"That's the Okee Dokee Brothers!" Ariadne exclaimed as our Suzuki playlist unexpectedly rolled into 'Bluegrass for Breakfast' one day in late winter. When passing the History Center she pointed and said the same thing "Okee Dokee Brothers!" And when she saw a rainbow, she also recalled the Grammy award winning children's musicians. We had not listened to the band in months.
It is hard to say what will become an indelible memory at the time it occurs, especially for a small child. Certain things do up the likelihood. Strong emotions (particularly negative ones), something unusual, events that make a story, these things all help. Strong emotions were abundant. The History Center's mascot, a bright blue person-sized dog known as 'The History Hound' was in attendance. Ariadne was terrified of it, despite it's friendly overtures. Even 100 yards away with 100 people in between, she clung to me in fear, declaring 'Bad Ruffy!'
There was anticipation, the kids were looking forward to seeing a favorite band in person. And lastly, we had suspense. As we found a patch of grass on the hillside, towering gray thunderheads blew into the sky. Umbrellas boomed like flowers, black plastic cloaked the speakers, and the drops came down fat and round. They were just about to call off the concert when the sun broke through, forming a rainbow against the dark clouds. Soon it has cleared up and the concert was back on. The evening worked itself into an nice narrative, and rainbows certainly count as unusual. If there is such a thing as a memory making recipe, we had all the ingredients covered.
Clapping to the beat and throwing their hands in the air, the crowd was really getting into it. Preschoolers (and older children as well) thronged around the edge of the stage. Charlotte, Nova and Aria got right up to the edge. One of the songs included percussive clogging.
I daresay it was even a memorable occasion for me. I thought about blogging about it at the time, but given the endless parade of summer activity, wondered if one evening concert warranted its own post. Given the intervening months and the lasting memories (particularly those of my youngest), I see now that it does.
Perhaps it was memorable for some of these folks as well. We ran into several friends among them, including an old high school friend of mine (incidentally, the very person who had gotten me to Counting Crows and Lilith Fair concerts and played percussion with me in band). She and her two year old were visiting from Baltimore and taking the local music scene.
