Thursday, October 18, 2007

I've created a monster

Last night, for some random reason, I started singing "Charlie on the MTA" during dinner with R. (Does anyone know this song except me?!?! Or, is it just a Boston thing?) Loving anything to do with trains/subways/etc. the way he does, R promptly asked me to sing it again. And again. And again. You get the idea.

So, since I couldn't actually remember all the words, I offered to look it up online to see if we could find a video of the Kingston Trio performing the song.

I love YouTube. It's amazing what you can find there. R and I found two different videos of the Kingston Trio's recording of the song, set to either still photos of old and new T trains or someone's fun animation experiment with T trains. R and I have watched these videos so many times in the last 24 hours, I've lost count.





There are also some other freaky versions of the song on YouTube. I'll spare you those.

Today, R and I spent pretty much the entire day at the Museum of Science. We met up with two of his friends from school who are brothers. The boys had such a great time together, and I really enjoyed hanging out with their mom. Unfortunately, she told me that they'll most likely be moving to Ohio before next summer. Her parents are there, and it's just so much cheaper to live there. She told me that houses are basically half what they cost here in New England. Ouch. That seems to be a trend lately. This has always been my home, and I really and truly love it, but I wonder sometimes if the high cost of living here is worth it.

I just can't imagine raising R anywhere else.

5 comments:

Suztash said...

I'm so glad you and R had such a good time yesterday. He has been planted in a place where he's just blossoming! Of course you and A had quite a bit to do with that! I know what you mean about the cost of living, especially since I'm a migratee. However, things are getting difficult here too. I'm amazed at the difference in real estate costs between western PA, Ohio, Indiana (?) and Illinois where many of Grandpa's family live. They're housing and property tax costs are astronomical. Fortunately, ours are still manageable, but other costs here, like insurance have skyrocketed to uncomfortable levels for most. We're having a great egress because of that very predicament. Oh, I remember the Kingston Trio when they were in their "hayday"! My uncle Marvin had all their albums, and they were all over the tv. Late 40's, into 50's and 60's the great folk movement introduced the Weavers, Pete Seeger, the Kingston Trio, New Christy Minstrels, etc. I don't know the antidote for "Charley", though. I hope it dies out fast with Rix. It is a fun song, especially for Bostonians!

kc bob said...

I remember when I moved from NJ to TX in '75.. sold a very old 2BR house for $28k.. went back 5 years later and the same house was seling for $119k. Houses are megabucks compared to comparable ones in the midwest.

Anonymous said...

Did you see "Charlie and the MTA" at college? I played the video and soooo remember it. Not as cool as "Do The Freddie," but still a good diddy with a nice message in its own right :). Love ya girl! Hugs to A and R.

Wanda said...

Kristen: That was so cool! I love it!! My kids loved it!! I doubt if my grandchilden ever heart it!!!

Teachermom said...

I don't know the song, but R and K would love watching youtube together...she loves it when I find funny videos on there! :)

That's a bummer about the friends moving. It seems to be a trend around here, too, even where the cost of living is much less than N.E. (but the economy is pretty bad here right now, so I think that's most of it). I, too, could notimagine living anywhere else than where I've spent my whole life so far.

Perhaps you should ask for a five-year plan from any families before you agree to playdates. :)