Just a Small Town Girl …

Yesterday, while driving to work, two different songs came on the radio that resonated with me: Small Town by John Mellencamp and Don’t Stop Believin’ by Journey.  “Well I was born in a small town …” and “Just a small town girl – Livin’ in a lonely world” resonated with me.  Both of those lines are me … however … when I looked onto the horizon I saw one of my favorite views of my commute on the 134 East (aka Ventura Freeway/Highway – now another song can be running through your head!) – the Colorado Street Bridge and ravine.  Something old – a bridge built in the early 1900’s – with something new – miles and lanes of cars sporting the latest in chrome and steel.  In my rearview mirror, I saw the LA skyline – somewhat in a haze due to some nice city-living smog. At that moment, I had a bit of a “world’s collide” moment as I realized that as much as I felt like that “small town girl” that Steve Perry crooned about, I am definitely not in her zip code anymore!

Growing up in Small Town, USA (Gardner, IL – at time, population 1400), my concept of “city” was Chicago.  As I had many relatives who lived there, I was not a stranger to riding The El or  walking along State Street – especially at Christmas time.  I always enjoyed my visits; I have fond memories of The Brookfield Zoo and watching the Cubs play.  However, after each visit and well before the sunset, we always got back into the car and headed back to the farm.  Interestingly enough, I never really dreamed of living in a city while I was a child.  I always had small town aspirations.  I thought my life would be in common with John Mellencamp’s musings – “I would live and die in a small town.”  And then fate stepped in!  When I graduated college, I could not find a teaching job in a small town or a big city in Illinois so I ventured West, landing in my first taste of “city living” in Bakersfield.  I experienced, for the first time, living in close proximity to a neighbor – mere feet between us instead of miles.  On the upside, I learned many conveniences came with city living that included supermarkets instead of grocery stores … stores open 24 hours or until very late in the evening …more restaurants serving foods of all types of creations and concoctions … City life does bring easy access to almost everything under the sun!  There is a price for this convenience; however, that comes in the form of traffic, pollution, and crowding.

While living in a city, I still found times and places that definitely felt “small town”.  Working in small school districts, living in older neighborhoods, forming bonds with friends and coworkers – just to name a few.  After a while, Bakersfield actually started to feel like a small town – perhaps because of these aforementioned reasons. And then fate stepped in once again and  I decided to make the move to LA.

I am approaching two years in living in the LA area.  Our moving truck pulled in mid December 2013, and here we still are (minus one move from one part of the city to another).  When I was that “small town girl”, I never in a million years would have imagined myself living and working in LA.  From what I had seen on TV growing up, there did not seem to be anything but freeways, concrete, and pollution (which yes, there is some of all of that!).  In high school, I remember I had a classmate who had dreamed of going to LA and she and her mother actually vacationed over here during one of our breaks.  As she retold her stories about her mom driving in LA and the people’s reaction, I remember being slightly horrified – although I never said out loud – and wondered who would choose to live there?!  Well, 30 years later, I have the answer – ME!

I must admit – I love LA! (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MtDhtadoeUk – yes … yes … now that song is running through your head!) My own children think I am crazy for the move here!  I am minutes away from Hollywood and there are several evenings that we have had dinner or gone to an event somewhere near Hollywood and Vine and we walked along the stars, each time discovering someone’s star that we didn’t remember seeing before. We have walked along beaches many times, sampling the food and shopping in Venice or Santa Monica.  Speaking of shopping – why yes … there is plenty of that to be had here as well.  Currently, we are four blocks away from the Galleria and the Americana.

Yes, there are times I still feel like a “small town girl” … maybe I always will because small town living was all I knew growing up.  I just am not looking for any midnight trains going anywhere from city life anytime soon!

Venice Beach – Photo credit goes to Thomas G. Robinson

LA Skyline from Mulholland Drive – Photo Credit: Thomas G. Robinson

You’re so vain … I bet you think this song is about you …

I have had a long-standing love/hate relationship with my first name, Carol.  I know I am not alone in this struggle.  I have a bit more contentious and more-on-the-hate-end-of-the-equation relationship with my middle name – but that is a discussion for another time.  (Those of you who know me well or grew up with me know it and I will leave things there!)

As a child, I wanted to change my name.  I remember even saving up money in my Snoopy bank to go to the county courthouse to change it officially.  I was all ready to do so – as I had been saving money in response to asking my mother, “How does a person change his/her name?”.  And her quick, frustrated reply was, “It costs a lot of money and you have to go to the courthouse to do it.” At early elementary school age, “a lot of money” was translated into my Snoopy bank being full, so all I needed was a ride 20 some miles to Morris, IL – our county seat – to do so once I could no longer stuff anymore change into Snoopy’s back.  Needless to say, since my name is still officially “Carol”, I did not make that fateful trip to Morris and my mother – given that she was the one to give me said name – was none-to-pleased with my request for a ride to the courthouse.

An additional struggle I had with my name was that there was hard to find a song that called out a Carol by name.  With the exception of Neil Sedaka’s 1950’s song, “Oh, Carol”, there is nothing else out there.  And, if Wikipedia is correct, the Carol he is singing about is Carole King and is in regards to her dumping him.  While at Bakersfield City, I had a boss, Al Capilla, who chose to sing that song (with his own made up verses that were pertinent to whatever we were dealing with at the time) every time I walked into the room.  Frequently, the verse started “Oh, Carol … why are you so mean?”. Of course, in jest, however, it proved the point that having a song with my name was going to be a challenge.

If I had that fateful trip to Morris, IL, one of the names that was a strong contender was “Caroline”.  Very close to my original name but much more palatable (in my humble opinion, anyway).  Perhaps I was influenced by this name choice from “Little House on the Prarie” as the mother’s name was Caroline.  So, speaking of songs … of course, “Caroline” gets her own song! What comes to mind almost immediately? Neil Diamond’s, “Sweet Caroline”.  Every time I hear that song, I claim it.  I know … I know … it’s sweet Caroline, not sweet (or even sour) Carol.  Additionally, there is James Taylor’s, “Carolina on My Mind”, which is about a state and not a person; however, I have also tried to claim that song as well.

So, Jesse’s girl has a song created for her … Gloria … Michelle (my belle) … Lucille (as in you picked a fine time to leave me) … Rosanna … the list goes on and on.  Since the advent of Thomas in my life – Thomas, who is singer, songwriter extraordinaire, I have asked for a song.  A song – to which Thomas’ reply – is that it doesn’t quite work that easily. He starts with inspiration and a creative idea first.  As a substitute, anytime he has sang at karaoke, I have suggested either “Sweet Caroline” or “Carolina on My Mind”; to which he has indulged me once, however, usually a Prince or Stevie Wonder song ends up being the selection.

When Thomas is in song writing mode, it is unlike anything I’ve seen before.  My first glimpse of him in this mode was when I went with him to his family’s home in Paso Robles a few years ago.  During the entire drive from Bakersfield to Paso, he worked on a song that he had co-written with his brother several years prior.  Armed with his iPhone and GarageBand, he worked and worked on vocals and background instruments, extending the process throughout the weekend.  It’s almost as if he is struck by some type of creative lightning.

Usually, once Thomas has completed a new song, he comes downstairs and is proudly ready to play “show and tell”.  It’s always amazing to hear his hard work come to fruition.  This morning was no different than many others.  He came down the stairs, slightly disheveled, as I laid on the couch watching a very sappy Hallmark movie.  He announced, “So I worked on a new song; do you want to hear it?”  “Sure,” I replied, turning down the TV.  After the introduction and a few lines in, I realized the song was about us.  I finally had my song!  Now, in good company with Julian Lennon, Jesse’s Girl, and Jenny who can be reached at 867-5309, I no longer have to pretend my name is Caroline or Carolina – I have my very own song written for me!

Here is a link directly to his recording on SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/thomas-g-robinson/toma-s-adventuretime-carols