Memories

While it's not a good idea to dwell in the past, sometimes when you're going through troubled times, it can help to revisit a happier time and place, if only in your memories. For me, that time and place is Old Cape Cod back in the 1950's when I was just a child.

The poem "Memories" is composed of my recollections of our family's summer vacations on Cape Cod in the small village of Eastham. Patti Page's song "Old Cape Cod" was a big hit back then, and we used to sing along as we drove the long ("Are we there YET?") distance to Eastham from Western Massachusetts.

We'd always be on the Cape in June when all the beautiful roses were in bloom, and as I put this video together, I also remembered my Dad casting his line out into the surf and pulling in flounder after flounder which my Mother would later fix for supper. And at least once during each vacation, I'd go out with my Dad to dig clams, and he'd cook up a big batch of steamers with melted butter just for the two of us - because no one else could stand them! :-) And I remember, too, walking down the road to the old Eastham windmill with its rose-covered fences.

Another special vacation treat was when we'd all hop into the old '57 Chevy station wagon and head out to the Drive-in Theater (in nearby Wellfleet, as I recall), where the latest Elvis movie would usually be playing. And then, just when the movie was getting really good, all of a sudden the FOG would start rolling in, and before you knew it, the entire movie screen would be lost in a thick blanket of white....and you'd miss the rest of the movie! Just one of the hazards of the outdoor theaters in those days, though I have to admit that, to this day, this is the only place I've ever been where the management had to hand out FOG CHECKS instead of rain checks! :-)

Gathering the photos of these vintage Cape Cod post cards and other scenic images of Cape Cod for this video, and once again hearing this old song that we used to sing, has brought back a lot of long-forgotten memories and has been like a refreshing little vacation in itself.

My hope is that this video will also serve to bring back some pleasant memories for others as they think back on their own lives and recall happy times and places, maybe even on Old Cape Cod...and that these fond old memories will also help to bring some smiles and some joy to those of you who may be experiencing some difficult times right now.

Thank you for watching this video and sharing in the... MEMORIES
(Copyright 2011 Karen L. Blackburn)

While as a child, there was a place
where white waves leaped and lashed the sand
that met the dunes in bristling blades of grass
which fought with every ocean breeze
that dared to touch the land.

From here to there, on sand-swept roads,
the roses' ramblings led the way,
while from the brush the quail's call came
as night tucked in the weary day.

And then the foghorn, loud and low,
its lonesome, bellowed warnings cried
to ships upon the sightless seas,
and whip-poor-wills' sharp-whistled notes
were lifted on a salty breeze
as fresh and sweet as memories.

(From one who long ago "fell in love with Old Cape Cod.")

"Jesus Christ (Messiah) of Nazareth...there is NO OTHER NAME under heaven given among men by which we must be saved." (Acts 4:10 - 12) May everyone know the amazing love of Jesus and His salvation.

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Entertainment

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• Old Cape Cod
• Patti Page
• fond memories
• Eastham windmill
• Highland Light
• Nauset Beach
• ocean
• seashore
• coast
• lighthouse
• peace
• refreshing
• poem