On this morning, of all mornings, the irony amazes me. I woke again this morning early, not with the yipping of the coyotes but with the song of birds. Before I go on, do any of you remember Robert J. Lurtsema? You probably won’t unless you lived in New England up until the late 1990s. He was the host of an WGBH morning program called "morning Pro Musica’. He influenced my mornings for more than 25 years… I set my alarm clock to come on when he’d begin his program. The first five minutes was always the same… FIVE FULL Minutes of wild bird calls. This was my morning wake-up, a great (and peaceful) way to start the day. At some point through the years, he told his listeners that the bird sounds had been live taped in an area in NW Rhode Island; an area I later moved to. That was what I was listening to this morning, and thinking about the easy wake-up his program provided all those years. No late breaking news, he’d read the news himself, sometimes so slowly and in such a gentle voice that you’d have to stop, just to catch the next word. Then on to Bach, Mozart, string quartets and classical heaven. I was thinking about the contrast between those gentle sounds and the way the alarm goes off now, the way the news is blared out, staccato beat, dum..da..da..dumm, da.. da..dum, dumm, as a preface. I was wondering about TOO MUCH news, TOO MUCH information, and how is it being presented. That’s just about when C yelled up the stairs that London subways had been bombed. I can hear the way Robert J. would have told us, solemnly, quietly, respectfully.
Just thinking… my thoughts are there, here, hope all are safe. As I look around blogland, friends are checking in. Thanks.
All your lovely enabling comments spurred me right along, and last night I started Tivoli. Seems like a perfect project for some soothingly mindless stockinette. There, avengers!!
Great for doing when I WANT to watch the movie. We borrowed ‘A Home at the End of the World’ form the local library. Good movie, lots of nostalgia, I’d give it a thumbs up.
and the accoutrement.. the ‘BLING’.. It’ll be finished before Tivoli! 😉
Comments
8 responses to “on this morning..”
My dad always started the day with Robert J. He was certainly an original. The only thing I hated about hearing those birds was it meant soon I had to get up and go to school!
It’s so sad, so heart stoppingly sad.
The birds accompany my mornings and it is my favorite sound.
It’s so sad, so heart stoppingly sad.
The birds accompany my mornings and it is my favorite sound.
Yay! You started the Tivoli! And such gorgeous yarn. 😉
I loved dear old Robert…he used to be on the radio while drove to work for some 25 years.Now terrorism wakes us from our fragmented slumber.
Nice bling pix. I remember Robert. He was such a different presence on the airwaves. I do miss him.
I do indeed remember Robert J and miss his gentle vibe. Thanks for reminding me. su
I enjoyed listening to Robert J. and his stentorian voice. I used to chuckle, though, when he would read the news. Sometimes I would turn the radio on to hear….nothing! He was big into pregnant pauses and there were lots of them when reading the news or announcing the music. I miss all those lovely bird calls and the pieces he would sign on and sign off with, I still remember. Whenever I hear certain pieces of Handel or Bach or Telemann, I always think of old Robert J. Now, it’s all news, all the time, and no way to get away from it.
Lately, I listen to “Breakfast of Champions” on the MIT Radio station to get away from news.