Symbols of Love

Yesterday was my parent’s 34^th wedding anniversary. They were married on April 19, 1973 and they actually eloped, which I always thought was such an exciting and romantic notion. I fondly remember back in high school when my brother, sister and I joined my folks on an anniversary trip back to Grand Island, Nebraska, where they had honeymooned. In true Devin fashion, about all I really remember from this trip was the mall! And of course my new shirt, which was a thick-striped polo with really bright jewel-tone colors. (I bought the shirt in Hays at KG Mens, but wore it on the trip.)

So it’s fitting that last night I whipped up a new musical composition, a song titled “Symbols of Love.” It’s quite a hoot. I based it on a poem of the same title that was written by my grandma about a stuffed toy belonging to my (at the time) baby cousin Brian. It was published in a magazine called REM in 1974 accompanied by a photo of a sleeping boy, clutching a teddy bear. The poem is rather short:

There are many treasured symbols

Words of tenderness, a gentle caress
Or a memory of yesterdays love

But nothing touches the heart
like a soft and cuddly toy

Owned by a special little boy

Who symbolizes the essence

Of a perfect, innocent joy

For the song, I experienced a synchronicity with my current re-visitation of the Twin Peaks world, and came up with a really pretty, slow moving synth backing track which I layered very Julee Cruise-eque vocals on top of. I used the “male-to-female” vocal transformer effect on my Mac to really make the vocals sound bizarre and ethereal.

So it’s all one big happy coincidence to me that soon I will be going back home, where I can not only help my parents with a belated 34^th anniversary celebration, but also my dear sister who is graduating from Law School, and meeting two new arrivals to our family. Alice Olivia Angel is the daughter of my cousin Travis and his wife, Natalie, who was a good friend of mine for many years throughout junior high and beyond. Beau Markus Angel is the first son of Brian Angel, the “boy” in Symbols of Love, and his wife Rachel. Lastly, I will get to see my grandma Irene, who is living in a care facility in Lucas, Kansas. I hope she remembers the poem, and enjoys what I’ve done with it.

Speaking of symbols, I’ll close this blog with a memory of one symbol that always reminded me of my parent’s long and prosperous union, which in itself has always been an inspiration to me. Hanging on the wall next to the front door of our farmhouse was a round cross-stitched embroidery commemorating the date of my parents wedding. I don’t know who made it, or where it is now, but as a child it was always a reminder that my parents had worked hard to make a family together and that I was lucky enough to be a part of it.