OLD MEMORIES
June 5, 2017
By Olivene Godfrey
The nurses that come to see me twice a week always ask me to evaluate my almost constant pain on a scale of one to ten. Today (Sunday), it has been a ten all day. I had planned to write this blog so I'm going to try. Barry says my COPD is worse which makes me feel bad almost constantly.
I still have many stories of the past to share if I can just manage. When I and my twin sisters were young, we were local entertainers. I started taking piano lessons when I was six. My daddy heard a woman play the accordion so he decided to buy one for me. I wasn't interested in it but I wanted to please him. I was a tiny girl and could hardly hold the large accordion. He found a music teacher who taught several musical instruments. She sponsored a program on a Chattanooga radio station each Friday afternoon. She soon taught me to play several songs. The most requested song was Beer Barrel Polka and the church hymn, Whispering Hope. Later, I took lessons from a woman that played the "new" gospel songs. Some churches called it "fast devil's music". Later, Jerry Lee Lewis made a career playing it. I used the method for popular music of the World War II years. I was often asked to play a list of popular songs at community events. Later, a "show biz" pianist taught me to play boogie woogie.
My twin sisters, Joan and Jeanette liked to sing when they were young. I taught them to use gestures with their hands when they performed. They were in demand to sing at school and church functions. Today Jeanette says, "We couldn't sing. You all made fools out of us." That wasn't true. They were cute little girls with a delightful act and the audience loved them.
I like to think of the days when all of our family was alive. Our parents have passed away and so has Jeanette's twin, Joan, and also our baby sister, Dianne. Now there is Jeanette and me and we're both old with health problems.
See you next time. Comments welcome. (Edited and typed by Tam.)
By Olivene Godfrey
The nurses that come to see me twice a week always ask me to evaluate my almost constant pain on a scale of one to ten. Today (Sunday), it has been a ten all day. I had planned to write this blog so I'm going to try. Barry says my COPD is worse which makes me feel bad almost constantly.
I still have many stories of the past to share if I can just manage. When I and my twin sisters were young, we were local entertainers. I started taking piano lessons when I was six. My daddy heard a woman play the accordion so he decided to buy one for me. I wasn't interested in it but I wanted to please him. I was a tiny girl and could hardly hold the large accordion. He found a music teacher who taught several musical instruments. She sponsored a program on a Chattanooga radio station each Friday afternoon. She soon taught me to play several songs. The most requested song was Beer Barrel Polka and the church hymn, Whispering Hope. Later, I took lessons from a woman that played the "new" gospel songs. Some churches called it "fast devil's music". Later, Jerry Lee Lewis made a career playing it. I used the method for popular music of the World War II years. I was often asked to play a list of popular songs at community events. Later, a "show biz" pianist taught me to play boogie woogie.
My twin sisters, Joan and Jeanette liked to sing when they were young. I taught them to use gestures with their hands when they performed. They were in demand to sing at school and church functions. Today Jeanette says, "We couldn't sing. You all made fools out of us." That wasn't true. They were cute little girls with a delightful act and the audience loved them.
I like to think of the days when all of our family was alive. Our parents have passed away and so has Jeanette's twin, Joan, and also our baby sister, Dianne. Now there is Jeanette and me and we're both old with health problems.
See you next time. Comments welcome. (Edited and typed by Tam.)
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