I wrote here about getting rid of books. Now I'm working on getting rid of CDs. At least I have found a better way to deal with CDs. I am joining the iPod generation. For a number of years we have had an older components-type CD player, in an inconvenient location, meaning that I didn't really play much music other than one CD at a time in a cheap CD player. Recently I decided it was time. I now have an 80 gig iPod and wireless speakers and have spent far more time that I care to divulge uploading all of our lifetime of CDs. Now I can play anything in our collection within just a few seconds of deciding what matches my mood of the day. I have music on much more than ever before, since it is now so convenient. And I'm listening to pieces I had long ago forgotten we owned.
My next step (when I can convince my husband that he is ready to give up the actual physical CDs) will be to begin swapping those CDs on the Swap-a-CD site. I can get more books to read, CDs that I would like to add to my collection, or DVDs with the points I acquire. We began to order CDs of some of the old vinyls my husband was still holding on to and have even cleared those out of our attic.
So what shall I listen to ... classical? opera? country western? Christian? So many choices!
Posted by Leona Bergstrom For two hours Wednesday night I felt like time had stood still. In my heart I was once again a young woman in my twenties groovin’ to the completely familiar sounds of Neil Diamond. The odd thing was, everyone around me was middle aged or older. There were lots of bald heads, pot-bellies, and flabby women in Koret stretch pants. While my mind had transcended to a familiar place 30 years ago, my body was painfully aware that it looked just like those around me. On one hand, it was rather depressing.
But, on the other hand, we were there with thousands of other Boomers, and like a band of brothers, we screamed and whistled, we sang each word to each song (almost), we clapped, stood, waved our hands in the air, and went wild when Neil took off his coat! His music connected us, not to just to him, but to each other and to a time of our lives when we didn’t know the word “impossible.” Oddly, one of my most intense emotions was one of pride. Yep. I was proud of Neil, now age 67 and still following his dream and passion. He moved a little slower. In fact, he has a platform that automatically moves back and forth across the stage giving the appearance that he is roaming on his own. He sits down a little more often, and doesn’t wiggle quite as much. (I sat behind him in a concert in the late 70’s when he REALLY did wiggle – unforgettable, really.) But he was out there! Strutting his stuff in the second half of life, singing as well as he ever has with tones that pierce right into your heart and soul. Sure, he’s making bizillions of bucks on this 2008 tour, but he inspired me to keep struttin’, keep singing, keep following the dream.
In a melancholy moment toward the end of the concert he sang his song, Hell, Yeah. The words haunt me this morning because I realize that we can teleport to another place in time through his music, but this tour really could be his last major one. He, like us, faces the reality of his mortality. In some ways, I think he summed up his life’s search for meaning and said goodbye through one of his last songs:
“So if they ask you when I'm gone Was it everything he wanted? When he had to travel on Did he know he'd be missed? You can tell them this Hell yeah he did He saw it all He walked the line Never had to crawl He cried a bit But not for long Hell yeah he found the life that he was after Filled it up with love and laughter Finally got it right and made it fit."
Nice job, Neil. You made time stand still and made us all feel ageless! Read the review here. And you can play the song as you're reading this blog! (photo by whiper, shared via Flickr)
Not all of my friends are in the over-the-speed-limit age range. I was recently honored to find our blog in the "blogs I read" list of one such friend. Annie is in Nashville, following her dream, and I want to link to her 4 posts of the 100 things she wants to do in her lifetime. It is a fun list and we could all find some things on it that we could add to our own list. By reading her blog, I have found that she is working at knocking some of those things off her list, including making a demo of her songs! So here it is, 1-25, 26-50, 51-75, and 76-100 + bonus material. Go Annie!
Leona Bergstrom is a Certified Aging Service Professional and has worked in the field of gerontology for 30 years, planning, implementing, and managing social and health care programs for the elderly.
Terry McNichols has an M.S. in Marriage and Family Therapy and has worked in the fields of face-to-face and online counseling for 20 years.
Related by marriage, friends by choice, and shaped by both grace and gravity, Terry and Leona have had many conversations about the intersection of their fields. Please listen in as they continue those conversations online!
time in a cheap CD player. Recently I decided it was time. I now have an 80 gig iPod and wireless speakers and have spent far more time that I care to divulge uploading all of our lifetime of CDs. Now I can play anything in our collection within just a few seconds of deciding what matches my mood of the day. I have music on much more than ever before, since it is now so convenient. And I'm listening to pieces I had long ago forgotten we owned.
