Thanksgiving and Music

This past weekend was a time to sit back and remember all the things you are thankful for. For myself, one of the things that would be very close to the top of the list would be my cottage. A major tradition in my family is to pack everything and everyone into the car and head to the cottage for Thanksgiving weekend. Saturday is our big family turkey dinner. My Grandma always says every year, "I am not cooking the turkey this year," but always ends up in the kitchen putting the finishing touches on the bird. The cousins have the classic job of set up and take down aka set the table and wash the dishes after dinner. As the day goes on, the cottage slowly begins to start like heaven. The aromas of a slowly cooking turkey, warm stuffing and sweet turnip casserole come together and linger in the air. Once we are all set and ready to eat, there is always one more thing our family does which is turning on the music.

For some families, dinner is always accompanied by some light music in the background. And for some others, this probably sounds like a completely ridiculous thing to do. For the Brennan's, the sounds of Michael Buble tend to always play around dinner time at the cottage. This year at Thanksgiving Dinner, my Grandma Ann had a different request. As the same old Michael Buble CD began to play, she ordered that we mix things up a bit. As we scrolled through the iPod to find something suitable, my Dad said he had just the thing for my Grandma. This Thanksgiving was to be the Thanksgiving of Vera Lynn. The moment her music began, you could see the nostalgia stream across my Grandma's face. Although I wasn't hugely familiar with Vera Lynn herself or her music, I couldn't help but enjoy it. Every song was just so classic and beautiful. My Grandma began telling us about how this was the time of music she was listening to at our age. For my younger cousins and I, we couldn't help but realize how much has changed from then to now. To me, it seems that the music we hear on the radio today lacks the passion and intention that the music of the past had. There are too many songs out there today that sound exactly the same as the next which leaves little to be desired on Top 40 radio.

As Vera Lynn's greatest hits album came to an end, several Tony Bennett classics made their way through the speakers. And the only thing I could think of when 'I Left My Heart in San Fransisco' come on was, "Once a classic, always a classic." Here's to the oldies but most importantly, the goodies.