Weekend Soundtrack
"Oklahoma!" and Mr. Clean
Bill Radke
Michael Raphael
FEBRUARY 9, 2008
- First Annual Sisters' Meal Out
- (Courtesy Maureen Saxton)
- View the Slideshow
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Bill Radke: Maureen, why is this song the soundtrack to your weekend?
Maureen Saxton: My mom basically expected our house to be cleaned on Saturday. I think being a mother of eight children, one day of the week, this house was going to get in order. And that was our Saturdays! We were not allowed to do anything until the house was cleaned!
How did the music go along with the cleaning?
"Oklahoma!" That particularly spoke to Saturday to me. When I watched the movie, it starts with Curly riding through the cornfield and singing, "Oh, what a beautiful morning." And even from the earliest days when I saw that movie, and then saw the play, to me it felt like Saturday morning because there was a dance that night.
Oh yeah.
A couple of us got involved in plays, especially my sister Colleen. So a lot of our Saturday chores were driven around what play Colleen was in that year.
When you hear this music today, do you smell the Lemon Pledge and the Ajax?
Yeah, absolutely. I smell that, but I also think of the great feeling of Saturday night. Saturday night was the one time where the house was serene and calm. While we were cleaning, a tradition for my mom was that she made lasagna for us. She always made bread; we only grew up on fresh bread. She'd make it garlic. So we had this great smell of lasagna, garlic bread and Mr. Clean! And that would be really nice. I miss it.
I've never heard those three lumped together before.
Yeah, it's the original aromatherapy!
How do you listen to this music now?
I love it so much. I actually have it in the car. My daughter knows the song. She's been listening to "Oklahoma!" for years now. We go to everything from high school to big name productions. And to me, it reeks of family. It's all about family, and I want my kids to enjoy it as much as I do.
Maureen, thank you so much for sharing your weekend soundtrack with us.
You're welcome.
More stories from our Weekend Soundtrack series
Comments
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02/09/2008
Who was singing the songs from Oklahoma! in your broadcast? He had a beautiful voice and should have been given credit.
From Eden Prairie, MN, 02/09/2008
I so understand....I could swear Maureen was my sister. If not my sister, one of my neighborhood friends. Maureen's story is the story of my entire growing-up-on-a-farm neighborhood. No one could play until their houses were cleaned. Then unbridled bliss of running free outdoors. The "chores" made the running free even more fun.
My mom had us listening to country western songs. Johnny Cash and June Carter were the favorites. Haaa, yes. I can still taste the warm homemade bread with peanut butter. It was a GREAT childhood.
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