When I was a kid, my dad was a teacher, so he enjoyed summer breaks. I remember that my whole family would pile into the van and travel for the summer. Not on vacation like you might expect. We traveled around to summer camps and vacation bible schools and put on puppet shows. I recall every inch of the van being filled with puppets, puppet stages, musical instruments, and speaker equipment. There was hardly room for me, my brother, and sister.
When my siblings and I were old enough, we started to do more than just play with the puppets. I remember helping set up the puppet stages and arranging the musical instruments. I became a puppeteer. I made the puppets sing along with silly songs played on our tape player. I liked the shorter skits and songs. Holding my arm up in the air for a long time made it hurt. Plus, the stage was a height for my mom, and I was pretty small for my age. I often had to contort myself into odd positions. This was necessary so the puppet is seen clearly. I needed to keep my own head hidden from view.
We had a collection of cowbells and would perform songs using them. I remember they had a leather strap on the with the note clearly stamped on them. One of the jobs I had was setting up the cowbells from largest to smallest. I can still see the faux leather mat they used to sit on.
Later, my sister and I dressed up as cowgirls. My brother as a cowboy. We would sing some cowboy song. I don’t remember what song we sang. I remember I had a blue cowboy hat, and boots, but not much else. I have always wondered if that’s where my love for dressing up started. My favorite holiday was always Halloween because I got to dress up. If you follow me on Facebook or saw my previous blog about the the Ohio Renaissance Festival, you know that I love dressing up. I get an upgraded season pass and go every possible weekend in September and October. My Facebook is filled mostly with pictures from these days each year.
My dad also had a set of musical glasses he would play at the shows. That’s the musical instrument. made by filling drinking glasses. If you have never heard glasses played outside of a science class, check out Donal’s website: https://www.donalhinely.com/glass-harmonica
When my dad met someone unfamiliar with musical glasses, he would take off his eye glasses. He then pretended to play them like a flute. Everyone would get a chuckle.
Year later, I asked my dad if he would show me how to play the glasses. Maybe when I was 12 years old. I only knew about 3 or 4 songs. I would play them during school talent shows and church performances.
My dad taught me how to play the cowbells too. However, I never resonated with the harsh sound of the cowbells. I resonated more with the soft melody of the musical glasses. I will be forever grateful I had that experience.
Thanks so much for spending your time with me! I still have so many stories and ideas I’m excited to share. Hope you’ll swing by my blog again soon!