The Record
The moment I had been anticipating finally came on a seemingly routine Monday. I arrived home to find a flat package; left by the delivery man1 casually leaning against the front screen door. Reading the words Caution! Do not bend! scrawled on2 the top of the box, I immediately recognized my uncle's sloppy handwriting. I quickly ushered the box inside,3 my heart skipping a beat (or two). I knew what the box contained but still felt as anxious as a child on Christmas morning. Could this really be the old vinyl record?
My hands trembled as I opened the box, and4 I was thrilled to see that it did indeed contain the record I had been seeking for years. To an outsider, this dusty disc with its faded hand-written label would seem inconsequential. To others, on the other hand, it was worth something far greater.5 The record was a compilation from the greatest musician I had ever known-my grandfather.
Several years before he married my grandmother, Papa would make6 his living as a folk singer in a band, performing7 in music halls and local festivals. He recorded a single album produced by Great Sounds Records8 before giving up his professional music career to pursue business. This record was all that remained of his life's passion-in fact9, there had been10 only one surviving copy since Papa's death 10 years earlier. It took many years of begging and pleading11 to convince my uncle to pass the record down to me.
I brought out my old record player from the attic and gently placed the disc on the turntable. As soft, twanging notes filled the room, I was transported to my grandfather's cabin, located at the foot of the mountains.12 My cousins and I would gather around the campfire every night to roast marshmallows, cook hotdogs, and listen to my grandfather's old stories. Of the many familiar favorites, Papa would pick up his guitar and play all of our familiar tunes.13
When the record started playing one of my favorite songs, I struggled to hold back my tears. It was a bittersweet reminder of the man I loved and missed,14 Papa's gentle voice on the record, however, assured me,15 that he was still with me, both in spirit and in song.
The Record
The moment I had been anticipating finally came on a seemingly routine Monday. I arrived home to find a flat package; left by the delivery man1 casually leaning against the front screen door. Reading the words Caution! Do not bend! scrawled on2 the top of the box, I immediately recognized my uncle's sloppy handwriting. I quickly ushered the box inside, and3 my heart skipping a beat (or two). I knew what the box contained but still felt as anxious as a child on Christmas morning. Could this really be the old vinyl record?
My hands trembled as I opened the box, of which4 I was thrilled to see that it did indeed contain the record I had been seeking for years. To an outsider, this dusty disc with its faded hand-written label would seem inconsequential. To others, on the other hand, it was worth something far greater.5 The record was a compilation from the greatest musician I had ever known-my grandfather.
Several years before he married my grandmother, Papa would make6 his living as a folk singer in a band. Performing7 in music halls and local festivals. He recorded a single album produced by Great Sounds Records8 before giving up his professional music career to pursue business. This record was all that remained of his life's passion-in fact9, there had been10 only one surviving copy since Papa's death 10 years earlier. It took many years of earlier. It took many years of begging and pleading11 to convince my uncle to pass the record down to me.
I brought out my old record player from the attic and gently placed the disc on the turntable. As soft, twanging notes filled the room, I was transported to my grandfather's cabin, located at the foot the mountains.12 My cousins and I would gather around the campfire every night to roast marshmallows, cook hotdogs, and listen to my grandfather's old stories. Of the many familiar favorites, Papa would pick up his guitar and play all of our familiar tunes.13
When the record started playing one of my favorite songs, I struggled to hold back my tears. It was a bittersweet reminder of the man I loved and missed,14 Papa's gentle voice on the record, however, assured me,15 that he was still with me, both in spirit and in song.