my tape player's dying

When I was a kid I saved up my allowance and birthday money to buy a small tape player set. Loved my tape player and I think I didn't give it up until I got a CD player. The CD players turned out to be a series of failures. Each of them Sonys and on each the CD player stopped reading discs. So much for buying brands. Then we went digital and started burning the cds to the computer. Then while we were in the states we took the plunge to my sweet little IPod (which I adore). ITunes is my best friend.

But still I have always had a tape recorder in the back of my desk drawer. I have a dozen or so tapes that are truly sentimental in nature. Jonathan's tape of worship from Kenya. My tapes of worship from ethiopia, South Africa and other places. A sweet little tape I made for a road trip with Tammy and the women from COM back when we had tape players in cars. A tape my "Co" counselor at YMCA camp made for me. These are the sounds I don't want to loose from my life. I don't know what to do with them. I rarely listen to them. But each time we move I come to a crisis point that I simply can't get rid of them. So we store them. And I carry a little tape player around the world. I always have a blank tape or two and for some reason the batteries are almost always fresh in the tape player.

This morning Jonathan suggested we turn on music and @ picked up the tape player (smart kid, I think he's only heard it once or twice). The other morning we had listened to music from our language class and he liked it. So we rewinded the tape and were ready to hear "This is the Day" in local language. Sounded like the batteries were dying. So we replaced the batteries and still a yucky sound. I suggested we adjusted the variable speed playback (a feature IPods lack). It helped some but still not quite right. Maybe the tape is warped from the heat, seems unlikely because its a new tape and its mostly been in the house. Although looking at it just now the tape reads "Fantastic Sound" which almost guarantees you've bought a junky brand of tape. Chances are the tape player is dying.

So discussion ensued this morning if we should buy a new tape player. My immediate response was "Yes", Jonathan said "Why?"

"For class, to tape class." But truth is they have CDs we could borrow and burn (the school's fine with that).

Truly the answer has to do with my dozen or so tapes in the US and the thought that I might add to that collection. The answer has something to do with my mom and her albums (she has an awesome collection of stuff from the 60s and 70s, stuff collectors covet) and why she keeps them. She's been wrestling for the last year about taking the record player out to the shed, which would mean she's given up on the LPs. Presently its in a closet taking up space (which she hates) but she has a sentimental attachment to it. I think like 3 times a year she gets out her Bob Dylan LPs (they're like 78s (that's a honkin' huge album if you don't know)) and spins them but really she prefers her Dylan CDs now. But I keep a tape player for the same reason.