Set Adrift on Memory Bliss...

As a kid, my parents had a record player. My brother and I would play records and dance (mostly to Sly & the Family Stone's "Dance to the Music"). When the record started skipping, we would put pennies on top of the arm/needle to weigh it down (nickels, if it got really bad).  


When I got older - in the eighties - and rap music came out, I accidentally scratched several of my parents' records because I thought that "scratching" was done by moving the needle (as it turns out, it is done by moving the record...too late, though, DJ Jazzy Jerm). 


Records were really cool.


Then my parents bought an 8-track player. It was this cool device that you shoved a cartridge into and pushed one of 8 buttons to listen to one of 8 songs. I remember listening to David Soul and Captain & Tennille (who - unlike Sly & the Family Stone - did NOT make the transition onto my iPod, years later).


The 8-track was pretty cool. It didn't last long, though.


Then, as I got old enough to actually buy my own music, the cassette tape emerged. This was revolutionary because, with it, came the Walkman. Are you telling me that I can take my music WITH me and listen to it on yellow headphones now? Sign me up.


I bought hundreds of cassette tapes. I would spend my entire paycheck on them at the Sound Shop (the local audio store in the mall) and I even bought a case to carry them in. 


Cassette tapes were awesome. And they lasted a while.


Then came cd's. I was reluctant because I had so much money tied up in my cassette tapes. But it didn't matter. Before long, nobody sold cassette tapes and I began to buy cd's. They used to come in those huge cardboard sleeves...remember those? What was the point of those? Probably to justify the $18.99 price tag.


"Hey Bill, these things cost nearly $20 and they ain't worth it. What should we do?"


"Wrap 'em in cardboard."


"We tried that. Even that won't justify this price."


"Then wrap them in twice as much cardboard as they actually need. Just don't lower that price. And stop bothering me...I've got a job interview at Exxon."


My first cd was PM Dawn (don't laugh, you know you liked that song). I sold my tapes at the local pawn shop for 25 cents each. It broke my heart.


As of today, I have about 700-800 cd's...and counting. And yes, I still have PM Dawn. Don't hate.


But another transition is happening. 


Soon, there will be no more cd's. Everything will be digital (and I think there's a "cloud" involved...spooky) and I won't be able to buy cd's anymore. What a sad day that will be.


I suppose I will still listen to music, but it won't be the same. There is just something about opening that cd wrapper and trying to get the thing open without breaking the case...


My children will actually grow up in a world where they will never touch records, 8-tracks, cassettes, or cd's. Everything will be downloaded. Even DVD's and Blurays are about to be replaced with digital movies. 


Aren't you glad that some things never change, though? Aren't you glad that God doesn't change? The Bible tells us that although everything around us may change, God doesn't. 


I may or may not be able to teach my children how to properly open a cd case, but I will be able to teach them about their heavenly Father. 


And even if we can't put the record on, I suppose that me and my girls can still plug in the ol' iPod and Dance to the Music...without needing pennies:)