You just have to love the Sound of Music. What other musical in the world can make life before and during World War II seem magical and light hearted? One of the hallmark songs from the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical is "My Favorite Things." Ironically, years before I even saw the movie version, this song was one of my favorite songs to sing.
"I simply remember my favorite things and then I don't feel so sad.."
I can't help thinking about how much the list of things has changed over the years...although cheese is still near the top of my list but alas, it's just not musical:
"Brie on biscuits and Gouda on apples..."
When I was five, I was partial to Winnie the Pooh and cough drops (I was a sick kid). When I was 15, it was New Kids on the Block (sigh, wish I could say it wasn't so) and Slim Fast.
Again, just not musical:
"Winnie in a bee hive and Ricola on crackers...New Kids on vinyl and Slim Fast in a shaker..."
I can't help but notice my favorites were based on the situation I found myself in at the time: Ricola because I was the kid in school who was the impetus for every viral outbreak that plagued the playground; Slim Fast because I thought all tall chicks had to weigh 120 pounds (but really, it was quite tasty and beat the alternative of dry toast and pickles).
Nowadays I find that I have a tiny drugstore of vitamin supplements and body sprays in my bathroom. The situation I'm in now is that I need to stay in shape and workout because I'm in the military reserves and well, they have "standards." Supplements because they have magical powers of weight loss and body sprays for post exercise (I found a new scent: chocolate cinnamon spray: HEAVEN).
So I guess where I'm going with all of this rambling is this: the things in life we like the most are sometimes dictated by the circumstances in which we find ourselves. That's not to say that if I find myself, oh I don't know, in a ditch because I fell while on a jog, I'm going to all of the sudden have a fascination with mud and roll around like a pig...that's way too simplistic (although it sort of sounds like fun). It does kind of bring the whole "which came first/chicken or the egg/cart before the horse" thought process into question, however.
What if you never had roses in your garden? Would you give a rats behind about whiskers on kittens if you never had a cat?
You see, I was given the idea to write about my favorite things and I had to turn it all around and start thinking about "why" I like certain things. I couldn't leave well enough alone and just be comforted with the notion that I love to eat cheese and I like smelling like a red hot dipped in chocolate. Of course, if the order was reversed, this post would take on a whole other meaning.
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