As we said in the first sentence of our book The Memory Keeper, “In the end, only
memories remain.”
When I look back on my life, I remember few of the “things”
I received over the years, but I remember many special shared moments. For this
reason, we have tried to give each other special memories for holiday gifts for
quite a while.
For several years, Larry’s birthday gift was a box at The
Hollywood Bowl. We were lucky enough to get a four-place box in the very back
row for every other Friday night. (They usually had a waiting list of several
years, but we got one the first year we applied.) It was in the center, so the
view was good, even though we were at the back of the section.
In addition to the box, we had valet parking and tables. He
got to choose who would go with us and the meal I would fix. I had a set of
menus I could pack to go. His favorite meals were quiche and salad or a fried
rice ring with sweet-and-sour-chicken. All meals included salad, rolls,
dessert, wine, and aperitifs.
We took unbreakable Corelle dishes and stainless flatware in special washable bags
plus pewter wine, water, and aperitif glasses. We packed everything into a rolling
bag, along with fabric tablecloths, matching cloth napkins, a bud vase with a rose, candles, and candle holders.
Since we always sat next to the same people, we got to know them. Our neighbor
called dinner “competitive dining.” We loved it. We saw some terrific performers
such as Itzhak Perlman, John Galway, Arthur Fiedler, John Williams, and many,
many others.
The last performance of the season came near Kim’s birthday.
They alternated the 1812 Overture
with Handel’s Fireworks Music—complete
with fireworks. Her dad let her choose who would come with her. A couple of years, she invited her grandmother. Another year,
she asked her best friend. We spoke with Arlene not long ago, and she told us
she remembered going there with us. She also remembered the amaretto pie I
made.
For her eighth or ninth birthday, we took Kim to see Annie. Another year, her party included
taking her and a couple of friends to see The
Wizard of Oz at the outdoor theater in Laguna Beach. We also took her to
see Andres Segovia at UCLA when she was quite young. We sat in the first row of
the balcony, and she spent the evening mesmerized. We had tickets for the Ambassador Auditorium. There, she fell in love with The Kings Singers.
We’ve all received wonderful gifts through the years, but
those which gave us special memories were, and continue to be, my favorites.
Toys break—whether
children’s or adults’, but memories
last a lifetime.
Do you ever give memories? Which ones do you remember?