One of the joys of my life, these days, is listening to the audio books
When I was young, the last page of Little House in the Big Woods
When the fiddle had stopped singing Laura called out softly, “What are days of auld lang syne, Pa?”
“They are the days of a long time ago, Laura,” Pa said. “Go to sleep, now.”
But Laura lay awake a little while, listening to Pa’s fiddle softly playing and to the lonely sound of the wind in the Big Woods. She looked at Pa sitting on the bench by the hearth, the firelight gleaming on his brown hair and beard and glistening on the honey-brown fiddle. She looked at Ma, gently rocking and knitting.
She thought to herself, “This is now.”
She was glad that the cosy house, and Pa and Ma and the firelight and the music, were now. They could not be forgotten, she thought, because now is now. It can never be a long time ago.
The days are long, but the years are short.
I am listening to the ‘Little House on the Prairie’ CD also and Cherry Jones acts out the entire story herself (apparently there is an older version in which Sarah Jessica Parker and other actors read the book, this one is all Cherry Jones.)
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I’d forgotten about the “American spirit” aspect of the story: Laura Ingalls Wilder reminds us about America’s pioneering past……and in vivid detail. Cherry Jones reading (and singing)….are remarkable. Especially the part where she sings ‘Old Dan Tucker’ (yikes. Basso Profundo to do that, in “Pa’s” voice.) It’s a lot of fun.
I too have really been enjoying audio books. My latest one is is ‘Meryl’s Door’, which is the autobiography of a Wyoming man and his companion dog. Anyone who’s had a dog in their life will be able to relate immensely to the connection these two souls have. It is so touching and poignant.
I find that when I have to go run an errand that I don’t feel like doing, I am quickly re-energized once I remember I have my audio book in the car waiting for me. It makes that commute time much more pleasant and rewarding. What a wonderful way to multitask with little effort!
That is too funny, what a coincidence. I’ve been reading the Little House series to my 5 1/2 year old daughter. We started this winter as a cozy thing to do in the evenings and we’re still at it. We just finished Farmer Boy a few weeks ago. I got the audio books from the library and she loves going back and listening to them while I’m cooking dinner or we’re in the car. I love reading the books to her but the audio books are great, especially for all the old songs that Pa sings that I haven’t a clue how the melody goes!
When I was young all the adventures and fun that Laura had was what captured my attention, now it’s interesting to look at it from the perspective of a parent and realize how strong Ma & Pa were in the face of serious challenges. Just yesterday I was thinking to myself “oh sheesh, yet again I have to load the dishwasher, wash the roasting pan from dinner and fold a load of laundry and I’m EXHAUSTED.” And then I think of Ma who had to make the soap to wash the dishes by hand and took an entire day to do the laundry and I stop feeling quite so sorry for myself.