Mary Lane Cryns aka Melody
Bio
I’m a writer chick with a ukulele who loves the Beatles, the groovy 60s and all my crazy, fun family and friends. I currently reside in Eugene, Oregon with my boyfriend and cat. Im a mom with 4 grown kids and 3 grandkids.
Stories (9/0)
Day #5 of 100 Days of Ukulele and Blog
She Loves You is the fourth song played on the February 9, 1964 Ed Sullivan Show. It’s the defining song that made my mom and I lifelong Beatles fans. I was only six years old, but I remember it as if it was yesterday.
By Mary Lane Cryns aka Melody2 years ago in Families
Day #4 of 100 Days of Ukulele (and Blog)
Tonight I played and sang the third song that appeared on the Ed Sullivan Show on February 9, 1964, “I Saw Her Standing There.” It’s such a fun song, and John and Paul wrote it when they themselves were only around 17. I always feel like dancing whenever I hear the song or play it on my ukulele.
By Mary Lane Cryns aka Melody2 years ago in Motivation
Day #2 of 100 Days of Ukulele
Day 2 of 100 Days of Ukulele and Blog had a rough start. First, it took me forever to record myself playing and singing “‘Til There Was You,” the second song the Beatles played on the Ed Sullivan Show on February 9, 1964. This isn’t because I didn’t know the song, and I do think it’s lovely even though it was not written by the Beatles. The second song was the only cover of the evening, written by Meredith Wilson. It appeared in the musical, “The Music Man.”
By Mary Lane Cryns aka Melody2 years ago in Humans
Who Needs Friends
“You're kicked out of the club for a hundred years!” I had heard David Hirrell say that to me so many times. We'd start up a club and David was always president because he was the biggest and strongest kid in the neighborhood. I would say how I felt about things, and David would kick me out.
By Mary Lane Cryns aka Melody3 years ago in Families
The Rise of "The Little Uke"
ast Wednesday I drove to Portland Oregon from Eugene, which took 2 1/2 hours and one major traffic jam. I was on a mission to attend my very first live Ukulele jam before the pandemic. I especially wanted to attend because my good ukulele-playing friend Leonard whom I had known for many years in the ukulele scene was going to lead that night. When I pulled into a shady parking spot near the Oregon public house where the jam was taking place, I tried hard not to think about what may happen but what was happening tonight. A live ukulele jam. Totally worth the long drive and the 97° weather in Portland.
By Mary Lane Cryns aka Melody3 years ago in Humans
Those Were the Days
When I was a kid growing up in San Francisco, I spent a huge amount of my spare time outside. So did my brother and sister and the other kids in the neighborhood. Our parents sent us outside and “don’t come back until the street lights turn on.” People say that all the time like it’s some sort of mantra from the “old days” before everything changed and kids no longer enjoyed all the freedom we had.
By Mary Lane Cryns aka Melody3 years ago in Families
How Do I Explain This To My Kids?
I asked the question to myself frequently, pretty much daily, while I was raising my kids. “How do I explain this to my kids?” There were times I just couldn’t explain it, and there were times I didn’t want to explain stuff. Other times, I’d attempt to explain, but the kids may or may not have listened.
By Mary Lane Cryns aka Melody3 years ago in Families
A Walk in the Rain
When I opened the front door to head out on my daily walk, the skies opened up and the rain pelted down on the sweet gum tree in the front yard and the fallen leaves, drops bouncing onto my face and glasses. Oh great, just my luck, I thought. But then I decided I wouldn’t let a little rain stop me from walking. After all, here in Eugene, Oregon, people jog in the rain and walk in the rain. I’ve seen joggers in shorts on cold, wet rainy days. I am not one of those hardcore people, but I don’t mind walking in the rain if I’m properly prepared. So, I grabbed my waterproof jacket with hood, my orange summer of love cap which keeps my glasses from getting wet, my colorful, warm scarf which my dear friend Diane from the San Francisco Bay Area made me for me about five years ago, and of course my red gloves just in case, one of my masks, this time Yellow Submarine, and my cell phone in the pockets. I also brought a water bottle and wore my mega waterproof shoes with more traction on the bottom. I was ready to go.
By Mary Lane Cryns aka Melody3 years ago in Humans
