The Gramophone
As a little girl, I adored my Uncle Albert, and he loved me right back. In the beginning, he used to live in the same house as us. He was handsome, dashing, and, most of all, fun! I tagged along with him almost everywhere he went. He would take me to thé dansants with his latest girlfriends, where they would dance, and I would watch. Sometimes, if the girlfriends were kind, I would dance with them. He would pick me up, and the two of them would wrap an arm around me, and off we would go! Later on, he would ask me if I liked her. Should he go out with her again? The five-year-old me would answer accordingly. If the girlfriend had paid attention to me, I would say yes. If she did not, it would be a definite no! I was his shadow, and he spoiled me rotten.
Uncle Albert had a gramophone. He would put on his records, and I would twirl around and dance. Oh, how I loved to dance! By the age of three, I began attending ballet classes. I guess my dancing was so dreamy that they started calling me La Belle au Bois Dormir, Sleeping Beauty. I did not like that. I thought it meant I was a sleepyhead. It was a while later that I realized it was meant as a compliment. Then I felt pleased and proud.
One birthday, my uncle asked me what I wanted for my birthday. I asked for a gramophone, and I got it. As I grew up, that gramophone became my friend and companion. I danced to it and dreamed dreams listening to music through it, but best of all, it was the strong loving connection that I had with my beloved Uncle Albert.
Memories…