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Sometimes the best gifts are those that simply fall in your lap. We can make lists after lists for Christmas or birthdays or other special occasions in the hope of giving and receiving the perfect present.
However, the unexpected, the "I never thought of that" gift simply just happens sometimes. I received such a gift, actually a number of such gifts, recently that made me smile.
A friend, someone nearly 20 years younger than me, offered my husband and I a large box of unwanted old record albums he had acquired. Since I am a great fan of the "oldies," I jumped at the chance to check out the records.
It's funny that local radio stations consider the 1980s and 1990s as oldies. Yet for this baby boomer, my oldies are from the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s. You can keep the newer versions.
So when going through the stacks of albums, it was like Christmas came early for this oldies follower. One particular album is a five-record collection titled "Summertime Gold." And to me, it is golden.
The records are in pristine condition. Carefully dislodging the first record from its paper cocoon wrapping, I headed straight to my record player.
As soon as the needle touched the vinyl, the voices of The Angels rang out crystal clear with "My Boyfriend's Back." Then Jan and Dean belted out "Surf City." I sat back, closed my eyes and suddenly it was the summer of my youth ringing in my ears.
It's just not possible to stop yourself from singing along to such songs as "Groovin" by the Young Rascals or "It's My Party" by Lesley Gore. The list goes on with the Beach Boys, Martha Reeves and the Vandellas, The Drifters, the Monkees and Tommy James and the Shondells and many more.
There were other albums with folk rock songs such as "If I Had a Hammer," and songs by The Carpenters and Jay and the Americans. My husband found some of the albums to be real treasure troves of old country music, too.
My point is that it is true that one man's trash is another man's treasure. Sure I love the old rock and roll music of The Who, the Rolling Stones and others of that genre. But it's also those other songs that, when you hear them, they take you back to places that hold special memories.
Like the songs you remember being played at the skating rink where you held hands with your first boyfriend. Or when the song "Cherish" by the Association played and you slow-danced in the basement of a classmate who threw great boy-girl parties in eighth grade.
If you are still making lists or trying to find that perfect gift for someone this holiday season, you can't go wrong with music - new or old.
Heather Ziegler can be reached at hziegler@theintelligencer.net.