Musicology Anthology

I have chosen John Denver's The Flower That Shattered The stone album for a number of reasons.

When my eldest was an infant and I was stationed at Ft. Richardson, Alaska back in the 70s, our flight back to base from Chicago was delayed by a storm. We had gotten as far as Denver, CO, but the next leg was iffy because of all the snow. Finally, there was a window. Many of the passengers had either found other flights or could afford to delay their trip for a few days. I had neither the money nor the leave left before I had to be back at base.

So, when the flight was finally called, there were twelve people on a 747. They moved everyone to first class. After the plane had taken off, I took my three-month-old daughter and headed up the stairs to the lounge. A day that had last twice as long as the flight would have been, the lure of a drink and comfy chairs was strong.

There, in the lounge was John Denver and his wife and some of their crew. The rest of the tired passengers ended up enjoying the lounge as well, or they did until my daughter got extremely fussy. She would not stop crying. The stewardess brought me a bottle. Didn't help. I changed her into our last diaper. No good. I apologized to the other passengers. Then John Denver came over and suggested maybe some music would help. His wife took my daughter, rocked her, and sang along with John. Eventually, we all joined in. Except for my daughter. She was sound asleep.

We all sang our way to Anchorage. Best flight ever.

I had already loved his music. After that evening, I really did. Two children later, when one of them was fussy, I'd play John Denver music, and off to sleep they went! As my kids got older, it was the preferred choice of 'sing along in the car' music. There are many memories tangle up in the songs of this album specifically. Hoping I can incorporate the memories into my characters so readers can enjoy them as well.