New Old Christmas Albums
By Joe Rector
Amy and I spent the weekend with Lacey, Nick and Madden in Hendersonville. We traveled to Nashville on Saturday to check out a craft fair. I usually don’t purchase craft items, but this time, I found a “vinyl” sale and a couple of treasures.
For those who don’t know what a vinyl sale is, I can tell you it is a record album sale. For years, those things have been worthless. However, just as the saying goes, “wait long enough and old stuff becomes popular again.” As I browsed the boxes of albums, I found some that were interesting. The fact that they were priced at $70 quickly killed any interest I had in them.
I did eventually run across a couple of albums that met my two expectations; I liked the music, and I could afford them. One was a Christmas record by Johnny Mathis. It included many of the most popular songs that most folks hear during the season. I’ve always counted Johnny as one of my favorite performers. His voice is different; his vibrato sounds as if he were singing in an agitating washing machine. That jazzy, mellow delivery makes every song the man sings an instant favorite.
The second album I bought was a collection of songs by Henry Mancini’s orchestra and choir.Mancini’s arrangements are always wonderful, and his Christmas ones are essential for helping folks move into the Christmas spirit.
Christmas might not be as special as it used to be at our house. The children grew up, moved away, and established their own ways of celebrating the season. Dallas passed before last Christmas, and that stings on special days. A tradition we always followed was decorating the tree, turning off all the lights except the ones on the tree, and then playing Christmas music.
I think both of these oldies-but-goodies can help bring the Christmas spirit to our home. The second expectation I had for them came true as well. Each album costs only $5. I’m a cheapskate on most things. No used album is worth more than that. Only people with too much money would pay a king’s ransom for a record that has been around for decades.
Until last year, Christmas had always been my favorite holiday. Folks are a little kinder, a tad jollier, and a smidge more loving. For so many years, Amy and I were excited about spending time with our children and surprising them with gifts. The loss of a child threw a monkey wrench into the season and festivities. Just surviving Christmas last year was considered a success.
This year, I hope things will change a bit. It’s time to return to life and to involve ourselves in the celebration of the season. We know where Dallas is, and we know that our daughter Lacey, her husband Nick, and our grandson Madden need our love and joy to make their Christmas full. The plan now is to listen to these albums I bought, along with other Christmas songs, in an effort to lighten my heart and bring the warmth of Christmas back to my life. Doing so is a good way of honoring Dallas and returning to the happy things in life.
