Our family took frequent weekend “road trips” to visit Grandpa, or spend some time in the sunshine of Eastern Washington. To keep the four kids from squabbling, Mom often encouraged us to sing.

“Mares eat oats and does eat oats and little lambs eat ivy…” “I’m looking over, a four-leaf clover, that I overlooked before…” “I’ve been working on the railroad, all the live-long day…” “You are my sunshine, my only sunshine…”

I know it frustrated Mom no end that none of us ever learned to harmonize. Grandpa called Mom and my two aunts his “Andrew Sisters,” and they all learned to play the piano and sing hymns and other tunes together in the parlor.

Conversely, I never learned to play the piano . As a young teen I learned songs from the older kids on the berry bus, headed for the fields to pick strawberries and raspberries.

“Found a peanut, found a peanut, found a peanut just now…” “John Jacob Jingleheimer Schmitt…” “Nobody loves me, everybody hates me, guess I’ll go eat worms…” “There was a farmer, had a dog, and Bingo was his name-o… B-I-N-G-O…”

Today, as it turns out, is the 99th day of 2014, which prompted this entire post… So feel free to sing along: “Ninety-nine bottle of beer on the wall…”

I wonder if anyone ever got all the way down to just one bottle of beer on the wall? Sure couldn’t prove it by me!