© Copyright 2002 by silli_artie@hotmail.com
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On school mornings, we're serenaded -- we're close enough to the high school that the street by our bedroom window is filled with student vehicles by seven thirty in the morning. We're often serenaded early in the morning, mostly by the latest from rap artists, although we do also get to hear (at substantial volume) the latest in other trends.
I try to keep it in perspective. I'm sure my parents were equally impressed with the likes of Felix Pappalardi, Iron Butterfly, Cream, and the Jefferson Airplane.
But that perspective changed. During one of the public television Pledge "Festivals," we watched Simon and Garfunkel's "The Concert in Central Park." As I listened to Paul Simon's "American Tune," tears filled my eyes. And it's not just for the memories brought back, or the surprising timeliness of the lyrics -- "We come in the age's most uncertain hour / And sing an American tune..."
As I think of our children still sleeping, early in those mornings, I think of the songs, so many songs that mean so much to me.
Who is writing those songs for our children? Who is writing the songs that they will look back upon, the songs that will conjure memories out of their pasts, memories of youth, memories of innocence and innocence lost, memories of first loves, memories of so much? What songs will bring tears to their eyes? Who is writing the songs?
I pray they are out there. I don't hear them in our early morning serenades.
Namaste-
8 April 2002