Sunday was always a great day for us. It meant that the work on the farm would stop for a day and we could be children. The highlight of the day was the cover dish lunch after church once a month. After a great meal of crispy fried chicken, dumplings and corn on the cob with homemade biscuits, we would organize a soft ballgame to top it off. For a few hours, we would be heroes of the diamond. If by chance you hit a home run you would be a legend for a day.
My favorite part of Sunday was when we got back home. My cousins and I would run down the road to a little white church and crawl underneath the floorboards. The church had the first live band that I ever heard. They played this amazing music with a piano player, bass player, guitarist and drummer. The band and the choir created music that made you stand up and sing, clap your hands and dance. The ladies would actually dance down the aisles with their hands held high in the air. You could feel the floorboards vibrating and the thumping of the bass. It was a sound of rejoicing and celebration.
I fell in love with the music from the little white church and played blues and gospel-tinged rock for many years later in life. It is amazing how a little band playing in a church down an old dirt road could inspire you to have a lifelong love for gospel music. I always called it spirit music because that’s where it came from.
Point Of View
I will never forget that amazing heart-stopping music from the little white church. Music was always a big part of my life. Growing up on the farm we had a small radio and would listen to the Louisiana Hayride and the Grand Ole Opry, and as I got older, I listened to late night radio from Jacksonville, Florida, and blues out of Texas. Even today I still love real old-time Gospel music coming from a little white church.
Memories are that mystical, magical, wonderful part of our lives and Thank You Larry for sharing your memories.
Yes, indeed music is something that can connect us to almost all people across the world, just like a smile and perhaps a knack for cooking. I too have memories of playing music in churches in my youth and then on the many mission fields across the globe. With my faithful guitar, my accordion and my saxophone, from the tribes in the Amazon right up to concerts in the Royal Albert Hall.. these are memories that will last me my lifetime. Creating memories is a priceless gift.
Bob Dylan once said, “Take care of all your memories. For you cannot relive them.”
I am truly grateful for your kindness and insights
Yep, you got me there. Great story!. Think the thing I remember best was my Aunt Jo’s fried chicken. I’m sorry you had to leave the country because your heart was meant to stay. Then again, experience is the mother of invention; in our lives as well.
I have loved my journey. Playing music was amazing but as we all know it has a dark side. Thank you my dear friend