Paula Buenger publisher [Click to enlarge]

In an instant, the world of today slips away and you're right back where you were when you heard it for the very first time.

Just last week, it was news of a singers' death that reminded me of his best-loved song. And in the blink of an eye today slipped away.

All of the sudden I was a little girl of three, sitting on her daddy's lap, precociously singing along to the console stereo.

"Make the world go away. And get it off of my shoulders. Say the things you used to say. And make the world go away."

If I close my eyes, even today I can envision the room, hear my dad's voice singing along, and I can recall how safe and happy I was.

Eddy Arnold was a favorite of my parents. They didn't buy a lot of stuff, but they did buy his albums, 33s, which were played on that record player. A few years ago, going through boxes in my parents' garage, I came across a box of records. And there were the ones with the mid-60s covers featuring a smiling Eddy Arnold. Well, those albums are now safe in my home, even though we don't have a turntable to listen to them on. They're touchstones of my youth and I couldn't let them go to the dump.

Arnold died just short of his 90th birthday. And, it's ironic that a man who made so many people so happy with his music, died, say his closest friends, of a broken heart. His wife of 66 years, Sally, had passed away in March, and Arnold just didn't recover from the loss of his best friend.

He was a country music legend, and he's legendary in my family.

It did get me to thinking about what musical memories we're creating for our son. I've tried to instill in him a love of classic rock and folk rock. Dan Fogelberg, Springsteen, Eric Clapton, the Rolling Stones -- they're all in the soundtrack of our life with him growing up. So far, it seems the only band that has really stuck, really resonated with him from our era is the Eagles. And I guess that's not so bad.

But I guess I just can't see him, 30 or 40 years from now, saying "I remember the first time I heard 'Hotel California.' Mom was doing the laundry and playing the stereo."

I'm glad, in case Drew does have some musical memories, that I let those old cassettes of Bananarama and the Go-Gos just go away.

They weren't, after all, in the same league as Eddy Arnold.

Not by a long shot.