Glimmer, glimmer:
When cleaning out the basement, I found my son’s Glo Friends collection from the 80s. They were so gosh darn cute. I’m glad I saved them. Best of all, those “crazy aeronautical boll weevils” still “illuminate yon woods primeval!” In other words, they still glow in the dark!
Funny how some things stick with you, like songs, scents and old phone numbers. My late mother used to sing “The Glow Worm” to me when I was a girl. I remember the tune well enough to sing it, but not all the words, so I looked it up… the lyrics are sweet, but the tune is all big band jazzy, as recorded by The Mills Brothers in 1952.
My mother sang to me while she dressed me, gave me a bath, or played with me: “How Much is that Doggy in the Window,” “Chewin’ Gum,” and a song about a duck splashing around that I can’t quite remember. We had an organ in our living room. Once a week she’d play, “Ebb Tide” and a whole repertoire of old songs at Christmas, like “Good King Wenceslas,” “Hark the Herald Angels Sing” and “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen.” I never asked her where or how she learned.
Of course, she had me take organ lessons, which I hated (I blame the teacher), but it gave me a good foundation for learning to play the flute when I was in grade school.
Thanks, Mom, for bringing music to my life! This “fly of fire” song is for you. Love’s sweet voice is calling yonder…
The Glow Worm
Shine little glow worm, glimmer, glimmer
Shine little glow worm, glimmer, glimmer
Lead us lest too far we wander
Love’s sweet voice is calling yonder
Shine little glow worm, glimmer, glimmer
Hey, there don’t get dimmer, dimmer
Light the path below, above
And lead us on to love
My son had seven Glo Friends, including Glo-BookBug, Glo-Cappy, and Glo-Doodlebug, Glo-Cricket, and the Country Mouse and Dipper Duck. I juiced them up, took a pic of them in the dark and texted it to him. He laughed and replied “best toy ever.”
