Glory Glory Hallelujah, Noxema and Red Pajamas

It's been a good week singing with my older adult groups. What's been especially fun is how a song will spark a memory. For instance, when we sing, "She'll Be Comin' Round the Mountain," the last verse gets a laugh with: "We'll be wearin' red pajamas when she comes. " Everyone remembers scratching mosquito bites until they bled.

The song, "Down By the Riverside," led us to remember summer camp and I told of how I used to wear Noxema on my nose after a day down at the beach and getting a bad sunburn. This led to an animated discussion --is Noxema still being made? Don't you just love the smell of it? What was in it that made your skin feel so cool and good on a sunburn?

Since many times we sing songs connected to a holiday of that month, I only recently realized that August is the only month that does not have a holiday! We talked about that too. "Really?" Ms. Ruth asked doubtfully.  Yes and we went through each month and named the holidays. Then I sang, "Joy to the World," and said why not? It says nothing about Christmas in it.

I've enjoyed a new trend lately that some family members have gotten involved and sing along with much gusto. This gets everyone even more into it. Last night one woman who usually never sings sang along with us for the Battle Hymn of the Republic. A song with a good refrain is always a good one to get people singing and everyone knows, "Glory, glory hallelujah.."

It's true you'd think people would tire of the same old songs but we don't. After all, we watch some movies over and over again too. They hold memories for us and tell our stories. It is a lot of fun!