One big man puddle

I just finished listening to the 173rd Stuck in the '80s podcast. If you don't know what I'm talking about, you need to familiarize yourself with it. STAT! Seriously, next to peanut butter and jelly on squishy white bread, this concept is da bomb! Basically, I really enjoy it.

This episode focuses on musicians who became actors in the '80s. I won't reveal the top 10, but I can say that by the end of the podcast, I had tears streaming down my face. No, the hosts aren't directly responsible for my outburst of waterworks.

Host Steve Spears ends this most enjoyable episode with the very song I chose to dance with my Father to at my wedding reception. While the marriage didn't last, the memory of dancing with my Dad goes on forever. I chose "Wind Beneath My Wings" based on my Father's reaction to hearing it one summer day while visiting my sister Karen in Arizona.

I was to wed in September 1990. My Dad felt it a good idea to take me on a vacation prior to my nuptials. To be honest, in retrospect, I think he had hoped to convince me on this father/daughter trip that I had a lot more living to do as a single girl. I'm certain now that it was his keen attempt to make me see the light and possibly move far away from the man who wasn't quite my ideal match.

During our visit to Arizona, we were fortunate to tag along with sister Karen to her son Nathan's school year end concert. At the time, Nathan was in grade school. He and his classmates sang a variety of songs to pre-taped accompaniment. While children's concerts can often be painful to one's sensibilities, they are also mighty endearing. The kids are singing from their hearts. These boys and girls appeared to be soaring with such pride.

The beginning strains of "Wind Beneath My Wings" cued up and the children began to hum. While I tried to stifle my giggles, I turned to my Dad to see if his reaction was similar. On the contrary. The man's eyes were filled with tears. Always with a handkerchief, he had pulled it from his pocket as the welled up eyes were accompanied with a trembling lip. His face was drenched with emotion spilling from his somber, hazel eyes. I leaned in to my father's sturdy frame as his comforting, strong arm wrapped around my shoulder. I fell into him and sobbed along with the man who I had rarely seen weep.

Upon completion of the song, he could only express how beautiful it was. He was so delighted to have been there to see Nathan sing his heart out with his classmates and to share the moment with two of his daughters. The song struck a chord. I don't' think up to that time Dad had ever heard the tune.

It was at that moment I knew I would have that song played during our father/daughter glide across the dance floor.

Comments

  1. Oh crap, now I'M crying! Nicely written, I love how you tied the current day and the past together. I'll have to get to that podcast one of these days soon!

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  2. Beautiful post, thank you.

    By the way, want to guess what my daughter & I danced to at her wedding?

    Louis Armstrong's "I'll be glad when you're dead you rascal you" (LOL)

    It's not that weird, she and my dad used to sing it to each other along with the tape in the car as they went for ice cream when she was 3-4 and he had passed before her wedding.

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  3. Sherrie, I didn't mean to make you cry, but I'm happy you enjoyed walking down memory lane with me.
    Bronson, you crack me up. I'm sure mouths fell agape at the song if they weren't aware of the background. That's truly something. Had it been a song my dad and I sang (He played ukulele while I sang) together, it would have been "Little White Duck." Kinda hard to dance to.

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  4. Marissa -

    I danced with my father to this song at my wedding too in 1992. I was the one who was crying. My father has always been there for me and helped me in so many ways. My mother too. However, me and my dad have always had a special bond.

    GAGirl

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  5. That's so awesome, GaGirl. I was a weeping (slightly tipsy) bride during the dance. Of course, it could have been for a whole host of things that went dreadfully wrong that day. Just a precurser for what the following 9 years brought me.... with exception to Mancub. I'd endure those 9 years and more if it guaranteed that I would have my son.

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  6. That's such a beautiful memory and a beautiful post.

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  7. What a beautiful memory Marissa. I'm so glad you post these wonderful tidbits of you!

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  8. Sappy or not, I love that song. Ok, so I love most sappy stuff. That song, though, speaks volumes.

    Thanks for the walk down your memory lane.

    xo

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