I posted my recipe for a Classic Tuna Salad over in the kitchen today and that got me to thinking about what it is that qualifies something aa a classic. To me something which is classic is something which never goes out of style or favor. It is something which is just as enjoyable fifty years down the road as it was the first time you experienced it. Books, cars, clothing, food, film, music, etc. there are classics in each of these categories.
Books such as Jane Eyre, Peter Rabbit, Alice in Wonderland, Leaves of Grass, Anne of Green Gables, Little Women . . . to name but a few . . . are classics. When I was a child our encyclopedia contained a series of volumes dedicated to classic literature. I read them all. They were condensed versions of a great many classic pieces of literature and, as a child, I was such a voracious reader that I read all of them, cover to cover and more than once. They brought me great pleasure and still do. I still love many of the books that I read amongst that collection.
Then there are classic films. Films that you can watch over and over again. Films which bring you just as much pleasure the tenth time you have seen them as they did the first time you viewed them.
It doesn't matter how many times I have watched the Wizard of Oz, for instance. When Dorothy opens the door of that house and looks out into Oz, and the film goes from being black and white to technicolor, my heart still fills with excitement at what I know is coming next! That particular scene still holds a peculiar magic for me, a sense of joy.
It is the same with The Sound of Music. That first opening bar of music when the camera begins to move towards the top of the mountain and then centers in on Julie Andrews as she twirls around singing The Hills Are Alive . . . that is a classic.
It brings me pleasure untold each and every time I watch these films. Just two amongst many.
Then there is music. Oh I love all the old masters of course, Beethoven, Mozart, Rachmaninoff . . . but I also adore classic country, and classic pop, the Beatles, Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young, The Guess Who, Queen . . .
When my children were growing up we had several tapes we would play in the car every time we went for a drive, be it a short drive or a long drive. It became the sound track of our lives at that juxtaposition in life . . . It was a compilation of classic music with a disco beat called Hooked on Classics, and there were two volumes.
Just the sound of one of those tapes takes me back to that time . . . so it is with a classic. They withstand the test of time and are very evocative of time, space, feeling, taste . . .
Classic cars, classic clothing, classic furniture. These are things which have stood the test of time, and remain popular and bring us joy (much like film and books) no matter how old they are. Convertible sports cars, cardigan twin sets, wing back chairs and chesterfields, an Aubusson carpet . . . these things never go out of style and remain elegant no matter how much time passes, or how old they get. And the older they get, the more value they attain . . . think art, wood furniture, classic cars, etc. My ex employer's home was filled with classics and antiquities. Articles of value that never lost their style, class or value.
To sit in their drawing room was like sitting in a small window of time and history. Even the wood paneling on the walls was an antiquity, dating back to the 1500's. Simple and yet beautiful elegance, that yes, withstands the test of time.
But it is not just objects which are classics . . . there are classic feelings as well, some of them which are peculiar just to ourselves and others which are classic feelings in general.
Like that feeling you get when you see a particularly beautiful sunset, or the feeling in your heart when a newborn baby curls their fingers around one of your own. It is a warmth that is indescribable, and a joy, and some of these joys are the same for all, and some of them are as individual as we are.
In particular, I love the feeling of cold sheets against my feet when I climb into bed at night, having taken my socks off just prior to getting in. That particular feeling has always brought me a sense of joy and comfort, and is something that I love. The smell of the pages of a new book, or a new car, or a new doll. The scent in the air after a rainfall . . . the smell of wet pavement and grass/leaf/plant. Fresh. The hug from an old friend you haven't seen in a while, or the feeling of little arms curling about your neck . . . the smell of a little boy's head who has just been hard at play.
The sound of dry leaves as they skitter across the pavement, or the feel of dry acorns beneath the walking foot. The sight of snowflakes falling silently from the sky, swirling before our eyes in a dance of pure magic. The rainbow set in the sky after the storm . . .
All classics, all evocative, all pleasurably heartwarming. Each of immense value in their own right. Many of them priceless be they tangible or not . . . where would we be without any of them. The value and joy which they add to our lives is immeasurable.
Can you no feel the joy in that cat as his chin is stroked? I can. I don't know if it is a he or a she, but I think a he. It just looks like a he. I can almost feel and hear the rattle of his purring. Another simple and yet classic pleasure.
It is snowing this morning, nothing too heavy, just a light snow shower. I love to watch it come down, and it is even more pleasurable today because I don't need to go anywhere. I did all my running around yesterday. I went to the Post Office, and then the Chemist. I wanted to pick up my prescriptions but when I got there, they hadn't even received the renewal from the Doctor I spoke to on the phone last week. So I had to go back to my car and I called the clinic from there to see what was up with that.
I had just finished at the grocery store when I got a call from the Pharmacy to say that they had received the renewal from the Doctor. I was going to go home and pick them up later but then I thought, while I am out I might as well just go and pick them up now, even if I had to wait. Save myself a trip and the petrol.
As I am sitting here I can hear the cats playing in the bathtub in the bathroom. They love to jump on each other in it. I never use the tub to have a bath. There is no plug. I need to buy one, but in reality, I am afraid that, were I to get down into it, I would not be able to get back up out of it. And that's the truth as Ruth (Lily Tomlin) would say! Laugh In, another great classic.
A thought to carry with you . . .
And here is the Classic Tuna Salad that brought on all of my thoughts about classics. There is nothing quite like it for comfort. In fact I think I am going to have the last of it for breakfast. And why not. Who says you can't have a tuna salad sandwich for breakfast?
Have a wonderful day. Wherever you are, stay safe and stay warm, and don't forget!