Grandma Henke

Today was the day for listening to Grofe:Grand Canyon & Mississippi Suites, as Kostelanetz Bernstein conducts the New York Philharmonic.   I turned the volume full blast so I can close my eyes, see the sunrise, ride the donkeys, visualize the Grand Canyon trails,  experience the glorious sunset as it splashes across the sky above the colorful canyons … and the thunder and lightening of the cloudburst that gives the desert plants and animals their evening bath.     Soon after, I mosey down the Mississippi River with Huckleberry Finn  …  So Relaxing.    

Fifty years ago, about this time of the year, my Dad took me there for the first time via a reel-to-real stereo and strategically placed speakers around our living room.   (I preferred rock ‘n roll from my tiny new, red transistor radio.)    He was persuasive, however, and convinced me to join him.   We sat side by side with our heads back, our eyes shut as he descriptively talked me through the canyon experience as the beautiful music resonated from our walls .  Of course, he won me over and the Grand Canyon/Mississippi Suite has since been one of my all time favorite albums.    Almost every September/October I am drawn there again as I lay my head back, close my eyes, and spend the hour with Dad.      I can almost feel the sway of the donkeys as they bray to each other on their way down the canyon.         This album always leaves me with a nostalgic  peaceful, calmness.

Thanks Dad.

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