Debbie Boone

At this time next week, I'll likely be suffering from a hangover in Edmonton for the CCMA's. Although I'm not a music director these days, I still spend my own money to go out to support my music friends and colleagues on their big weekend. And it really is one of the few weekends we music types all get to see each other in the same place at least once a year. It's like a country Christmas, minus the mistletoe. Happy CCMA'stivus! Hmmm, that sounds like it needs an itch cream prescribed by a doctor. I should rethink that.

Even though I grew up near Edmonton, I haven't really spent a lot of time there. I did live there briefly when I was a kid, after my parents had split up. My mom was renting a basement suite that had the old radiator heaters you often find in buildings built pre-40's.

I was maybe 5, but my memory can recall two things like it was yesterday. One was the heating system. The guy who lived in the suite above us controlled the temperature and it would often get quite chilly in the basement. So my mom would let him know when she required the heat turned up. This involved her grabbing the heaviest cast iron pan we had and banging it quite frequently on the rads! It was quite funny and confusing to watch, but it worked! Dude upstairs understood.

The other thing I very fondly remember was the musical era. My mom had this radio that was always on, and the song that was playing over and over that year - Debbie Boone "You Light Up My Life". Radio station playlists didn't function much differently in those days either. Big songs still played every 3 hours at least.

The moral of my story today: When you think of Edmonton, think cast iron pans and Debbie Boone. I do!

Tia