Stuck in Time

Several years ago, I don't remember the exact time period, I looked in the mirror one morning and my old man stared back at me.

If the parental curse is having a child just like you, nature's just revenge is turning you into your parents.

It's not that I'm afraid of the personality and/or physical similarities. Quite the contrary. It's more that I realized my own mortality and better understood the genetic code. You know, nature versus nuture.

Anyway, I'm thinking of this more and more as I listen to music. When we were younger, my brother and I hated the music my dad listened to. It was either country or standards. But no matter the genre, there was rarely a song not from the 40's or 50's. As I got older, I started to listen to his music as I grew more familiar with the artists and lyrics.

A couple of years ago, I found an AM station that plays nothing but standards. Occasionally a song from Connick Jr. or Buble will creep in. But for the most part, it's Sinatra, Mancini, Mathis, The Mills Brothers, or something similar. I listened to it on and off for a while, but it soon got canned when iPod came along. I decided last week to put it away for a while and listen to more radio. So now, the dial is set to 770 KAAM. However, I got two new cd's today and is enough to lure me away from the air waves for a while.

To demonstrate which demographics of their listeners, their website, http://www.kaamradio.com/ , is hosted by Geezer Graphics.

Every morning and afternoon, they do what is called the Flag Waver's Special. Something for the boys down at the VFW. It is a tribute to the American Spirit; usually, it's a patriotic song followed by a quick voice over reminding listeners of our republic's virtues. Most of the time, it's done by John Wayne. While Wayne's politics were a little too conservative for me, there's no doubting his love for America. In fact, he makes Uncle Sam look a little pink.

Anyway, one of the songs I remember from my youth is "The Cake Song". I don't recall the exact premise of the song, but somehow, someway, some dude left a cake on somebody else's front porch that got ruined when it rained. As fate would have it, our guy also lost the recipe. I never quite got the premise of the song or understood the 15 minute lamentation to a soaked torte. But, I remember the groans from the back seat when this song came on the radio - especially when we were on the way to San Marcos. Since the song was so long, it meant that we would only hear that one song the entire drive in.

I know Chris does the same thing to Jackson. Already, Jackson enjoys Frank, Elvis, and Buck Owens. So, the circle of life continues.