My son has a playlist titled “Disney”. I had to look this up, but yes, Disney is a music genre. His playlist has 18 songs, and if played continuously through, it provides one hour of fond childhood memories, or in my case, fond memories with my children.
He felt comfortable in his own shoes, enough to share those childhood whimsical memories, as an adult, with his friends, driving in his car, on road trips, to get ice cream, or just listening, while sitting on the couch.
This playlist tells me a lot about my son; such as, he had good memories of his childhood. He felt comfortable in his own shoes, enough to share those childhood whimsical memories, as an adult, with his friends, driving in his car, on road trips, to get ice cream, or just listening, while sitting on the couch. Now, when my daughter and I are together in the car, we listen to this playlist.
One of the songs is from Toy Story, “You’ve Got A Friend In Me” (Newman, Randy, 1995). I remember when Toy Story came out in the theaters the summer of 2010. My son was sixteen at the time. He told me he and one of his guy friends went to see it. There might have been more friends who went, but I distinctly remember one person in particular. My son told me, of course, they would go, as that movie was so much of their childhood, this being the third edition. Toy Story 2 was released in theaters in 1999 when he was five. My son had a Buzz Lightyear talking action figure. The wings would eject open when my son made Buzz play “To Infinity and Beyond.” It was one of his favorite toys when he was little. I still have it, tucked away in a wooden toy box. I saved many of his toys, thinking it would be meaningful for his children to have some of his original toys. Even though that now will not be possible, I still keep them, as I cannot let go of any of his belongings.
Every friend he brought into our home was worthy of his friendship. They were so fun, friendly, and gracious, and we were and are so fortunate he has such great friends, and that he shared a small portion of their lives with us, in such an intimate setting, as our home.
As adults, he and his friends continued to see Disney movies when they were released in the theaters. Another song on his playlist is from the movie, Frozen, “Let It Go” (Anderson-Lopez, Kristen, Robert Lopez, 2013). Two of my son’s friends have shared different memories about him and this song with me.
The first is from a college friend who lives in the United Kingdom (UK). After my son’s second year at Montana State University, he invited several groups of college friends to stay with us at different times over the summer. She was one of them. Every friend he brought into our home was worthy of his friendship. They were so fun, friendly, and gracious, and we were and are so fortunate he has such great friends, and that he shared a small portion of their lives with us, in such an intimate setting, as our home.
Time passes very slowly for me since my son died. It has almost been six months, but it seems just like a month since he left us. Several months ago, this friend sent me a message. She was writing her master’s thesis and was listening to the soundtrack from the movie Frozen, to motivate her. She thought of my son and shared this story about him with me.
“Yesterday for the first time in a long time, I listened to the soundtrack from the film Frozen, to try to motivate me while I was working. The whole thing reminded me so strongly of your son; we watched it together a few times, and he used to send me memes about the “Let It Go” song.”
She said they probably connected to Frozen because it came out while they were in Montana together, and surrounded by snow. There is a picture she sent me of his Toyota 4-Runner, from the back end, engulfed by the deep snow, the Montana mountains, and tall evergreens. I think this was one of my son’s happy places.
My friend played us his Disney playlist so many times in the car. We sang to pass time, while on our road trips.
For the summers of 2015 and 2016, my son worked at a camp in the backwoods of Pennsylvania. He made friends where ever he went, and one of his co-counselors from camp shared another story about my son’s Disney playlist.
He told me my son was always there to lend a hand at camp, as they mentored a bunkhouse of young boys. He could make him smile and whenever possible, said, “Let’s get out of here and go for a drive,” when they had free-time, in my son’s beloved car. That car was a huge part of their summers at camp. This is his story.
“One day off, we chose to go to Syracuse, a city 2 hours away, where we went for a few drinks and then stayed over in a hotel (me, your son, and another counselor also from the UK). The drive didn’t start off great as we got stuck in the thick fog and we got lost. We didn’t let that dampen our spirits, and for the remaining hours we sang to our heart’s content; whether they were Disney songs, rap songs, country, or whatever genre it was, we had a blast singing, to make the journey fly by. He played us the Disney playlist so many times in the car. That and his country playlist. Other journeys (in his car) were down to the local ice cream place, or to the local town and on our days off. We spent most of my summer in that car. One time, on the way back from the ice cream place, he fit nine, or even ten of us, in the car, just so everyone could get back in time before curfew.”
Attached is a video, singing on the way to Syracuse, where you can hear my son, and the other friend on the trip, singing “Let it Go.”
Each story about my son, sentences or paragraphs, is a gem to be treasured. Please keep sharing them with me.
You see, each of these stories about my son is a gem to be treasured. Please keep sharing them with me, no matter how much they will make my heart ache.
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REFERENCES
Anderson, Darla, K. (Producers), & Unkrich, Lee (Director). (2010). Toy Story 3 [Motion Picture]. USA: Pixar Animation Studios for Walt Disney Pictures.
Anderson-Lopez, Kristin, Robert Lopez, “Let It Go” – From Frozen, Soundtrack, 2013, performed by Idina Menzel, Walt Disney Records.
Del Vecho, Peter (Producers), Buck, Chris, Jennifer Lee (Director). (2013). Frozen [Motion Picture]. USA: Walt Disney Animation Studios.
Guggenheim, Ralph, Bonnie Arnold (Producers), & Lasseter, John (Director). (1995). Toy Story [Motion Picture]. USA: Pixar Animation Studios for Walt Disney Pictures.
Newman, Randy, “You’ve Got a Friend In Me” – From Toy Story Soundtrack, 1995, written and performed by Randy Newman, Walt Disney Records.
Plotkin, Helene, Karen Robert Jackson (Producers), & Lasseter, John (Director). (1999). [Motion Picture]. USA: Pixar Animation Studios for Walt Disney Pictures.
