They Can't Take That Away From Me ...

Will advancing age rob me of my memories?  I hope not.  I need them all.   Bad ones may guard against more pain tomorrow, while good ones bring joy today.

Frank Sinatra is drifting through my mind ... repeating the same few lines of an old song over and over again.  I wish he'd hush, but, no, he goes on and on.   What's worse ... I find myself helping him out on the chorus.

The way you wear your hat,
the way you sip your tea,
the memory of all that,
no, no, they can't take that away from me.

The last line makes me think of old folks back home ...

In the 1940's, a few ragged, time-worn men could often be found lined up on a wooden bench outside the town's one store ... whittling, chewing and describing to each other, one more time, the big one that got away.

They were a committee of self-appointed child protectors, and  could be counted on to take time out from their story-telling to examine a kid's grades.  Any kid.  Didn't matter who. 

Many times I stood respectfully waiting while my third grade report card was checked out by some poor dear soul who never finished second grade.  He was my elder and I paid close attention to any advice he chose to hand out. 

It was always the same ...

"Study hard and get yourself a good education, little girl.  That's the one thing nobody can take away from you."   The last part was  uttered with a fierce jutting of his gray grizzled chin, and punctuated by a final spurt of tobacco that landed on the dirt road, uncomfortably close to my feet.

By seventh grade I wanted to ask why anyone would want to take my education away, but children were not allowed to question adults back then, so I waited patiently as my progress toward higher learning was inspected, and I braced myself for the blazing of those rheumy eyes when I'd be reminded, one more time, that they  (whoever they were) could never, by golly, take my education away from me!

That was a long time ago ...

This is now ...

Keep going, Frank.  You're sounding good.

The way your smile just beams,
the way you sing off-key,
the way you haunt my dreams,
no, no, they can't take that away from me.



email:  MelindaGerner@yahoo.com