At the tender age of seven, I was sent away to a summer camp in the Berkshire Mountains of western Massachusetts. It was the first time I had been without my parents for any extended period of time.
Every Wednesday was hike day. Our bunk, consisting of six or seven campers plus our counselor, would usually go for a hike in the mountains, or farmland, or spelunking in a cave. However, one hike day it was decided that we should be taken into Pittsfield, the largest local city in the area. for a shopping excursion.
We all piled into the ancient olive green Chevy Suburban camp vehicle with a metal floor and no seat belts (no one had seat belts at that time), and bounced out to town, about a half hour drive. I believe we had gone into a drug store together, and I got involved looking at some shelves.
When I looked up, no one else was around! I looked through the store, but there were no familiar faces. I went out to the sidewalk, but saw none of my bunk mates. Getting a little worried, I looked up and down the street to decide which way to go.
I decided to turn right, and passed a record store with speakers that could be heard outside. On the record player inside, a popular song of the day, "Volare", blared out. I passed by, seeing no one familiar. I went all the way down the block. On my way back, "Volare" (Italian , "to fly") was still playing.
Now I went back, to the left of the drug store, and still I couldn't find my bunk mates or my counselor. I couldn't remember where we had parked. I didn't have any money for a phone call, and I wouldn't have known where to call even if I'd had a dime.
All afternoon (or so it seemed), I walked up and down that street looking for my group. Every time I passed that record store, the same song was playing over and over. I began to hate "Volare" more and more. "Nel blu di pinto di blu" - what the heck did that mean? I didn't know, and I didn't care! The song became synonymous in my mind with being lost in a strange town.
For years afterward I had nightmares about being lost, with "Volare" as the theme song. It still plays out from my subconscious mind every once in a while.
Here is a video of Domenico Modugno singing "Volare", the song that made his career, in 1958.
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Brian Schulman offers expert real estate representation for buyers and sellers of homes in Lancaster County, PA. To learn more, visit http://www.FindLancasterHomes.com/ |
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I am sorry you had bad experience at camp at such a young age.
Gita, I was pretty close to panicking! I think I finally found a policeman. The one thing I don't remember is how I located my group again...
Marie, you're right about the Italian. "Volare, cantare" - to fly, to sing. Nel blu di pinto di blu - something along the lines of "in the blue, painted blue", referring to the sky. Much as I disliked the song at the time, I eventually had to find out what it meant...
"No wonder my happy heart sings
Your love has given me wings!"
Brian, I always loved that song....now every time I hear it, I'll think of a little lost and frightened you. It does sound like a very frightening experience and I'm glad it turned out ok in the end.
Jo
Jo, It was a frightening enough experience that half a century later, it immediately popped into my mind when Jason Crouch mentioned songs that we can't get out of our heads!
Brian
Brian...I resisted the urge to play that tune.....noooo not gona do it!
You must have been so scared! At least you didn't wander off...who found you?
Brian,
Great post, seems that you have been blogging, am I right? well, I am back again, keep the good work.
ray saenz
Joan, I think I eventually found a policeman, but I don't remember just what happened after that, except that when I was restored to my counselor, he didn't seem nearly as upset as I was, to have lost me!
Ray, good to hear from you, my friend. Glad you are back.
Brian - I can see how that song would have made an impression on you, can't say I have ever heard it before now. Glad you finally found your group. That is the type of experience that somehow never go away.
Jennifer, you're right, experiences like this stick with you. Volare was a big hit in the 1950s, but as you can see, I have mixed feelings about it!
Brian - Love the song but I can see your point with the experience in which you identify with it.
Jason, it is a pretty song, but like you said, it's hard not to identify things with our own personal experiences.
Brian,
Congratulations on earning 500 points! What a great story, however you didn't finish telling us about the happy ending, or are we to think that you are still passing back and forth in front of the drugstore? =)
Michelle, the only thing I can remember about the ending was that my counselor didn't seem to be at all bothered that I had been lost all afternoon! Quite a difference from the fears over liability that would have been in his mind these days...
Pam, it took me a while, but I think I'm recovered! I'm not sure how annoying this song might have been to me if I hadn't had such an experience with it, but of course now I can't help but hear it through the filter of my memory of being lost in a strange town.
Wow, what a scary thing to experience!! I'll never think of this song the same way again!
Karen, it certainly was a scary moment for me. Thanks for your comment!