The danger of reunion exposure (or lack thereof)
Heard in our house last night:
"Daddy, I like the song from your school, and I like Uncle Peewee's song, but I don't like Mommy's song."
I will grant that Daddy's school song has the most famous tune of all alma maters, and that the tune for Peter's school song is also pleasantly singable (unless you first memorized the alto line and can never remember the melody). And I will admit that Mommy's school song, besides unfortunately having become associated with the Nazis who sing the same tune in Casablanca (which I'm going to assume is not Edith's objection), sounds like a melodic patchwork of hard-to-hit phrases.
But when we consider the words, there's no doubt who enjoys the best sentiments. The synopses for your consideration:
Tom's school: Sing praises to our school, which is a handsome institution overlooking a lake. Yay, school!
Peter's school: Relax, get a bodily tune-up, and sing praises to an old building named after a Dutch prince who invaded England in the 17th century [not that that has anything to do with our school]. We'll keep singing to this building until we die.
Gretchen's school: College is a really short but wonderfully happy time; we'll never forget it and even after we leave, no matter how much we change, we'll never break ties with the dear friends we made there.
Which I would say sums up my experience of college and life thereafter. But maybe Uncle Peter spent his college years serenading a historic building. Considering how little of his four years there he spent under the influence, it seems unlikely. But who's to say.
Meanwhile, we'll work on Edith's retraining as soon as possible.
2 comments:
Edith -- Mommy's song has its problems, but other family members' alma maters are yuckier still. Take the lyrics of Mor-Mor's, for instance (and the tune is equally unstirring):
"Hello, big impressive school built on the horizon line of the Pacific Ocean (OK, your foundations aren't literally sitting in the water but just about as shaky since they're on the San Andreas fault. That's why our song doesn't say anything about pledging eternal loyalty.)...." I think your mom has started a new parlor game here and look forward to synopses of other well-known academic ditties.
To add to your point about the lyrics: I must also say, the sight of a sea of white handkerchiefs waving, synchronized, in a Woolsey Hall jam-packed with alumni from 5 up to 55 years out of school, is an amazing thing. Perhaps Edith would like the song better if she could witness such a visual. It certainly warmed my heart immensely on Saturday! (And of course brought to mind all of said dear friends, both present and absent. Miss you!)
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