A Memorial Cookie of JD

I grew up with classical music.  Mom used classical music in Ballet classes, and I loved collecting records and listening in my room while alone, improvising to music and finding music I loved like Beethoven and Rachmaninoff.  My Tante Barbi loved playing Bach on the piano, and I loved listening.  It was not unusual, then, that I prepared a romantic dinner with dimmed lights and candles, lacy tablecloth, fine china, and Mozart  softly playing in the background to introduce my date to my home.  What a shock, when Jim entered the house, turned up the lights, turned off the music( it annoyed him), and commented on the "chewy liver"  I had served.  In the end, the marriage lasted 30 years, so something I did was successful.
He wanted to put on some rock and roll music, which offended my ears.  He suggested going through my records, and we spent time doing that, and we discovered that first date, we both loved, John Denver.  It replaced Mozart in our lives together, and played a huge part in our children's lives. 
The lyrics of John Denver's Music has love, peace and conservation at the forefront.  He speaks of nature, and loves children.  I could always relate to those concepts.

John Denver Spirit Album

One special we watched with Annalisa, John Denver wore a shirt with a large sun on his shoulder, and sang "Sunshine On My Shoulder".  I enjoyed crafts, and using paints, I made Jim a jean shirt, with a sun painted on the back, shoulder and arm.  Annalisa loved wearing it, especially in Eagle Bay.  She wore it, washed it by hand, and hung it over the line by the deck at the Ballet Camp overnight to dry.  In the morning, when she went  to get it, it had teeth marks to the elbow, both arms, and places on the front and back had holes on it.  We believe the deer liked it so much they just ate it up.  The photo was taken after the deer event, and she rolled the sleeves up to cover the holes!

"Sunshine on my Shoulder" shirt

One of the best times I had with Annalisa was going to a Live Concert at Riverbend with her to see John Denver.
We were both shattered at his untimely death over Monterrey  on October 12, 1997.  Twice we went to Colorado, to meet at memorial anniversaries of his death.  We loved the programs his band members had created.  I also went to a wonderful program of his songs, once in Hamilton with the kids a few years ago, and recently at Music Hall, presented by Jim and Susan Curry. 
We sorely miss John Denver and his wonderful nature songs!





One time Annalisa sent me a John Denver photo stuck to a sugar cookie.  I still have that cookie, and it is several years old.  I am not sure how long it will last, but it is wrapped in cellophane, in a special box, where it sits, as another special memory of our Hero.

Cellophane covered cookie

 
I also have a little tiny red enamel box of sand and a shell from the beach near where the plane crashed, and several buttons with JD photos.  Of course I have numerous videos, CDs, and complete works, and remakes of his works. 
Every time we go on a trip, I have to take at least one CD with us, because its not a trip without taking JD along.  Kids will always burst into song, "Leaving on a jet plane" on our way out, "Country Boy"  or  "Grandma's feather Bed"  and then "Country Roads" when we are ready to go home.