Big Yellow Taxi

This week ‘s program at the KW Symphony theme is hits from the past… Boomer Pops. As I’ve been magically transported back in time to 1969, and visiting my Dentist in Don Mills, the Muzak that was playing in the dentist office was exactly what I’ve been performing this week. Not the best memories of my teeth but other fun memories do pop up with this music.

Like all the camping trips we took together as a family. My dad had a ‘ Sprite’ camper that he would rent out to his clients via his Travel agency, and we would benefit from using it as well. My dad would hook up the camper to our old 1969 Oldsmobile Vista Cruiser, which had cool ceiling skylights to see all the mountains, which we never did. That car always overheated! That car was a lemon. (See picture - Ours was turquoise blue, but could have been yellow like a lemon!) But it looked cool, and had fake wood paneling!

I still remember how my dad had so many problems with figuring out how to back up the car with the camper attached to it. We had a really long driveway in Don Mills, and when my mom was finished with loading up the camper my dad then had to back it out. You know, to back up with a camper you turn left to go right stuff… he always struggled with that, math and physics was not his strong point. ( I can still hear my mom yelling at my dad…” No Adri!... turn the other way!... My dad would then yell “ Leid! …Shut up!”)

We went camping in Quebec, New England, Thousand Islands, Muskoka and Algonquin areas. The camper slept 6, and was great fun! I do remember though that my mom really didn’t like it. She was more a ‘ Give me some luxury’ person! But she obeyed and made the best of it. It was cheap and that is what my dad liked the best. How else can you take a family of 6 on vacation to see these places without going broke!

My fishing skills and game playing skills really developed during those days! But I never could beat my sister Melinda at Monopoly, she somehow always won… I sure she cheated.. oh.. ya.. “Cheat” was another favorite game… and again Melinda won! see the pattern?

I wish my memories were more clear and vivid in that period. I was 9 in 1969. Like trying to remember what my parents did during those trips. I just remember my mom lounging around on a lawn chair smoking her cigarettes (Rothmans) and reading the paper. My dad... who knows? My mom always made the meals, and later at night made up all the beds… (Dinner tables collapsed, and magically turned into beds) how did we all sleep together in such a small space?... all that snoring!

I do remember one thing about my dad… when we went to New England, he went crazy on the fresh seafood one night, eating fresh New England Lobster and crab etc. I remember my dad getting out of bed about 100 times one night, vomiting and have the really bad runs… I think he had food poisoning… or something.. I didn’t eat the Lobster.. I thought it was weird to eat shell fish!

Aaaah memories… fun stuff… just listen to the “ Big Yellow Taxi” song by Joni Mitchell and I’m sure it will jog some of your own! As it did for me!