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<\/a>The ‘Time Machine’<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n I took a most unusual and sentimental journey this past week and never left my house. My trip was facilitated by my new \u2018record player\u2019<\/strong>. My old turntable, that I had purchased in Japan<\/strong> in 1968<\/strong>, had become inoperable many years ago and with the arrival of first, the CD<\/strong> and then the iPod<\/strong>, I never saw a need to replace it. So my 75 or so 33 1\/3 LPs remained silently tucked away in a closet for many years.<\/p>\n There was a time not too long ago when you couldn\u2019t even find a turntable to buy, but in recent years it was discovered that turntable fidelity equaled or surpassed many of the digital-age playing systems, so they\u2019ve made somewhat of a comeback. A new turntable would not only allow me to once again play my old albums, but it would enable me, for the first time, to play the record collection of my departed, best friend, Don Klapperich<\/strong>.<\/p>\n Lt. Cmdr. Klapperich<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n After Don was done flying F-4 Phantom<\/strong> jets for the Navy<\/strong>, he took a job in Saudi Arabia<\/strong> working for a U.S. company that was contracted by the Saudi Air Force<\/strong> to teach them how to become better combat pilots. When Don left for Saudi Arabia<\/strong> in the late 80s<\/strong> he did not want to take with him his rather large record collection, which include both LPs<\/strong> and 45s<\/strong>, so he asked if I would hold on to them for him.\u00a0\u00a0 I stored them with mine in the back of the closet and had not thought much about them . . . until now.<\/p>\n Linda<\/strong>, having read my letter to Santa Claus<\/strong>\u00a0last year, got me a turntable for Christmas<\/strong>. I decided that I would set up an \u2018entertainment center\u2019<\/strong>, such as it is, in my office in the upstairs loft. I built some shelves and started the process of moving records from the downstairs closet to the newly built shelves upstairs. I took them a handful at a time, not because I couldn\u2019t carry more, but because I wanted to reminisce as I flipped through each one as I brought them to their new home.<\/p>\n The ‘Entertainment Center’<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n There were many duplicates among Don\u2019s collection and mine, as both of us were part of the \u2018Folk Scare of the \u201860s\u2019 <\/em><\/strong>and were thus big fans of the Kingston Trio<\/strong>, The Brothers Four<\/strong>, Bud & Travis<\/strong>, The Limeliters<\/strong> and Peter, Paul and Mary<\/strong>. But after that, our collections took two very divergent paths, mine was more pop, things like Neil Diamond<\/strong>, The Everly Brothers<\/strong> and Linda Ronstadt<\/strong>; Don\u2019s reflected his personality: eccentric, esoteric and genius. Classical masterpieces, Broadway musicals, Classic rock, Gregorian chants, pop, flamenco guitar, bluegrass, opera<\/strong> \u2013 you name it, he had it. It was an unbelievable collection of eclectic music. Looking through these albums was like exploring the many facets of Don\u2019s complex personality. He may have been the only white, 16-year old in America who owned every one of Ray Charles\u2019<\/strong> albums. As you might guess, it took me quite a while to move 200+ albums<\/strong> upstairs, as with each handful I had to use my new turntable to hear at least one song on each trip. Then I found it.<\/p>\n The ‘Radio Show’ Record<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n Wedged between the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra\u2019s<\/strong> rendition of Beethoven\u2019s<\/em> 9th<\/sup> Symphony<\/em><\/strong> (Don\u2019s personal favorite) and Janis Joplin\u2019s<\/strong> Farewell Songs<\/em><\/strong> was a record in a plain paper sheath, no album cover, no label, no markings of any kind, just uneven grooves cut into a black vinyl disc. I was delirious with anticipation as I gingerly placed it on the turntable and eased the stylus onto the first cut.<\/p>\n In 1961<\/strong> when Don and I were seniors in high school we, The ‘Neverly Brothers’, were asked to sing on Hugh Turner\u2019s <\/strong>radio show, \u2018What\u2019s Doing in Novato\u2019<\/em><\/strong>, on KTIM<\/strong>, which was broadcasting from Pini Hardware<\/strong> on Grant Avenue<\/strong> in downtown Novato<\/strong>. Don\u2019s parents recorded the show from home by putting a small tape recorder next to their radio \u2013 which is the excuse I\u2019m using for the way we sounded. Don\u2019s dad then took the recording into San Francisco<\/strong> and had it \u2018pressed\u2019 into a record. I had only heard the record once, shortly after his dad brought it home.<\/p>\n The ‘Neverly Brothers’<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n I remember that day like it was yesterday; it was bad enough that we were nervous about singing on the radio, but through the window in Pini Hardware<\/strong> we could see a most-attractive girl, Carole Garavanta<\/strong>, who was definitely out of our league, sitting in her parked convertible in front of the store watching us through the window and listening to us on her car radio. \u00a0 She was probably waiting for us to stop singing so she could come into the store and buy some wing nuts. \u00a0We sang three songs and were interviewed by Hugh Turner<\/strong>, answering questions about \u2018our music\u2019 and what we planned to do after we graduated in June from Novato High School<\/strong>.<\/p>\n I sat motionless, mesmerized by the spinning record as it took me back to that time and place. \u00a0We sounded like . . . a couple of naive high school kids. \u00a0 As the record came to a scratchy end and I was brought back to the present, there was a smile on my face and a tear in my eye. \u00a0It was great to hear Don\u2019s voice again.<\/span><\/p>\n Just a few days away from the four-year anniversary of Don\u2019s passing, his record collection has helped me understand a little bit more about my enigmatic best friend; and discovering our \u2018radio show record’<\/strong> was a gift that he probably didn\u2019t even know he left me . . . or maybe he did.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" by Bob Sparrow I took a most unusual and sentimental journey this past week and never left my house. My trip was facilitated by my new \u2018record player\u2019. My old turntable, that I had purchased in Japan in 1968, had … read more![\"DK\"](\"https:\/\/fromabirdseyeview.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/DK-1-150x150.jpg\")
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<\/a>![\"Radio](\"https:\/\/fromabirdseyeview.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/Radio-Record-150x150.jpg\")
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