Don,

Have you seen that Tom and Jerry cartoon from about 1947 that won the short subject Oscar? It was to one of the Liszt's Hungarian Rhapsodies and is quite a hoot to watch.

And the cats singing opera on the fence outside Porky and Daffy's window--yes, I know exactly what you mean about getting a love of music from those early cartoons. And it will be no surprise to you that we could ask "Dad, what's that music?" and he'd not only tell us, he'd pull out his recording of it and play it for us. (I still miss him!. . .and I learned the lesson well--I do the same thing with my kids!)

When Dad died in 1997 I flew up to the Northwest, and though it seemed like a strange time warp in which months instead of days had passed, when I went out to his house and was ready to start his car I saw his radio and bet myself that it would be on KING-FM. And I further challenged myself to our old game of "drop the needle." I started the car, the radio was on KING-FM. A symphony was going full tilt, winding down, and it was about the last six bars of a Brahms symphony. I nailed it, and that was the first of many times that I felt he was right there with me, cheering me on. (And now it's a good story, not a sad story, though there is still a bittersweet taste).

SRS