Wordless Wednesday - 4 August 2010 - Mayer children

Norma and Jack Mayer (siblings, children of Edith Dallman Mayer and, respectively, Ray Mayer and Adolph Mayer - no relation to each other, that we know of - see yesterday's post for explanation). Photo, Chicago, Illinois, ca. 1936.

Tombstone Tuesday - 3 August 2010 - Norma Mayer Strazewski

Norma E. Mayer Strazewski (AKA Strauss) was my 2nd cousin. Her mother was Edith Dallman Mayer (who, interestingly, married two different men, both named "Mayer," making it so her two children, one by each man, able to go through their childhood years with the same surname despite having different fathers.) Norma was the daughter of the first of those men, Ray Mayer. Norma was born 20 January 1926 in Illinois and died 28 July 1993, same state. Norma and her daughter, Elaine, attended the reception following my marriage to my first husband. Elaine is also now gone. Both are buried in Arlington Cemetery, DuPage County, Illinois. Because of the miracle of blogging and Facebook, I am now in contact with Elaine's son, my 2nd cousin, twice removed.

Sunday Singalong with Circlemending - Travel

We are about to hit the road. We're heading to Texas, Missouri, Tennessee, and Georgia (specifically, though also planning to spend some time in the states between here and there). The RV is nearly packed, the dogs are excited, and the instruments are restrung. I hate the packing and preparing, love the travel and experiences en route, and hate the unpacking and laundry when we get home. But it's that middle part (you know, the creamy center) that makes the rough edges worthwhile.

We will be doing some performing in Payson, Arizona at the Farmers Market there on Saturday, the 7th, so if you happen to be in the area at 9-11am, stop by & say HI! I'll probably blog more about that next week, after the fact. I think it will be great fun to start the trip with a musical experience; it got me thinking about the travel songs that are part of our repertoire.

So here's this week's Singalong challenge: identify a travel song (dealing with any kind of travel - train, plane, automobile, bus, taxi, or unspecified) or possibly a song that you (and your family?) like to sing while traveling. I know some people who sing while they take a bike ride and others who sing or whistle while they hike; that works too. Remember, you need not include all the lyrics (unless you just can't help yourself) - a single verse and/or chorus is fine, or the title or a link to an MP3 recording or YouTube video will also suffice. Your memory or explanation of why the song came to mind will add to the post.

Here's mine (yes, you guessed it, another Tom Paxton song - we love his traveling songs!) - "I Can't Help but Wonder Where I'm Bound." I've been playing and singing this song for almost as long as I've been playing guitar (hate to date you, Tom . . . no hard feelings, I hope). And, in spite of his horror in this admission, I did learn it at camp. But I found the verses the camp leaders left out and love the guitar riff (I learned it from Tom). Here's Tom doing it in live performance in 1994. Enjoy.

Your turn.