Memories of a Singing Girl Scout

Today is the anniversary of the Girl Scouts of America.

On March 12, 1912, Juliette Gordon Low began an organization with a group of girls in Georgia which would go on to become the Girl Scouts of America.

I am proud to say that I am a lifetime Girl Scout.

Scouting was a major part of my childhood and youth.

Sure, I enjoyed earning badges, cooking and camping out, playing games and performing skits. 

It was in Girl Scouts that I learned the importance of the flag and participated in many flag ceremonies for troop, camping, and civic events.

Camping was a big part of my summer. I was horribly homesick the first time I went for a two-week stay. I cried every night the first week. I recall receiving a letter from my mommy telling me that being homesick just meant how much I loved my family and my home and that I'd be just fine until they came to pick me up. 

Then I cried at the end of the two weeks because I didn't want to leave. I'd LOVED camping!

(Well, not all of it. To this day, after many caper assignments of cleaning out the latrine, I do NOT care to use an outhouse/latrine. Give me my indoor plumbing!)

My fondest memories of all the Girl Scout activities I was involved in all involved singing of some sort.

All songs were taught/learned through oral tradition - learning something through repetition. All harmony was done by ear.

I think it was Girl Scout camp that really prepared me musically for listening carefully for musical sounds.

"Make New Friends" is a song that takes me back to those childhood days spent in Girl Scouts.

At camp we sang all kinds of songs.  Beautiful songs like "Barges" and fun songs like the "Billboard Song."

After each meal we would sing songs that cheered for our camp (Camp Conestoga in Iowa) and for our individual units.  I can still remember the songs I sang for my units - Prairie's Edge, Tinder Trails, and Outback.

Campfires were a highlight of my time camping. I loved hearing all the voices blending together. Early on I was a fan of the harmony that was created.  I still find myself singing the three songs that always ended each final camp-wide campfire: "Each Campfire Lights Anew," "Green Trees Around Us," "Taps"

Games were song based. I remember "One & Twenty" and "Sarasponda" being favorites.

The songs I've mentioned here are just examples of the 100s of songs that I learned while at Girl Scout camp.

I am thankful for my involvement in Girl Scouts. Not only because of all that I learned, but because of all the music that it brought to my life.

I'll end with one last song: "Happy Birthday, Girls Scouts!"

Thanks for the memories...

Plugging My Ears

As a child, whenever I did not want to listen to someone or hear something, I would plug my ears with my fingers.

Often singing, "La, la, la..."

It usually was an attempt to avoid hearing Momma calling me to do some chore or a sibling pestering me.

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I had a colleague for whom loud, continuous noises could cause great distress to the point of physical sickness.  He would wear sound-limiting earphones whenever he knew he would be around loud sounds.

I watch my brother, after years of working in a loud manufacturing plant, use ear plugs when he worked with power tools or lawn equipment.

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I have always taken my hearing for granted.

I have a pretty keen sense of hearing.

I am able to distinguish the slightest differences in a sound, between voices or instruments.

I am able to hear things a fraction of a second sooner than others might hear them.

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Recently I have watched my momma deal with age-related hearing loss.  Now, with the help of technology, she is rediscovering sounds that she has not heard for several years.

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Students of music will recall that the composer Beethoven was afflicted with the devastation of deafness.  Its onset occurred around age 29.  For the remainder of his life he faced each day with decreasing hearing and eventual silence.

Silence.

I can not even fathom what it would be like to not hear anything ever again.

Even the mere thought of that is unnerving.

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All of these thoughts flitted through my mind the other day as I mowed my lawn wearing ear plugs for the first time.

It was amusing because the sound of the mower was so muted that at times I found myself wondering if it was running.  Amusing because it was a riding lawn mower and I was riding it at the time so yes, obviously, it was running. But I still would catch myself looking at the mower to make sure it was still chewing up grass!

Why hadn't I worn these foamy little ear plugs sooner?

I couldn't find them.
I thought I'd look dorky.

Well, now that I have found them AND hung them on the hook with my lawn mower key, I will now look dorky as I mow the lawn or do other loud activities for, you see,

I don't want to take my hearing for granted any more.

I want to be able to hear the music, the voices, and the myriad of sounds that will come my way in the future.

And so, because of this, I will be plugging my ears to guard against and prevent any hearing loss that I can possibly protect.

I want to proclaim this message to anyone who wears ear buds and blasts the music or movie directly into sensitive ears.

I hope they hear it - if they can - before it is too late.

The Best Job In Retail - Ever!

Unbeknownst to many readers, years ago I worked for the discount store Target. I started as a cashier ringing each item up individually (no scanners back then!), proceeded to "work the floor" in all departments, eventually moving to the price change team (back then every product had a price tag) and the cash office.

I enjoyed the job. No job responsibility beyond the work day. Nice people to work with. Nice discount on everything I purchased.

A good job.

However I recently read an article about what could be the best job in retail.

Ever.

It is the job of Grand Court Organist at the Macy's Center City store in Philadelphia.

Twice a day, six days a week, the grand court organist performs a 45-minute concert.

Pretty cool, eh?

Must be.

The current organist has held the position for 25 years.

His predecessor held the position for 23 years.

The person before that was organist for 49 years - from 1917-1966.

All I can say is WOW!

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I can vaguely remember going to a department store in a mall somewhere - Neiman Marcus, perhaps -  that had a musician play a grand piano in a center court of the store.

I recall thinking that to be pretty cool.

In fact, I believe one of my school principals, who was also a church musician, played piano at a department store for a while.

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I have always said one of the best things about my job is that I get paid to listen to, perform, and teach about music.

And, if I had to work retail again, I believe I, too, would think it to be the best job in retail if I could be a retail musician.

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This post was inspired by this article -
Grand Court Organist