I love John Denver

I cannot listen to John Denver without a flood of my most presious childhood memories filling my mind. I don't think my Mom and Papa realized at the time what a precious gift they were giving me. I don't know if they even realize it now! We would all load into the car, and go for a long car ride. We'd stop at the corner gas station to fill up and Papa would buy us all drinks and snacks. Then, as our ritual ensued of getting on the freeway and heading in whichever direction Papa chose, we would inevitably pop in that old grey John Denver cassette tape. Gosh, I hope one of us still has that old tape. I can still see Mom's hand leading the music, sometimes even hanging out the window leading away. I was always up front, between Mom and Pop, my sisters sat in the back, arguing over who had to sit in the middle. As for me, I loved my spot up front between Mom and Pop. The best part about my spot was that Papa never could resist a good knee tickle. He'd grab my knee, sending me into giggling spasms. I am surprised I never made him wreck the car. Then there were Papa's sneezing fits. Something about driving makes him sneeze! Not once, but over and over. He'd start saying "napkin! nnnapkin!" and Mom would hurriedly get into the glove box and pull out a napkin for him to sneeze into. Occasionally there wouldn't be any napkins in the glove box, so we would all have to immediatly start looking for one. In my childish mind, finding a napkin was a very essential part of the ride. It was one of the puzzle peices that made the ride whole.
As an adult now, I also realize the patience of my father, who had a real knack for finding the perfect places to let his wife and 4 daughters go to the bathroom. Just any old place would not do! I imagine there were times when he must have thought about how much easier this particular task would be with sons. If he said anything about it however, it was to lovingly tease us. He loved it, and would never trade a minute of it.
Mom and Pop had an amazing talent for finding great places for us to explore. I can still see in my mind the many different landscapes where we did our adventuring. I can hear the sounds at each of them, and smell the smells. I remember picking the wildflowers, and Mom and Pop feigning complete interest in my many discoveries, just the way I do with my children now. "Papa! Look at this rock!"
After listening to the John Denver tape side A and B at least twice, we'd put in Dan Folgelberg, The Mama's and the Papa's or Simon and Garfunkel. That music sends the same flood of memories, but it seems like the rides always started out with John.
Thanks Mom and Pop, I LOVE YOU!!!