Wednesday, February 8, 2012

Word Association . . . of a sort


Melodies amongst the orange groves!
I started reading a new book last night.   It's called The Haunted.   (You know me and my ghosts - - gotta love 'em).   So far it's a pretty good book, although I'm only a few pages into it.   The "Haunted" place is a big plantation home in Virginia called "Melody House."   But, I'm not going to talk about the book.   However, this morning I was thinking about The Haunted and Melody House, and the word "melody" stuck in my brain for a moment.  And then the word association thing started happening.  And a memory was triggered.    Melodyland Theater in Anaheim, CA. (Melody House - Melodyland - - get it??!).  I grew up in Anaheim, and the Melodyland Theater was a theater in the round, and it's where I saw my first concert.   This will date me just a little (like the Melodyland Theater hasn't already dated me - duh!) - - it was the Association.  Ha!  Word "association" brings me to the Association!  Sorry, couldn't resist.   The Association - you know - - Along Comes Mary, Windy . . . .   What fun that was.  I think I wore a dress.  Those were the times!  (I also saw the Mamas & the Papas and Simon and Garfunkel at the Melodyland Theater - Dave Clark Five were there too but I didn't see them - - dang!!!

I decided to google Melodyland this morning, and found that it had been turned into a church, the Melodyland Christian Center (I don't know why but I thought of Footloose when I read that - my mind works in mysterious ways).   And then some years later the building was torn down and is now part of the Anaheim Gardenwalk.   (On a side note, some years back my husband and I took our children to Disneyland and I wanted to show them the house I grew up in - - it had been torn down to widen the 5 freeway! - - just another testament that nothing really stays the same.)

The Melodyland Theater was located across the street from Disneyland.   And as I thought of that, another memory was triggered.   Another group from way back whom I absolutely idolized - Hermans Hermits.   Peter Blair Dennis Bernard Noone.  I loved him.   That schoolgirl crush thing that I knew was the real thing.    I was his biggest fan and I was going to marry him.  And we would be so happy.   And then one night I was at Disneyland with my friends and I saw PBDBN and the rest of his Hermits!   Honest!   Oh man, it was so exciting!!  My friends and I followed them all over the park.   We giggled, and we hid so we wouldn't be seen, and we dared each other to ask for an autograph.   Of course, it wasn't really them, but we had the best time convincing ourselves it was!   And, of course, I didn't marry PBDBN.   I married someone better.   Far better.  But those were some of the good ol days. 

And this trip down memory lane all started with the Haunted and Melody House.

12 comments:

  1. You grew up in Anaheim?! Did I know this already? How awesome! How often did you go to Disney? Did they have annual passes then? Were you "over it" quickly or did that never happen?

    I'm surprised they're not the ones who bought that theatre. Though the idea of a church across from Disneyland seems kind of fascinating to me. I don't think I ever saw (or knew about) the Gardenwalk. It's been a while.

    Bummer about your house. Reminds me of those stories where someone wants to build a highway through a bunch of houses and there's always one holdout.

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    1. Ya, I grew up in Anaheim - lived there for 30 years. And no, I never ever ever got tired of disneyland! It's still my favorite place in the world! We used to have the ticket books, with the ABCD and E tickets, the E tickets being like gold. The last time we were there was when they were just finishing up California Adventure, so it's been a few years! I think I need to go back!!

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    2. I didn't even know about ABCDE tickets. (I just googled them, so I do now!) Probably because my parents bought the tickets back then. I think my last time at Disneyland was a couple of years before you (before California Adventure.) But I've been to Disneyworld since then.

      I'm happy to hear that you never tired of it. So many people who live close to Disney, or worked there, do. I thought it might be inevitable. I'm glad it's not :)

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  2. I like the way your mind works

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  3. I was going to marry so many stars. I just knew if they got to know me, I would be THE ONE. I'm so glad it stayed just a crush and I didn't become a stalker.
    I'm always surprised when I go home to visit how much it has stayed the same and how much it has changed. I haven't been there in awhile and I don't know when I'll ever be back.

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  4. Hey Judy! Just wanted to say thanks for joining the A to Z Challenge. I'm one of the co-hosts, so let me know if you have any questions.

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  5. What can I say? I grew up in the San Gabriel Valley, 45 minutes from disneyland. I have said repeatedly, it is one of the best places on earth to go on a date. Even if the date is a flop, you are still going to have a good time. My favorite nights were the annual Retail Clerks Union night, where only R.C.U. members and their guests could be there. No waiting in any kind of line at any point in time.
    Or how about Grad Night at Disneyland, a safe and sober environment.

    By the way, being the radical that I was, I got rousted at D-Land for not having my shirt tucked in.

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  6. Great post & thanks for stopping by my blog. I'm looking forward to delving into yours! Good luck with the A to Z challenge as well.

    P.S. Your post reminded me of the first (and only) time I saw a film at the Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood. "Wings of Desire" was playing and it was the first film I saw that had subtitles. It was an amazing date night. We left San Diego after work on a Friday night, drove to Hollywood, had a BIG beer at the Snow White Cafe and then saw a beautiful film. Thanks for the reminder.

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  7. I haven't yet decided who I'm going to marry. *sigh* So many actors.. such little decisive power! Hehehe sounds like you had a wonderful childhood, and a wonderful time reminiscing. Love it when that happens. (:

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  8. I'm glad I'm not the only one who gets swept into the past by the mention of a word. ;)

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  9. Hi there! found you on the a-z challenge (you're right after me on the list). Glad to know i'm not the only one who has, what we affectionately refer to as "roundabout thoughts". Your mention of your first concert reminded me of mine, New Kids on the Block at Scope in Norfolk, Scope.......hmm...need to make a dentist appointment......thanks for the trigger! look forward to reading you more.

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