

Thanks for sharing that story,
MO

[meki]

Eric ---- Dollface - I'm telling you --- You have amazing stories --- You should be sharing them with the world...

You should --- at the very least write a memoir....

Or maybe we should all write an HCV Memoir of our lives --- something to show the world that HCV affects every single person......

Anyhow - YOU should most definetely write.


That is a FANTASTIC story.

Meki

[Marcia2202]

I'm still signed up for one of the first copies, remember!!!

Thanks again for sharing yet one more of your beautiful experiences.

Marcia

[comeagain]

Feel like shiit after reading your story.
It reminded me of what a sorry story my live partly is and has been.
Have no positiv memory of my father what so ever and hes still alive.

Its not your fault though, very glad you have such fine memory of your father and it was a marvelous story supernatural in a cool kind of way gave me a glimt of something good and caring watching over us (you in particular this time).

And also wanna chime in in the chorus you are a gifted writer you can really paint fine pictures with words, always like reading you even if as in this occasion gave me a reminder of something very sad.
But I think i can cope with it and since I can its only helping me in the long run.
Have you ever got anything of your writings published if not give it a shot and thats no bull shiit talk I really mean it.!!

Good luck with everything

Your Swedish friend Jan

ps i know there is something positiv somewhere just can´t think of anything now ,maybe it will come to me after his dead.

[Kristina538]

Andiamo;   I actually did a bit of gardening this morning and just came in and read your story.  I've kept my father's 'driving gloves'  (which are now very old - he died when I was 19), but I put them on whenever I 'need a hand' - and I did this morning!!!!   Strange, but I also 'YouTubed' "Moonlight Sonata" which he played often.   This tx voyage is bringing up some wonderful stuff for us - what an incredible gift to be given to you - brings a lump to my throat!!!

CA;  I refuse to have anything to do with my partner's father, who is a bitter, prejudiced, twisted up old thing whose only satisfaction appears to be stirring up trouble.  Poor old thing has not grown with the times and is going into old age a bitter old man.   The difficulty is, that having anything to do with him subjects us to a tirade of stress.  It's extremely sad to see someone so important in your life for what they are.   While I used to try to be compassionate, I couldn't subject my son to this man's irrational behaviour and mean mouth and support my partner in having very little to do with his Dad.  Hopefully his humility and charity will increase (and is ego and malice decrease) as time goes on, so that when he needs assistance, he will be able to accept it.  

I've tried to remind my partner that the wonderful man he is MUST have something to do with his Dad,  but he left home at 16 determined to be anything but similar to his father!!!!

[Andiamo1]

Jan:  You sound pretty down today.  I hope you will feel better soon.  the memory of my father was the only think between me and insanity after he died.  I was left with a crazy mother and no siblings; I dreamed about a day when I would find a family, but I never did until I reached adulthood.

jd:  I am glad you have such good memories and can still feel close.

Kristina: It is music that kept me alive after my father died.  I was left alone, since my mother completely lost it and never recovered and I had no siblings.  I used to lie on the floor next to the speakers and listen to Beethoven; the Moonlight Sonata and the Emperor Concerto -- they kept me going through my darkest moments.

Marcia, Meki, My Own:  Thank you all for saying  I can write.  I am an OK story teller, but that is not necessarily a great writer.

Interferon always puts me under so much stress that I lose my ability to block thoughts from my subconscious.  I think that makes me a better writer.

I read a lot, mostly escapist, but occasionally something great.

Here is one of the greatest writers:

"Every life is many days, day after day. We walk through ourselves, meeting robbers, ghosts, giants, old men, young men, wives, widows, brothers-in-love, but always meeting ourselves". -- James Joyce

[Fl_Gator]

Thank you for sharing another of your heart warming memories with us. This one hits close to home for me as my dad is also a musician (jazz) and I am fortunate that he is still here and still playing music today at the tender young age of 77. He is semi retired but loves his trade so he plays every chance he gets...it keeps him young...He plays upright bass, electric bass, tuba, and piano...he and mom raised us on music and pasta fazool.

Gator

[scratchinghead]

I don't have a story as good as that. I did just get back from my 40th high school reunion. I had totally forgotten about the place and had no fond memories (boys boarding school). Yet, I ran into all sorts of memories other students had of me:
I guess I am a hero in one of my classmate's homes. He told his kids he new someone in school that could blow smoke through his eyes(I have really"airy" tear ducts). I had forgotten that.
Another classmate said he remembers me showing them how the Brazilians dance the Samba. Didn't think anyone even knew I existed. Now I have all these invites to play golf and come visit. Gotta start moseying over to the golf course across the street and hit some balls. Sorry if I piggybacked on your 15 minutes.

[Kristina538]

Andiamo:  My Mum wasn't the best either and packed my little brother off to boarding school... I lived with her for two years after and wish I'd taken advantage of burying myself in music instead of being drawn in to drinking too much burgandy and reminiscing with her).

Well said.... "I lose my ability to block thoughts from my subconscious"..(during tx) - I agree, I seem to be more honest and real (for better or worse) and hope to retain it when I'm done and dusted with the chemicals.  Looking forward to your next story!!

Scratchinghead:  OMG smoke out of your eyes!! (at my reunion I ran into a classmate who could drink milk and make it bubble out of his nose - he's now a customs agent;  I was remembered for being 'cute but really bossy'... I'm still bossy lol :-).   Can you show us how the Brazilians dance the Samba (You-Tube would be fine)..

[IAmTheWalrus]

Eric - Just the mention of 78 RPM records brings back childhood memories for me of my parents records. I can't quite remember the music on them, but I remember the size, shape and player that played them. I think I remember the "Uncle Remus Zippety Doo-Dah" song on a scratchy 78.

It must be something to have a recording of your father from such an early time.

My first musical acquisitions were vinyl, not acetate, and 33 RPM. (not knocking your age or anything!)  ;-)  I still have a lot of 8-tracks around.

Brent

[Trish77]

That's an amazing story and beautiful that that man would buy that record and track you down like that.  I can only imagine the emotion when he presented you with that 78.  Lovely to know of people that have hearts like that.  It always makes me feel better about my world.  I'm glad you have such a treasure thanks to him and thank you for sharing that.

Trish

[Andiamo1]

Brent, even I am not old enough to have listened to 78s - LOL.  My first record player was 33 RPM.

Trish, you are welcome.

Eric

[Trish77]

That's interesting.. because *I* am old enough to have listened to 78's.  :)  My grandmother had old Al Jolson '78's even and occasionally on a sunny Saturday she'd take them out and play them.  My first record player was a little 45 rpm.  I had Donny Osmond's "One Bad Apple" ... go figure. :)

[Andiamo1]

78s disappeared quickly after 33 RPM became the standard.  By the time I had my won record player, 78s were gone.  I am sure my grandparents had one, but I lived in NY and they lived in California.  My record player, a present from my grandparents, could play 45s if I put an insert into the large center hole.

[pigeonca]

What a wonderful serendipitous story.

Oh how I wish I still had my parents' 78's.  After the advent of 33's, they put the old disks in the basement, which subsequently flooded in a downpour, and the records were destroyed.  I remember best an album of Benny Goodman playing Brahms and another album of boogie woogie music by people like Jimmy Yancey and Pinetop Smith etc.

As a little kid I had a 78 rpm victrola on which I played children's music.  Had to replace the needle after every 2 or 3 songs.  The speaker was in the tone arm.  And the first grownup record I ever bought was a 78: "Earth Angel" by the Penguins.  The next year my dad bought us a hi-fi, and from then on we were modern.  Unfortunately, my folks gave away the gorgeous mid-century modern console radio-phonograph that would probably be worth a fortune today.  Oh well...

[Texas714]

You inspire in more than one way.
Thank you, your story was much enjoyed.

[Andiamo1]

Thanks folks.  I appreciate the warm words.  

Pigeon,  Benny Goodman playing Brahms - was that a clarinet quintet?  My bran is to foggy to remember, but I think I had that record as well.  It was a 33 though.

Eric

[Isobella]

Well, it should make us feel good that "everything that is old is new again".  

My 19 year old daughter just informed me that she bought some "vinyl record albums" and wanted to use Grandpa's "stereo player".  

Just goes to show ya.....we reallly did have it goin' on in the day!!!

[IAmTheWalrus]

Well, now I feel really old! I remember the 78's pretty well. My parents had some records and I remember listening to kids stuff on it also. I guess the new technology came late to the Mountain West. ;)

Those old 78's are relics now. It must be especially nice to have your father on them. Thanks for sharing the story.

ReallyOldWalrus

[Andiamo1]

One interesting fact about vinyl is that it actually sound better than CDs.  When I lived in Manhattan, I would occasionally go into a high end audio store on the upper east side.  I would listen to a set that cost more that $100,000, and guess what?  It had a 33rpm record player and you could actually hear the difference between it and the CD.

I knew in theory that is should sound better, but hearing it demonstrated was interesting.

[Lady Lauri]

Hi Eric!! :)

Lovely story and yes, you write very well, very deep and thoughtful words very often. Always making one stop and think, 'smell the rose's'.

The chances of that happening, that album getting to your hands....I'd consider it a direct gift from your father.

Hope you are well, healing up. Halloween Land is over here, back to reality and catching up on friends, tx's and many things.

LL

[pigeonca]

Yes, I believe it was a clarinet quintet - but my mind is probably foggier than yours, so I'm not entirely sure.  In any event it was lovely.  I would recognize it if I heard it again.

Re CD's vs. LP's, when CD's were new I bought a friend a CD of the opera "Nixon in China" for his birthday, and another friend of his bought him an LP of same.  So we did a comparison test.  The LP won hands down.  Of course, this was in the late '80s.  Today my ears aren't what they were then, so I'm content with CD's.  One of these days I'm going to connect a phonograph to my computer and digitize all my old LP's.  It's a big job, and it has to be done in real time, unlike feeding CD's into i-tunes or whatever.

Happy election day!  
pigeon

[IAmTheWalrus]

Most of my old LPs have gone by the wayside. My youngest daughter used many of them to decorate her bedroom walls. I think my wife still has a Bobby Sherman album. My worst album was probably Vanilla Fudge.

They do sound better, but I think the digital music captures a greater dynamic range (lacking on vinyl. The say that the spectrum that digital cuts out is not audible and doesn't degrade the sound, but many say, like Eric, that they hear the difference. I think maybe the sound is not as rich in digital.

[Andiamo1]

I gew up listening to the sound of string instruments; my father was a violinist and my uncle, a cellist.   It is those instruments that I can hear the greatest difference between CDs and records.

The capture frequency of the CD algorithm is not high enough.  The result is that the extrapolation between the capture points introduces harmonic distortion that is audible.  There are much better algorithms and I believe the sound track in Blu Ray disks does use one of them, but I have no first hand knowledge of that.

The dynamic range of CDs is greater than records, particularly when lower end record players are used.  The needle can be forced out of the groove by the track of loud sounds.  The super high end systems use a vacuum to hold the record to the turntable and have tone arms and cartridges that will accurately track the loudest sound tracks and can approach the dynamic range of CDs.  The fact that records have lower harmonic distortion when played with a high end system makes them more pleasant to listen to.

[Andiamo1]

I said "capture frequency," sample rate might be a more descriptive term.

[Liz50]

Babe, I have more than ONE Bobby Sherman album...that's what you get for robbing the cradle when you married me!

[scratchinghead]

And honey I miss you and I'm feeling good,
I'd love to be with you if only I could.
---Bobby Sherman

[IAmTheWalrus]

Capture frequency kind of takes me back to college days and z-transforms. Glad to have forgotton most of that.  

I grew up listening to LPs (Scheherazade was one of the first pieces I ever heard) on a less than high end system, but I think something seems lacking in some CD music. In line with your comment about strings, I notice it mostly on classical music and particularly those with the poingant violin solo. My CD of Scheherazade never seems to live up to my childhood memories. All you said makes perfect sense to me, now.

Brent

[IAmTheWalrus]

You married a geezer!

[FullOfHope77]

Eric,

I don't know why I missed this one from you as I always read your posts when I see them. You are a very interesting person as I have watched you over the last year and a half. You seem 'rough and tough' especially when I saw the motorcycle picture in your young days; then you seem sentimental and sensitive as you are 'forced' to listen to what is inside you. Then I think about your early days of partying and the 'darkness' around the contraction of HCV you shared while out enjoying Bob Dylan when he was just starting. Then I think of the sailing and stories that you've shared and re-shared in your travels in the maritime world. And now you're settling in again and seems a new life for you and your wife. I do think that you have the material and I've outlined the big sections, for you to compile it all into something that could be a good transcript and even a bit a 'guide' for others to live a better life. You were looking for something to do to keep your mind busy and it seems there's a consensus that you have a gift that you might share to the world as we here today and gone tomorrow and that would live on to commerate a life that ended up lifting up humanity in some small way. I too encourage you to consider your gift and 'call' to capture it all while you're still young enough.

Good luck you to Eric!
-Scott

[Andiamo1]

A sonnet for you!

Since brass, nor stone, nor earth, nor boundless sea,
But sad mortality o’ersways their power,
How with this rage shall beauty hold a plea,
Whose action is no stronger than a flower?
O, how shall summer’s honey breath hold out
Against the wrackful siege of batt’ring days.
When rocks impregnable are not so stout,
Nor gates of steel so strong but time decays?
O, fearful meditation, where alack,
Shall time’s best jewel from time’s chest lie hid?
Or what strong hand can hold his swift foot back,
Or who his spoil of beauty can forbid?
      O, none unless this miracle have might,
      That in black ink my love will still shine bright.  -Shakespeare