Posted by blamethebanjo on Sunday, May 18, 2008
Yesterday I was riding with my wife to our youngest grandson's second birthday party. My condition keeps me at home most of the time but for these important happenings I struggle through. The sun was bright and the air outside was cool the way it is in spring and as we moved down the highway my memory took me back to 1971.
I was driving my Mach 1 mustang and on the tape player was America playing the song Ventura Highway. For anyone who doesn't know who America is they were very popular in the seventies. Sounding a lot like Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young they had an easy accoustic sound with great harmonies. Just what I liked to hear.
I thought I had the world by the tail then. In a lot of ways I did. I was protected by my youth and unaware of the pitfalls growing up would bring. That is a good thing. To be young and full of hope. Kind of like a jump start to keep you going through the early years of adulthood. Just enough to withstand the little road blocks.
Memory can be one of God's greatest gifts. It also can make for bad company if we don't decide to dwell on the better part of things. What a pleasure to travel back for a few seconds to a sunny roadway with the blue sky and the wind lifting the strains of good music into the cool air. For a few precious seconds I was there again and felt the thrill of being young. I was really there.
6 comments on “Ventura Highway”
u k sandra Says:
Sunday, May 18, 2008 @1:32:14 PM
Jeff Beck singing Hi Ho Silver Lining does it for me. I can drop 40 odd years in seconds and feel the sun on my back. Good memories.
blamethebanjo Says:
Sunday, May 18, 2008 @1:59:09 PM
Isn't it amazing how much music touches our lives? I love it.
kcjc69 Says:
Sunday, May 18, 2008 @4:48:58 PM
Quite a few tunes can perk me up or bring me to tears. Each one has a special place in my heart; from old girlfriends, first child, family long gone, crazy times with friends, and many express the last 28 years with my lovely wife.
blamethebanjo Says:
Sunday, May 18, 2008 @6:25:57 PM
Yes sir, Neil Young's Harvest reminds me of when my wife and I first married.
Ks_5-picker Says:
Sunday, May 18, 2008 @8:22:05 PM
Hey,how about Rainy day people,Horse with no name,Don't cross the river,Muskrat ramble? They had great harmonies and were acoustic based.I didn't know anything about bluegrass then,or the banjo,but I've always been drawn to bands that were close to the bluegrass sound.
Don't cross the river was one of the first tunes I played and sang on the banjo,didn't find out till later that Doyle Lawson had recorded it.
blamethebanjo Says:
Monday, May 19, 2008 @4:24:44 AM
Oh yes I remember those great songs! That was long before I ever held banjo .
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