Nostalgia night... contemplative...reflective...listening to Kenny Rogers and the First Edition...just dropped in to see what condition my condition was in...yeah, yeah, oh yeah... what condition my condition was in. Tonight, not quite sure, although it doesn't relate to the 60's meaning of the song if you get my drift. And then came Ruby.
Memories flowing of this song. In 1969, I was a scrawny kid with long dark hair and dark eyes, sorta shy, wistful as I am now. And there was this song, Ruby Don't Take Your Love to Town. I was to young too to really understand the implications of the song, but it struck a chord in my heart that has stayed with me forever. Many moons ago, on a neighbors porch, my younger sister and I formed "a band" with the two boys who lived there. Billy Bob and Danny Joe... either of you out there guys?? We were so cool. My sister had her tambourine, and I pretended to play my Mom's old f~hole guitar...(this is not a derogatory term, just the name of the guitar)...I don't think it had a brand name, but it was built in the 1930's and very hard to wrap your fingers around.
How does all this relate to Kenny Rogers? Hmmm...My mom had taken us downtown (really big deal) and we'd bought a "45" by Kenny Rogers and the First Edition featuring "Ruby, Don't Take Your Love to Town". Amidst renditions of Beatles' songs, we took up our instruments, put Kenny's record on the record player and proceeded to "play" and sing with all our hearts. Our friends had a maid who just so happened to be named Ruby. We tortured this poor woman by making her come and stand out on the porch and listen to us "play" this song over and over. Such a memory doesn't fade easily, and such a song doesn't leave you easily.
As time went by, I began to understand the meaning of the song. Growing up in the days of the Vietnam War was difficult because many terrors enveloped the lives of my friends around me. I remember the bracelets some of my friends wore for their fathers who were MIA. Hope stared starkly from their eyes as they talked of the day when he would return. Riots were rampant throughout the states, and many were torn about which side they belonged. My father was older when I was born, he was a veteran of WWII, a navy man who joined up at 17 when news of Pearl Harbor reached the states. I learned much later that he had spent time as a POW during part of his service. He never much talked about it to me. I was a girl after all, and girls shouldn't have to know about the travesties of war.
Today, out of the blue, my husband, who is a Vietnam vet said he'd like to take a trip to Corpus Christi and tour the USS Lexington again. He served on an air force carrier, the USS Hancock, and wanted to revisit his past by walking the decks of this carrier. Maybe that's what made me pull out my Kenny Rogers CD (no 45's anymore) and delve back into the past... and I still pray that Ruby changes her mind, turns around, and doesn't take her love to town.
I'm a hopeless romantic!
Blessings, Susan
