MENUMENU
  • HOME
  • CAMPING
    • MAP
    • LIST
  • TRAVEL
    • MAP
    • LIST
  • LIFE
    • DEEP SCHMIDT
    • DAD SCHMIDT
    • FUNNY SCHMIDT
  • LEISURE
    • MUSIC SCHMIDT
    • BOOK SCHMIDT
    • YUMMY SCHMIDT
    • SPORTS SCHMIDT
  • MONEY
    • MONEY SCHMIDT
    • HOUSE SCHMIDT
  • WRITING
    • WRITING SCHMIDT
    • BLOG SCHMIDT
  • SARCOIDOSIS
    • SARCOIDOSIS SCHMIDT
    • SARCOIDOSIS LINKS
  • ABOUT
    • ABOUT ME
    • CONTACT ME
  • FREELANCE WRITING PORTFOLIO

A Crock of Schmidt

Single-handedly solving nothing

My Life Is A Song #19

August 28, 2015 by acrockofschmidt Leave a Comment

Shoe Countdown #19

In a world of digital music, where millions of songs from the most famous to the most obscure are immediately available to anyone almost anywhere on the planet with a few clicks on a computer, it seems almost absurd that AM radio was still a meaningful popular music medium in my lifetime.  Sure, it was on its last few breaths from the oxygen tanks slung over the back of its motorized scooter, but in the early eighties AM radio was more than the carnival freakshow of sports, news, and talk it is now.  In fact, some AM stations were still quite famous.

One such station was CKOC radio out of Hamilton which remains the longest continually operating radio station in Canada.  I only know that because I just read it on Wikipedia.  For me, CKOC radio was famous because it was a Top 40 radio station whose signal reached Sauble Beach over 200km away at a time when the rigidly CRTC controlled Canadian airways meant this area was sadly lacking in radio options (or TV for that matter).

Sauble Beach was where my family spent all our weekends and some entire weeks during the summers of my youth.  We had a trailer at Carson’s Camp which we kept there year round, a poor man’s cottage as it were.  Many of my fondest childhood memories occurred here; I knew that when they were happening and I know it even more so now.

Our trailer neighbour for many of those years was a spirited family who had a son two years my senior.  That two year age difference seemed cavernous when I was ten but we managed to become good friends for several years.  Proximity and few options no doubt played a role in our friendship but there was also a genuine bond between us I think.

I have one particular memory which I cannot share here.  How’s that for baiting?  I have another to which this song is central but is otherwise innocuous and rather dull other than it reminds me of my former friend.  My neighbours had an add-a-room on their trailer, a canvas tent that you could attach to the side greatly enhancing the size of your trailer.  These were the days when people camped, even in permanent spots like ours, in modest sub-thirty foot trailers.  Add-a-rooms were a luxury back then.

On rainy days in particular, we would hide in this add-a-room to play board games or mess around until venturing outside was deemed safe once again.  I distinctly remember them having a transistor radio, or maybe it was a clock radio, in this room and it was tuned to CKOC radio.  The only song I ever remember hearing on that radio is this one.  I have no idea why.  Nothing important or special was happening.  It was just another summer day.  But I remember it clearly and solely.  Weird that.

Nowadays I remember this song for an additional reason.  My kids think the lyrics are funny, especially the “bright orange pair of pants” part.  They know my favourite colour is orange so the concept of orange pants makes them giggle.  Little do they know I actually have a bright orange pair of paints in my keepsake box.  Ah, but that’s another story for another time.

For today, let’s kick off the weekend with the Billy Joel classic “It’s Still Rock and Roll To Me” from the 1980 album Glass Houses.

Official Video Version:

a SHARE shows you CARE

  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)
  • Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window)
  • Click to print (Opens in new window)

Filed Under: Music Schmidt Tagged With: Billy Joel, Eighties, orange, radio, Sauble Beach, Top 40

Find a campground review!

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Follow Us on FacebookFollow Us on TwitterFollow Us on InstagramFollow Us on YouTubeFollow Us on Pinterest

Discover Other Campgrounds

McLean Creek Campground – McLean Creek PRA – review

CLERK 1:          Do you need firewood. ME:                  Yes, … [Read More...]

Cavendish Campground – Prince Edward Island National Park – review

I enjoy travelling, be it camping, hoteling, or a combination of the two.  … [Read More...]

Redstreak Campground – Kootenay National Park – review

Redstreak Campground in Kootenay National Park (part of the world-renowned … [Read More...]

Sandy McNabb Campground – review

Sandy McNabb is a very popular campground and it should be. Located in … [Read More...]

wooden sign indicating provincial park in alberta

Kinbrook Island Provincial Park – review

Mosquitoes, heat, pit toilets, and crowds. The quadfecta of loathing when … [Read More...]

Indian Graves Campground Sign

Indian Graves Campround – review

Who says growing old is all bad? Sure, it sucks in a lot of ways, but … [Read More...]

Wally’s Campground – review

At risk of being repetitive, allow me to repeat the first two paragraphs of … [Read More...]

Posts By Category

Posts By Month

All posts on this blog are Copyright Protected © 2014 – 2022 All Rights Reserved – A Crock of Schmidt

To automatically recieve the newest post, sign up here!

Copyright © 2022 · Lifestyle Pro Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in