My daily afternoon walks to the park with Richard are always interesting. There are the things people we see: walkers, cyclists, skateboarders, ducks, cats on leashes, neo-hippies, tightrope walkers – it is Portland after all! These might not be the norm in every park, but they are in ours. Yesterday, brought something new: a young woman playing a harmonium.
A lot of musicians fill the park. Some cyclists carry radios and you get a snippet of a song as they roll past. There’s a guy who comes with a small keyboard, records tracks, and accompanies himself on a trumpet. Thursday and Friday afternoons, when the weather is nice, band perform beside the dog off-leash area. But yesterday’s harmonium was novel.
I actually had to look up the correct word. As I walked past the performer, I called it a hurdy-gurdy in my head. She was seated on a blanket near the pond. That’s a real gathering place for groups of friends and families. It is also the sunniest spot in the park.
When I learned that the instrument was actually called a harmonium, my mind took a little trip back to the 1970s. In grade six, our French teacher, Madame Murray, introduced our class to the music of a French-Canadian group called Harmonium. The one song I specifically remember was called Pour Un Instant.
It’s funny what you can remember after over 40 years. Everything is on Youtube now, so I sought out the song.The tune was not quite what I remembered, but I nailed the first two lines. For an instant, as I listened, I was back in my 6th grade classroom, looking at the words, loving the French language.
booksandbassets 
I always find it amazing what one thing can trigger a memory from long ago. Truthfully, I didn’t know what a harmonium was so I looked it up.
I, too, was wondering what shape a harmonium might take. If it might be a horn similar to my son’s euphonium but alas, no it’s something different but at the mention of French, I can suddenly hear that distinct sound I associate with cliche images of Paris. With the memory you take us right back with you to 6th grade.
What a fun surprise with even better memories. 🙂
I chanced upon the 1952 Jack and the Beanstalk today. I first watched it as a kid when it was still thirty years old. The music, the dialogue, it was all still so fresh in my mind, I could talk along with the characters! Ah, memories!
It’s amazing how much comes back!
That sounds like a lovely way to spend a walk in the park! Does Richard sing along with the music?
He hasn’t yet.
Harmonium! This slice conveys such a lovely image of Portland and it’s interesting how much sound can evoke memories.