hymonica

today is apparently my grandparents-in-law’s 57th wedding anniversary. i did not know that when i chose to call grandpa to ask him a favor this morning. i had heard rumor (from mr. h-s’ father) that this particular grandpa plays hymns on his harmonica and i thought i’d like to hear one of these songs. mr. h-s’ father warned me that grandpa might stall a little, but that he’d be pleased as punch that i wanted to hear him play and… it was all true! there was a little stalling, but sooner than i’d expected, he was blowing “shall we gather by the river” on his harmonica. somehow, he acheived a background rhythm along with the melody and it was lovely! i was singing along! it reminded me of the “squeeze box” sounds we used to get from an old family instrument when i was a kid and he was getting them from a simple mouth organ! oh, grandma and grandpa were thrilled to their toes that i had called and i truly enjoyed chatting with them and hearing those old hymns (he played two more, slightly less familiar ones later) on the harmonica. grandma said she’d have to write about it in her notebook. and so… i’m writing about it in mine. :)