ICON makes me think. It was at the last Icon meeting (subject matter CDs and DVDs) that I started to think about the fact that the beginning of it all was somewhere in my early childhood. The radio was still new. It was expensive and my father being the inventive, adventurous person that he was, made us a radio.

We were proud of that radio. Ours was the only radio on the block. It only stood to reason that my father reached for that next invention, the gramophone. That was the first one on the block as well. But it required a thing called a Schallplatte. Properly translated it was a platter with sound. Unfortunately we were too poor to buy a Schall Platte. When the war came along the Schall Platte was no longer produced. What was produced was guns and ammunition.

It was after the war and in America that the Schall Platte resurfaced in my life. Here in America it was known as a record. The gramophone was a record player and again we were too poor to own one. It took some time to be wealthy enough to own a record player, not to mention the purchase of a record, but by the time the kids were out of diapers, that goal was achieved. Working the nightshift at Lily Tulip cup factory provided extra cash for small luxuries.

I really loved that little radio and record player combination. It became my joy and my link to the sound of music from the past as well as from the present. Those first records were leviathans compared to the compact discs that decorate my office (the swamp). They were black, bulky and breakable, and they came in different sizes and different speed; 78s, the long-playing 33s and the little 45s also known as singles. The term Platte came to mind when a singing group from the sixties known as The Platters surfaced for an au gratis performance at the Battlefield Mall.

As always with advances in technology, learning is mandatory to get the most out of what the market offers. It is a known given that merchandising methods are not always fair or honest. That’s where ICON helps its members to become informed.

When it comes to CDs and DVDs, there is a monumental difference between inexpensive and cheap. Harold Hunton’s marvelous presentation at the February 18th ICON meeting made those members present well aware of the proverbial fly in the ointment. He not only researched all the information extremely well, he also presented it in words that beginners could understand. Gold, he told us, was part and parcel of some of those itsy bitsy platters. However, they were probably not for sale at a franchised super store. The difference between gold and on–sale mini-platters could be measured in terms of time, like six month to two years for cheapies and anywhere from two to six decades and more for lasting quality, if you go for the gold, also known as the Matsui/MAM-A Gold. Prices and difference in prices, yes, that was interesting. You might go to the ICON website for more in-depth information. Come to think of it. This was not the first time gold records came to my attention. Remember Elvis? He went for the Gold in a big way.

Grandmama, the grand old dame whose gentle spirit haunts the swamp in a positive way, appears to be in silent agreement. Having received her approval of the changes I have made, I thought of inviting her to come to those informative meetings. But the response to that was couched in terms I understood very well. It had something to do with a snowball’s chance in hell.