A Joyous Sound

 A Joyous Sound

I can't say my father did not like music.  It's just that I never saw him listen to music.  Ever. 

My mother, on the other hand, loved music.  She was an amateur guitar and accordion player and like me, only played for her personal enjoyment.

We never had a record player growing up.  Mom listened to AM radio, mostly WOWO and they had a limited selection of music.   She favored country and old time gospel music and listened to it mostly in the car.  

All that changed late in 1962.

My sister Dee was born in Sept, 1962.  I was 14 and my brother Chuck was 10.  Two much older brothers that loved the new baby dearly.

Dee started out a normal baby.  When she was about two months or so old, she started crying.....all day and most of the night.  The family doctor said she had colic and treated her for it.  

She still would not stop crying.

Mom was exhausted, staying up most of the night rocking and cuddling her.  Mom, Chuck and I decided to assign shifts to care for Dee.  Mom took the shift during the day when we were in school, Chuck and I took turns rocking her at night.  Dad, as always was working two jobs and could not help.  Chuck and I did a fair share of the cooking during this time.

My father made a miraculous decision that Christmas.  He bought Mom a RCA stereo console and an aqua blue velvet rocker.  Mom could now sit in the rocker, rock my sister, and listen to her music.   And amazingly, Dee could feel the sound of the music close by and it seemed to sooth her.

The doctor finally diagnosed Dee's problem as an ear infection.  Today this is a minor malady.  It caused Dee to lose about 80% of her hearing in 1962.

That RCA console always occupied a special place in my parent's home.  Mom spent many an evening rocking next to it, listening to Johnny Cash, Fats Domino, Dean Martin, etc.  It was an old friend.