Bawling My Eyes out on the Highway

Tuomo writes: Sorry for the break; I'll get to it momentarily. But first this...

So I'm driving on the highway, listening to a CD I had bought at the Finnish Craft Fair. The counter for Finn Fun, the program through which I teach Finnish to adults, had a set of CDs of children's music for sale, five bucks each. As a teacher constantly on the prowl for fun stuff to use in class - and as an uncle to Mika - I had to get all of them, so I became $40 poorer :-)

The particular CD I was listening to had the theme of birds. For all kinds of reasons, Finns are fond of birds and their well-being. In fact, one of the most important things we do is make sure that birds have food to eat at Christmas (unfortunately we don't always carry over beyond the holidays...). At any rate I was listening to these songs about birds, mother birds taking care of their chicks, birds being hungry, birds being threatened by predators, etc. With the music set in the minor scale, it was quite up-lifting to listen to... NOT!

Then this song about a finch came along (Koivun oksan korkealle teki peippo pesän, tiri-tiri-teijaa... "On the highest branch of a birch the finch built her nest, tweedle-tweedle-tee..."). My readers have to understand that, when I was five, this song was my favorite one, and I would ask my parents to play it on the record player over and over again. Then when I started going to the English School and when we were asked to request for our favorite songs, I would of course request for this one. Unfortunately, the teachers had to specify that the song had to be in English; my poor five-year-old mind could not wrap itself around the fact why my favorite song couldn't be requested for while every body else's requests were met. Disappointed I lost interest in that song, and I guess that as a move to fit in, I didn't want to hear this song again.

Until today...

So there I was, driving 60 km/h during the rsuh hour trying to sing along for the first time in like 35 years. It didn't work out - the bittersweet memories made me burst out in tears.

How butch is that...