A Blast from the Past

At the end of March, this man will be celebrating his 78th birthday. Yes, he's still alive.

As I mentioned in an earlier blog (Fashion Fools, May 2011), I was a fan of Dr. Kildare, Richard Chamberlain, many, many years ago. I don't plan on delving into his accomplishments, lifestyle or history. I will instead relate an incident which surprised me...an odd but vivid recent memory.
 
As I age, I find it quite amazing when a memory is triggered. In fact, sometimes, I have recalled an experience which had totally disappeared from my head until a sound, a smell, a taste or an event helped me relive it. I suppose that's how memory works.

I wonder whether this happens more frequently as we get older. After all, we have so many more years of recollections and so much more information stored away in our wrinkled aged brains.

Last week, I went to a small local restaurant with a friend. The sun was shining, the air was crisp, we had a prime window table with a view of our historic town hall, and the music from the sound system was lovely. The tunes were calming, lilting and lyrical. The waitress informed us that we were listening to Sirius radio. As we sat, chatting and waiting for our breakfasts to arrive, an instrumental version of a song played. I immediately recognized it and waited. A familiar voice began to sing, but only in my head. My mind drifted back to my early teens as I enthusiastically announced to my friend, "Richard Chamberlain used to sing that. I remember it exactly. It's Hilili, Hilili, Hilo."

"Richard Chamberlain sang?" she questioned as she googled on her iphone.

"Yep, I'm positive, I responded. I can hear his voice singing it. I had totally forgotten," I said.

By this time, the music had changed. The memory lingered and there was a smile on my face. She placed the iphone in front of me. "Here it is," she said. "He made an album and apparently, it's extremely rare and hard to find now."

"The wonders of technology," I thought, as I viewed this youtube video on her tiny screen.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h9_whtCO5e0&feature=related

I thanked her. "I'll have to remember to listen to the song and enjoy the lovely photos on a larger screen format when I get home." I chuckled. Just then, our breakfast arrived.

I would like to borrow some words from another legend, Bob Hope as I now say to Mr. Chamberlain, "Thanks for the memories," and "Happy Birthday."