Musical Memories, small bit from Trip

Monarch in Berkshires, October, 2011

We're just back from a more than 1600-mile road trip, and John over at the Healing Seed reminded me of this little trip memory:   I love music and it brings back old memories and cheers me up--like good positive thoughts --one of the reasons I do gratitude lists when I am feeling down.

When we were driving through the Berkshires, I started singing, "The first of December was covered with snow/and so was the turnpike from Stockbridge to Boston,/though the Berkshires seemed dream like on account of that frostin', with ten miles behind me, and 10,000 more to go oh oh oh . . ." (James Taylor, Sweet Baby James.)  (Not sure if I have words exactly right, but you know what I mean.)  And that brought back all those memories of things that happened around the time of the popularity of that song, made me smile almost as much as the lovely scenery.

I had a boyfriend, Chris Burnett, when I was in college, and his family lived in the Berkshires.  We went there on a number of occasions, and always had fun, hiking, taking pictures, and one time snowmobiling.  He was a sweet young man, and smart.

And every year for so many years I can't count them, I drove through the Berkshires for the "Quintessential Fall Foliage Leaf-Peeping Tour" on my way to Maine to visit my brother and his family, alone, with my children, or with various friends or lovers.  So many memories from so many trips.  So many smiles.