Popcorn Trees.

Growing up in a Mormon household, 'Primary' songs were always on continuous replay: in the air, in our heads, on the piano. What is Primary? 'Primary' is the children's organization of the Mormon Church: a series of meetings on Sundays and various age-based rankings (starting with Sunbeams ~ age 3, up through Valliant ~ age 11). In Primary, the name of the game is singing songs. Sundays are days spent on cold metal folding chairs, warmed by the hot breath of kids crooning all around. My mother was generally poised in front of the crowd shepherding the voices with her hands, her eyes and her smile. To us, her singing children, she would send secret hand signals ('I Love You-s' with her two middle fingers bent).



Primary songs pertain to these trees in that there is one tune that has always had my heart. When, as a 12 year-old, I was trying to get the mental image of the Elephant Man out of my head on my way to dreamland, I would trill this particular tune repetitively. (Why my 6th grade teacher thought The Elephant Man would be a good thing to show his students is still beyond me). The song is called "Popcorn Popping on the Apricot Tree" and it goes like this...(pretend like you know the tune, and if you do, sing along):

Oh I looked out the window and what did I see?
Popcorn popping on the apricot tree.
Spring has brought me such a nice surprise,
Blossoms popping right before my eyes.
I could take an armful and make a treat,
A popcorn ball that would smell so sweet.
It wasn't really so, but it seemed to be
Popcorn popping on the apricot tree.

[Georgia W. Bello, 1924 and arranged by Betty Lou Cooney]
















In addition to all these lovely trees, a spring self-portrait.