{"id":322,"date":"2011-06-07T10:10:31","date_gmt":"2011-06-07T14:10:31","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/adrummergirlslife.com\/?page_id=322"},"modified":"2025-04-23T15:02:53","modified_gmt":"2025-04-23T19:02:53","slug":"chapter-13-my-special-mom","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/adrummergirlslife.com\/?page_id=322","title":{"rendered":"Chapter 13: My Special Mom"},"content":{"rendered":"<h3>Mom the Dynamo<\/h3>\n<table border=\"0\" width=\"300\" cellspacing=\"0\" cellpadding=\"5\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td rowspan=\"2\" width=\"60\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\" size-full wp-image-9464 alignleft\" src=\"https:\/\/adrummergirlslife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/musicnotes-tiny.gif\" alt=\"musicnotes-tiny\" width=\"50\" height=\"auto\" \/><\/td>\n<td width=\"414\"><strong>Don&#8217;t Stop The Music<br \/>\n<\/strong>Yarbrough and Peoples<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><a id=\"mbmaplayer_1375886788807\" class=\"{skin:'black', animate:false, width:'120', volume:0.2, autoplay:false, loop:false, showVolumeLevel:true, showTime:true, showRew:true, downloadable:false, downloadablesecurity:false, id3: false}\" href=\"https:\/\/adrummergirlslife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/Yarbrough-and-Peoples-Dont-Stop-The-Music.mp3\">Yarbrough and Peoples &#8211; Don&#8217;t Stop The Music<\/a><textarea class=\"map_params\" style=\"display: block; padding: 3px; background: #444; color: #fff; text-decoration: none;\" disabled=\"disabled\">map :: {skin:&#8217;black&#8217;, animate:false, width:&#8217;120&#8242;, volume:0.2, autoplay:false, loop:false, showVolumeLevel:true, showTime:true, showRew:true, downloadable:false, downloadablesecurity:false, id3: false}<\/textarea><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<figure id=\"attachment_5934\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-5934\" style=\"width: 400px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-5934\" title=\"Mom could tear up the floor!\" src=\"https:\/\/adrummergirlslife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/mom-dancing-368x600.jpg\" alt=\"Mom could tear up the floor!\" width=\"400\" height=\"651\" srcset=\"https:\/\/adrummergirlslife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/mom-dancing-368x600.jpg 368w, https:\/\/adrummergirlslife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/mom-dancing-184x300.jpg 184w, https:\/\/adrummergirlslife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/mom-dancing.jpg 678w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-5934\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Mom could tear up the floor!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><strong>Mom was still working for the pediatrician,<\/strong> and also gained experience with the preemies in the NICU at St. Peter\u2019s.<\/p>\n<p>She decided to pursue certification that would enable her to teach Lamaze prepared childbirth, as being around the new babies and happy parents brought her so much joy.<\/p>\n<p>She began intensive training and months later completed the necessary case studies and exams to achieve certification.<\/p>\n<p>She continued cancer treatments, including chemotherapy, cobalt and radiation to keep the monster in check.<\/p>\n<p>But she worked harder than ever before, and she loved teaching so much because it allowed her to &#8220;act out all her show-business fantasies.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Mom&#8217;s signature now included &#8220;R.N., A.C.C.E&#8221; (ASPO Certified Childbirth Educator).\u00a0ASPO is an acronym for <em>American Society for Psychoprophylaxis in Obstetrics.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>She was so good at what she did that couples began to request placement in her classes.\u00a0She received many invitations to their welcome-home-baby parties as well, a couple of which I attended with her.<\/p>\n<p>Mom was there for my violin lessons, auditions, rehearsals and concerts. She took Steven to his soccer games, karate class and monitored his academic progress with his teachers.<\/p>\n<p>She was fully involved with school, church and everything else concerning us kids. We went on interesting and fun outings, including a visit to Thomas Edison&#8217;s West Orange lab.<\/p>\n<p>We also went to a Rutgers basketball game at the Athletic Center.\u00a0Mom&#8217;s wit was apparent when during an arena-wide chant of &#8220;R-U! R-U!&#8221; she turned around and declared, &#8220;Aren&#8217;t we glad this isn&#8217;t <em>Fordham<\/em>?&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>She was an enthusiastic devotee of the arts and comedy, gathering us by the TV to watch intriguing programs like <em>Vision On<\/em> and <em>The Muppet Show<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p>She loved SCTV and Saturday Night Live, and one of her favorite skits was Belushi&#8217;s &#8220;<em>Cheebooger! Cheebooger! Pepsi! Pepsi!<\/em>&#8221;<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright wp-image-701\" src=\"https:\/\/adrummergirlslife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/nurse1.jpg\" alt=\"Nurse\" width=\"420\" height=\"539\" \/><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_9743\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-9743\" style=\"width: 420px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-9743\" src=\"https:\/\/adrummergirlslife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/Vision_On_logo-259x300.jpg\" alt=\"Vision On logo\" width=\"420\" height=\"486\" srcset=\"https:\/\/adrummergirlslife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/Vision_On_logo-259x300.jpg 259w, https:\/\/adrummergirlslife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/Vision_On_logo.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 420px) 100vw, 420px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-9743\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Vision On logo<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>We also saw amazing performances by Shields and Yarnell and <em>Mummenschanz<\/em>.\u00a0Had Mom lived, I am convinced she would have adored Pixar&#8217;s work.<\/p>\n<p>Mom, naturally curious about other faiths, went to Temple with her friend Florence a few times and even hosted a Jewish Seder at our church.\u00a0We also went to one up in Belleville the spring of 1979 when we went to see cousin Nanette, just before &#8220;Fetus&#8221; (Joseph) was born.<\/p>\n<p>At times, she was sick from chemo and had to remain in bed a couple of days, but she\u2019d bounce right back and dive into life again.\u00a0Mom\u00a0even crocheted warm booties for the sick elderly people at the Pine Brook Nursing Home.\u00a0What an example my mother was. She was tireless.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_14477\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-14477\" style=\"width: 1005px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\" wp-image-14477\" src=\"https:\/\/adrummergirlslife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Mom-friends-576x600.png\" alt=\"Mom and nursing school riends\" width=\"1005\" height=\"1047\" srcset=\"https:\/\/adrummergirlslife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Mom-friends-576x600.png 576w, https:\/\/adrummergirlslife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Mom-friends-288x300.png 288w, https:\/\/adrummergirlslife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Mom-friends.png 700w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 767px) 89vw, (max-width: 1000px) 54vw, (max-width: 1071px) 543px, 580px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-14477\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Mom and friends<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Mom also would go out with her women friends Florence Schiffman, Judy Moss, Marilyn Jackson and Marge Sullivan.\u00a0As a child, I saw my mommy having not only a family, but a career and social life as well. It showed me that a woman CAN have it all.<\/p>\n<p>The cancer was always an undercurrent, and its presence made her involvement in everything seem all the more impressive.<\/p>\n<h3>Personal Finance 101<\/h3>\n<p>Mom also kept me in the fray, to an extent, of how the family finances worked.\u00a0She taught me how to write a check to pay a bill, and we\u2019d go to the bank to make a deposit. \u00a0I got my own passbook savings account. I observed how she gathered the necessary paperwork for tax preparation.\u00a0I also learned how to draft a business letter, and was already an old pro at handwritten Thank You notes by then. She brought me along when she voted in an election.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_2356\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-2356\" style=\"width: 650px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-2356 \" title=\"Christmas\" src=\"https:\/\/adrummergirlslife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/07\/christmas.jpg\" alt=\"Christmas\" width=\"650\" height=\"582\" srcset=\"https:\/\/adrummergirlslife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/07\/christmas.jpg 500w, https:\/\/adrummergirlslife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/07\/christmas-300x268.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 650px) 100vw, 650px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-2356\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">I got a Crayola Caddy and a Skedoodle for Christmas<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>I had an &#8220;allowance&#8221;, but I had to earn it.\u00a0There were a series of weekly jobs and once they were complete, I&#8217;d receive a fixed amount.\u00a0This taught me that money is not available for the asking; it must be earned. We heard the word &#8220;no&#8221; when necessary.<\/p>\n<p>Sometimes we got a bit of extra money. These\u00a0\u00a0little windfalls might come in the form of Dad winning a pot at bowling, or maybe he earned some overtime at work.\u00a0We\u00a0might then go out for\u00a0a steak at the Rustler, head out to the movies, or go down the shore for a Stuff Yer Face.\u00a0This taught me that sometimes, extra cash\u00a0might mean a treat was in order. Life was about more than just work.<\/p>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/adrummergirlslife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/musicnotes-tiny.gif\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\" size-full wp-image-9464 alignleft\" src=\"https:\/\/adrummergirlslife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/musicnotes-tiny.gif\" alt=\"musicnotes-tiny\" width=\"50\" height=\"61\" \/><\/a>Miss Sun<br \/>\n<\/strong>Boz Skaggs<\/p>\n<p><a id=\"mbmaplayer_1375807129379\" class=\"{skin:'black', animate:false, width:'120', volume:0.2, autoplay:false, loop:false, showVolumeLevel:true, showTime:true, showRew:true, downloadable:false, downloadablesecurity:false, id3: false}\" href=\"https:\/\/adrummergirlslife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/Boz-Skaggs-Miss-Sun.mp3\">Boz Skaggs &#8211; Miss Sun<\/a><textarea class=\"map_params\" style=\"display: block; padding: 3px; background: #444; color: #fff; text-decoration: none;\" disabled=\"disabled\">map :: {skin:&#8217;black&#8217;, animate:false, width:&#8217;120&#8242;, volume:0.2, autoplay:false, loop:false, showVolumeLevel:true, showTime:true, showRew:true, downloadable:false, downloadablesecurity:false, id3: false}<\/textarea><\/p>\n<p>January 1980 brought indisputable proof I was \u201cbecoming a woman\u201d.\u00a0Since Mom was working at the hospital the evening it happened, I had the wildly good fortune of having to ask my dad to drive me to Shop-Rite for feminine protection.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft wp-image-9745\" src=\"https:\/\/adrummergirlslife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/foul-play-movie.jpg\" alt=\"foul-play-movie\" width=\"335\" height=\"617\" srcset=\"https:\/\/adrummergirlslife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/foul-play-movie.jpg 258w, https:\/\/adrummergirlslife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/foul-play-movie-163x300.jpg 163w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 335px) 100vw, 335px\" \/>Lucky me\u2014my brother came along for the ride.\u00a0\u201cSo what are we getting?\u201d he asked.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cUh \u2026 um \u2026 Band Aids?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I called Mom at work and she was all tickled about it.<\/p>\n<p>Mom often took me out to the movies, to \u201cpaint the town\u201d, just as she and Grandmommy had years ago. She called this \u201cmaking memories\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>We\u2019d go out to dinner at Kumquat or Twin Joy for Chinese food, and then hit the theater.\u00a0We took in movies of increasingly mature subject matter, including <em>Kramer vs. Kramer<\/em>, <em>On Golden Pond<\/em>, <em>Coming Home<\/em>, <em>Foul Play<\/em>, and <em>Tootsie<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p>We\u2019d often shared thought-provoking and well-done made-for-TV features such as <em>Shogun<\/em>, <em>The Thorn Birds<\/em>, and <em>Backstairs at the White House<\/em>.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_731\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-731\" style=\"width: 335px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.northeastunlimitedtours.com\/tours\/19\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\" wp-image-731\" title=\"Drummers at Colonial Williamsburg\" src=\"https:\/\/adrummergirlslife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/colonial-will-drummers-300x205.jpg\" alt=\"Drummers at Colonial Williamsburg. (You saw that coming, didn't you?)\" width=\"335\" height=\"230\" srcset=\"https:\/\/adrummergirlslife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/colonial-will-drummers-300x205.jpg 300w, https:\/\/adrummergirlslife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/colonial-will-drummers.jpg 340w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 335px) 100vw, 335px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-731\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Drummers at Colonial Williamsburg. (You saw that coming, didn&#8217;t you?)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>In February, we eighth graders at Hammarskjold Jr. High boarded four cruisers and headed down for a three-day trip to Williamsburg, VA. <em>Another Brick in the Wall<\/em> by Pink Floyd was popular.<\/p>\n<p>It was so cold outside that I didn\u2019t really enjoy the tours of the Colonial area, but hanging out with my roommates Joanna S, Sue M, and Celine S was fun.<\/p>\n<p>I missed Mom so much that I bought her a little stuffed hen in a souvenir shop (she\u2019d always affectionately called me \u201cchicken\u201d).<\/p>\n<p>The night I got back, Mom picked me up at school at 11 PM.\u00a0Hour be damned, we went over to the Colonial Diner for hot cocoa and woman talk, and she heard all about my trip.\u00a0She really appreciated the stuffed hen, which we named \u201cMama Chick\u201d. I have it today.<\/p>\n<h3>Eighth Grade Wrap-Up<\/h3>\n<p>That winter, I also got to witness a most interesting event. My pet mouse Mouschi was expecting, and I so wanted to see her have the babies.\u00a0One night, I awoke and decided to go downstairs to check the cage.\u00a0There she was, in the middle of the birth process, with a couple of little pink hairless lumps already snuggled next to her. It was a wondrous sight.<\/p>\n<p>I also got to see them grow, gingerly attending to feeding the mom and trying to keep the cage clean.<\/p>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/adrummergirlslife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/musicnotes-tiny.gif\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\" size-full wp-image-9464 alignleft\" src=\"https:\/\/adrummergirlslife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/musicnotes-tiny.gif\" alt=\"musicnotes-tiny\" width=\"50\" height=\"61\" \/><\/a>Desire<br \/>\n<\/strong>Andy Gibb<\/p>\n<p><a id=\"mbmaplayer_1375807154106\" class=\"{skin:&#039;black&#039;, animate:false, width:&#039;120&#039;, volume:0.2, autoplay:false, loop:false, showVolumeLevel:true, showTime:true, showRew:true, downloadable:false, downloadablesecurity:false, id3: false}\" href=\"https:\/\/adrummergirlslife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/Andy-Gibb-Desire.mp3\">Andy Gibb &#8211; Desire<\/a><textarea class=\"map_params\" style=\"display: block; padding: 3px; background: #444; color: #fff; text-decoration: none;\" disabled=\"disabled\">map :: {skin:&#8217;black&#8217;, animate:false, width:&#8217;120&#8242;, volume:0.2, autoplay:false, loop:false, showVolumeLevel:true, showTime:true, showRew:true, downloadable:false, downloadablesecurity:false, id3: false}<\/textarea><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_6654\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-6654\" style=\"width: 335px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-6654\" src=\"https:\/\/adrummergirlslife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/the-shining-poster-416x600.jpg\" alt=\"The Shining (Warner Bros.)\" width=\"335\" height=\"483\" srcset=\"https:\/\/adrummergirlslife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/the-shining-poster-416x600.jpg 416w, https:\/\/adrummergirlslife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/the-shining-poster-208x300.jpg 208w, https:\/\/adrummergirlslife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/the-shining-poster.jpg 996w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 335px) 100vw, 335px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-6654\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">&#8220;Here&#8217;s Johnny!&#8221;<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>I would later give the baby mice away to kids from school; one day Marc P. came to take a couple of them.<\/p>\n<p>One snowy day, I went on the Tractor-Trailer with Dad and we had a &#8220;double&#8221; to Allentown (two no-touch hauls out to the Kraft warehouse in eastern PA).<\/p>\n<p>It was snowing hard, and at one point we stopped at the Dunkin&#8217; Donuts on Route 22. The song <em>Guilty<\/em> by Barry Gibb and Barbra Streisand was playing on the truck radio.<\/p>\n<p>Dad despised driving in the snow, especially considering his responsibility for such a huge vehicle was magnified in such precarious conditions. While I was having fun in the passenger seat, his concentration was acute.<\/p>\n<p>In the spring 1980 I still regarded M. with interest, but by that time he was forced to share mental airtime with Greg Evigan.<\/p>\n<p>Popular songs included <em>Twilight Zone<\/em> by Manhattan Transfer, <em>Take Your Time<\/em> by the SOS Band, <em>The Cars<\/em> by Gary Numan, <em>Love Is Like Oxygen<\/em> by Sweet, <em>Desire<\/em> by Andy Gibb, and <em>Ring My Bell<\/em> by Anita Ward.<\/p>\n<h3>Confirmation<\/h3>\n<figure id=\"attachment_2281\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-2281\" style=\"width: 400px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-2281\" src=\"https:\/\/adrummergirlslife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/confirmation-day.jpg\" alt=\"Me and Pastor Scudieri\" width=\"400\" height=\"431\" srcset=\"https:\/\/adrummergirlslife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/confirmation-day.jpg 500w, https:\/\/adrummergirlslife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/confirmation-day-278x300.jpg 278w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-2281\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Me and Pastor Scudieri on my Confirmation Day<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>In May, I attended a three-day retreat at Camp Beisler with my confirmation class. Of course, there was the requisite &#8220;snipe hunt&#8221; and other harmless pranks, s&#8217;mores, and youth group activities with a spiritual lesson.<\/p>\n<p>Just before confirmation, I was out of school sick with a whopping case of hives and some kind of virus. That Sunday, I was still feeling sort of sickly but was confirmed by Pastor Scudieri with everyone else as my family looked on in the congregation.<\/p>\n<p>To celebrate the occasion, Mom and Dad took us to a special dinner show at Club Bene\u2019.<\/p>\n<p>We saw actor Shelley Berman in <em>Fiddler on the Roof<\/em>, and I remember having a wonderful time despite not feeling well. I didn&#8217;t know who Shelley Berman was, but his performance was outstanding.<\/p>\n<p>I got my program autographed and a nice selfie with the star of the show.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_2282\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-2282\" style=\"width: 400px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-2282\" src=\"https:\/\/adrummergirlslife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/shelley-berman-me.jpg\" alt=\"Me and Shelley Berman\" width=\"400\" height=\"312\" srcset=\"https:\/\/adrummergirlslife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/shelley-berman-me.jpg 500w, https:\/\/adrummergirlslife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/shelley-berman-me-300x234.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-2282\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Me and Shelley Berman, star of the &#8220;Fiddler On the Roof&#8221; production at Club Bene<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><em>Magic<\/em> by Olivia Newton-John and Barbra Streisand\u2019s <em>Woman in Love<\/em> were popular. <em>The Beat Goes On<\/em> by the Whispers, <em>Stomp<\/em> by The Brothers Johnson, and <em>Lady (You Bring Me Up)<\/em> by the Commodores remind me of going bowling with Dad on Sundays around that time.<\/p>\n<p><em><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13759 alignright\" src=\"https:\/\/adrummergirlslife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/club-bene.png\" alt=\"Autographed program\" width=\"321\" height=\"497\" srcset=\"https:\/\/adrummergirlslife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/club-bene.png 321w, https:\/\/adrummergirlslife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/club-bene-194x300.png 194w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 321px) 100vw, 321px\" \/><\/em><\/p>\n<p>Anything from the Police\u2019s <em>Synchronicity<\/em>\u00a0reminds me of junior high in general.<\/p>\n<p>That summer of 1980, Dad rented a small U-Haul trailer, and he took Mr. Scuorzo and Steve down to Delaware to Papa\u2019s house.<\/p>\n<p>With Grandmommy no longer with us, Papa really had no use for her beautiful Lowrey organ.<\/p>\n<p>Dad and Mr. S busted butt to get that thing up the stairs into the living room, where it stayed until the house was sold in the late \u201890s. Sadly, its eventual fate is unknown.<\/p>\n<table class=\"floatleft\" border=\"0\" width=\"300\" cellspacing=\"0\" cellpadding=\"5\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td rowspan=\"2\" width=\"60\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\" size-full wp-image-9464 alignleft\" src=\"https:\/\/adrummergirlslife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/musicnotes-tiny.gif\" alt=\"musicnotes-tiny\" width=\"50\" height=\"auto\" \/><\/td>\n<td width=\"414\"><strong>Stomp<br \/>\n<\/strong>The Brothers Johnson<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><a id=\"mbmaplayer_1375886788807\" class=\"{skin:&#039;black&#039;, animate:false, width:&#039;120&#039;, volume:0.2, autoplay:false, loop:false, showVolumeLevel:true, showTime:true, showRew:true, downloadable:false, downloadablesecurity:false, id3: false}\" href=\"https:\/\/adrummergirlslife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/Brothers-Johnson-Stomp.mp3\">Brothers Johnson &#8211; Stomp<\/a><textarea class=\"map_params\" style=\"display: block; padding: 3px; background: #444; color: #fff; text-decoration: none;\" disabled=\"disabled\">map :: {skin:&#8217;black&#8217;, animate:false, width:&#8217;120&#8242;, volume:0.2, autoplay:false, loop:false, showVolumeLevel:true, showTime:true, showRew:true, downloadable:false, downloadablesecurity:false, id3: false}<\/textarea><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<figure id=\"attachment_9737\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-9737\" style=\"width: 335px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-9737\" src=\"https:\/\/adrummergirlslife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/Lowrey.jpg\" alt=\"Lowrey\" width=\"335\" height=\"235\" srcset=\"https:\/\/adrummergirlslife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/Lowrey.jpg 346w, https:\/\/adrummergirlslife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/Lowrey-300x211.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 335px) 100vw, 335px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-9737\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Console organ very similar to Grandmommy&#8217;s<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>I was delighted to have the organ. I did some simple improv and went through a few basic lessons that summer but never got the hang of it. Steven ended up using it for its rhythm and cassette tape features.<\/p>\n<p>Dad and I also painted the front of the house a deeper blue\u00a0 that summer, including the trim of the white shutters.<\/p>\n<p>We were going to take a short trip to Washington, DC as a family but that was cancelled for some reason.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><a title=\"Chapter 14: Farewell John Lennon; Hello Columbia\" href=\"https:\/\/adrummergirlslife.com\/?page_id=342\">Chapter Fourteen: Farewell John Lennon; Hello Columbia<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-13050\" src=\"https:\/\/adrummergirlslife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/drum-avatar-thumbnail-sm.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"75\" height=\"75\" \/> <a title=\"Return to Memoirs\" href=\"https:\/\/adrummergirlslife.com\/?page_id=13681\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Return to Chapters<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Mom the Dynamo Don&#8217;t Stop The Music Yarbrough and Peoples Yarbrough and Peoples &#8211; Don&#8217;t Stop The Musicmap :: {skin:&#8217;black&#8217;, animate:false, width:&#8217;120&#8242;, volume:0.2, autoplay:false, loop:false, showVolumeLevel:true, showTime:true, showRew:true, downloadable:false, downloadablesecurity:false, id3: false} Mom was still working for the pediatrician, and also gained experience with the preemies in the NICU at St. Peter\u2019s. She decided to &hellip; <\/p>\n<p class=\"link-more\"><a href=\"https:\/\/adrummergirlslife.com\/?page_id=322\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &#8220;Chapter 13: My Special Mom&#8221;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2316,"parent":4,"menu_order":14,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-322","page","type-page","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/adrummergirlslife.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/322","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/adrummergirlslife.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/adrummergirlslife.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adrummergirlslife.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adrummergirlslife.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=322"}],"version-history":[{"count":60,"href":"https:\/\/adrummergirlslife.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/322\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":17806,"href":"https:\/\/adrummergirlslife.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/322\/revisions\/17806"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adrummergirlslife.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/4"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adrummergirlslife.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/2316"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/adrummergirlslife.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=322"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}