Moments that live Forever

musicmutt wrote a very memorable post yesterday where he talked about moments that impact on you so strongly they hook you on something for the rest of your life. Not surprisingly, he wrote about his passion for trains, and I still remember seeing the wonderful train model he and his father had built in their home in Winnipeg. It stretched over two rooms and the tracks went through the wall. I was very impressed with the time and detail that went into the work.



Gray's post got me thinking of similar moments in my life, where something impacted on me so strongly it became a lifelong passion. Some of my hobbies caught up with me slowly or seem to have always been there. Others did have moments of discovery that still linger.

When I was 12 I used to babysit for a couple who lived up the hill from our house. When their kids went to sleep I used to rifle through their record collection. The parents had been children of the 60's, so most of their records were 60's rock and folk, music that would end up being the soundtrack of my teens and beyond. Most clearly I can remember one night sitting on the floor listening to one "45" on the kids' Mickey Mouse portable record player again and again. By the time I got home I was determined to track down more music by this group. The single was "I Want to Hold Your Hand" and I've been hooked on The Beatles ever since.

In Gr. 7 my teacher's name was Ms. McLeod. She was the first teacher to teach me about the instruments of the orchestra and she taught me how to do mosaics and copper enameling and she would read chapters of "Huck Finn" to us on Fridays, but most clearly of all I remember her sitting on the corner of her desk playing the guitar and singing Canadian folk songs. By the time I left her class I knew I wanted to learn to play the guitar. It would be three more years before I took my first lesson, but I've been hooked on playing the guitar and singing ever since.

One day when I was 16 I idly sat down to watch TV. Flicking the dial, I came across an animated movie of a book I hadn't heard of before. As I watched, I became increasingly drawn into the world and the atmosphere of the story-telling. The final frames gave the tantalizing glimpse of stories beyond the "there and back again" tale I had just seen. I was at my local library seeking out those books the very next day. The movie was "The Hobbit", the book I borrowed from the library was "The Fellowship of The Ring" and I've been hooked on J.R.R. Tolkien ever since.

Three moments that have hooked me on collaborating with Urban Tapestry for ten years:

1. The first time Jodi added a harmony to one of my songs. The song was "The Ancient Yearning" and I was blown away by how the song was transformed by the blend of voices. I've been hooked on harmonizing with Jodi ever since.

2. Visiting with Jodi in my apartment the first time Debbie sent us one of her humorous songs in e-mail. The song was "Puppies Cooked In Brine" and I remember the two of us reading this lyric in amazement wondering just where -this- side of Debbie's songwriting had come from :). I've been hooked on Debbie's wonky songwriting ever since.

3. The first time Debbie added a third harmony to a UT arrangement, deciding she could sing after all. We were visiting Mark Osier's house at the time and the first song Deb chimed in on, of all songs, was a short-lived (much to Jodi's relief) UT arrangement of The Partridge Family's "I Woke Up In Love This Morning". I've been hooked on UT three-part harmony ever since.

Back when I first belatedly got onto the Internet I became determined to become involved in the on-line communities I always heard my friends talking about. Once on-line I blundered my way with more enthusiasm than finesse over to the GEnie message boards, where most of my filk friends were hanging out. I managed to make my way to a message board run by Larry Warner but, oh, I was woefully unprepared and didn't know what I was doing. Judith Hayman tactfully posted a message saying she was going to yank Allison back off-line again and give her some pointers on how to master cyber communication, which she then did do. Through several message boards, even leading some, I seem to have discovered my way around cyber-space and I've been hooked on Internet communication ever since.

Like LiveJournal.

Heh, fun memories. Thanks, musicmutt.