Still thinking about music on the road. . . .

Back in the First Dark Age (1966-70) when I was working at Boeing (day job), I met some really great people working at Billy Boeing's kite factory: Carlos and Ida Van Wald and their daughter Tedi (Boeing was also Carlos' and Ida's day job and — well, these folks are a great story all by themselves, but that's for another time and another place). Carlos had just bought a Cadillac, a used older model, but it was in good condition and he got it cheap. It was a heavy, bloody-great land yacht, complete with tail-fins — and a very smooth-riding road car. On the first Sunday Carlos had the beast, he wanted to take it out for a drive, and he invited me to come with them. As the four of us drove along a country road through the forest primeval, a local classical music station was playing on the car radio. At one point, the station played an orchestral arrangement of Wagner's Ride of the Valkyries. Near the end, it flurries around a bit (presumably depicting the Valkyries circling), then it all comes together once more, powerfully restating the main theme — a huge Wagnerian orchestra, lots of brass, going flat-out, at full volume! As we hurtled down that road with the wind ruffling our hair and that music pouring out of the radio's four big speakers, we all felt the distinct sensation that we were flying!

I've heard that in his personal life, Richard Wagner was nasty little twerp, but, MAN, could that sucker write music!

Don Firth