Monday, April 1, 2024

A is for Annie Sweater

#AtoZChallenge 2024 badge A


I am in the process of sorting through everything in my parents' home, and in so doing, I have been looking through all my childhood memorabilia, the majority of which I hadn't seen since my parents packed up my belongings and moved them from the home I grew up in to this house some 45 years ago. My 2024 A to Z Challenge theme is based on the treasures I have found in the boxes and the drawers and closets. Join me on my bittersweet journey back to my childhood.

Disclaimer: this is a SUPER cringey story

I fell in love, deeply, madly in love, when I was 14. I'd had crushes before: Davey Jones, Bobby Sherman, Barry Cowsill, but this time, it was true love, and his name was John Denver. Sure, there was a little age difference, but I didn't see it as a problem. What's 17 years? I could get married to him and still finish junior high, right?!

I saved my money and bought all his albums I could find, Rhymes & Reasons, Poems, Prayers & Promises, Aerie, Rocky Mountain High, Farewell, Andromeda, Greatest Hits (which turned out to be Volume 1, but no one knew it at the time). I sat by my record player for hours, writing down song lyrics (and it was TEDIOUS, because I could only write so fast, and I had to move the needle back over and over and over and I'm pretty positive everyone in the house wanted to KILL me). If one of his songs came on the radio, or if he made a tv appearance, everyone had to give me DEAD SILENCE.

I was a bloodhound at research, and let's remember that this was before the internet, like WAY before the internet. I devoured every magazine article I could find on him. and that's when it happened.

I discovered there was Another Woman.

Her name was Annie and he was married to her. My heart was shattered, if only momentarily, because (prepare for dark thought here), meh, something could happen to her, and then we could be together (interesting that this was my Plan A, as the idea of divorce never crossed my mind; at that time in my life, I only knew one friend whose parents were divorced).

His album Back Home Again came out in 1974, and Annie not only was on the front cover with him and was so pretty, but he wrote the most beautiful love song ever just for her. I gave up hope for a future with him (mostly, anyway).








I was shopping at the mall with my mom not long after this and found a sweater hanging on a rack at Montgomery Wards almost exactly like the one Annie was wearing on the album cover. It was a simple maroon pullover with a scoop neck, just like Annie's, and from that moment on it became known as my "Annie sweater."

I wore it often over the next few years, and then it got put into a drawer for what turned out to be the last time.

I continued to love Annie's husband's music. The very first concert I ever attended was to see him with my friend Teresa and her mom Betty. I saw him in concert again when I was in college. I cried when he died in a plane crash in 1997. His music still makes me happy when I hear it.

Tour book and ticket stub from 1975
John Denver concert at Kemper Arena,
Kansas City, Missouri


And then I dug in a dresser drawer last weekend and pulled out...my Annie sweater. 

Sorry that I kind of wished you dead, Annie, wherever you are.


26 comments:

  1. Is your story cringey? Yes, it's a little cringey to imagine your celebrity love interests spouse dead and you replacing her? Is it super cringey? Probably not, on my cringe-o-meter. Is it SUPER cringey? No, but excessive use of all caps could be, so be careful! Here is more info on the 1st Mrs. Denver https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2988366/bio/ My theme this month is Holiday's specifically obscure made-up holidays. On the days that we feature vowels I make up my own holiday, of which today is Adult Children Appreciation day https://dave-homeschooldad.blogspot.com/2024/04/a-to-z-2024-is-for-adult-children.html

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  2. That's terrific. Not cringey at all. I also had numerous celebrity crushes in my tweens and teens. The ones that stand out are Olivia Newton John (Sandra Dee in Grease) and the girls from ABBA. I never bought or held on to any associated clothing items though. ha ha

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    1. Aww, thank you so much! My mom saved the sweater. I guess she felt sentimental about it, too!

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  3. Barry Cowsill? I haven't heard that name since high school or whenever the Cowsills came out. Were they ever even popular? I think my mom liked them.
    It's not a cringey story at all—it's pretty normal teenage crush/stuff. My husband and I still enjoy John Denver's music. He was one in a lifetime, and one can only imagine how popular he would be even now. From the sounds of it, I'm a bit older than you. It was my sister who loved Bobby Sherman and the Cowsills, etc. I even bought my sister a Bobby Sherman pillow cases for Christmas one year.

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    1. I was jealous of Susie Cowsill because she had all those amazing brothers!
      John Denver was such a talent! I'm sad that his life was cut short.
      Did your sister religiously watch "Here Come The Brides" so she could see Bobby Sherman? He was so cute!

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  4. I didn't think this was cringey at all! My fourteen year old self agrees with you through time and space.
    https://sheshamoka.com/

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  5. I don't think it was cringey either. And I still like John Denver's music. I never had a crush on him though. I think I was already married with at least one kid by the time he came along.

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    1. Thanks, Kristin! Yeah, already having a husband and child would probably preclude you from having too much of a crush!

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  6. As celebrity crushes go, John Denver is towards the top. Aside from the unalive thought, this was Wholesome. (Erin Penn - https://www.erinpenn.com/blog/)

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    1. I don't know that I ever actually wished her to be unalive, just, not there anymore. He was certainly crush worthy, though. What a cutie!

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  7. I didn't have all the albums, but I do remember our family had the Back Home Again album. A not-quite John Denver piece of trivia is that the dad of one of the guide dog puppy raisers in our group apparently was a dead-ringer for John Denver--so much so that he used to sign autographs when out in public!

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    1. That's so funny! Think of the people who think they met John Denver and got his autograph!

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  8. Aww. Your story is extremely touching and not cringey at all. Thoroughly enjoyed reading this bit of nostalgia. Please do check out my blog here: https://www.sundarivenkatraman.in/

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  9. I think it's lovely, you forgave him for being married already and kept liking him and his music.

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  10. Hey! I just left a comment for you on Lee's A-2-Z "A" blog bit. Be sure to check it out, or...

    You are *very* funny and I am going to figure out how to subscribe to your blog ("or... my name isn't Mary Poppins!").

    You've had cancer before?!
    Uhm... OK! So, is it safe to assume that you are now eating apricot seeds, like your doctor recommended? If not, please explain yourself - if you wouldn't mind. Thank you.

    ~ D-FensDogG

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    1. Thanks for the compliment! And no apricot seeds. Just Calcium and Vitamin D and E.

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    2. I don't know why, but Blogger won't allow me to Follow any new blogs. (Nor delete blogs I previously signed up to Follow.) I guess it's a "Google" thing, which I simply can't understand.

      Anyway... I recommend looking into apricot seeds (or, Vitamin B-17) and their ability to prevent, and kill all cancer cells. For many, many years I was plagued by skin cancer, until I started eating the seeds daily. ApricotPower.com is my primary source. (And, no, I don't work for them or get any kind of kickback. I'm just spreading the word, because I know God wants me to.)

      Bless & Be Blessed!!
      ~ D-FensDogG

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  11. Celebrity crushes are quite normal. I have had mine too!

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  12. What a touching story - funny how some people touch our hearts, and that those feeling can last a lifetime.

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