The Kitchen Musician ~ April 2022
Hello friends,
Are you looking for a song to lift your spirits? I gave myself an assignment to write one in praise of a convenience store. It was a lot of fun to write. Join me in the kitchen and I’ll sing it for you.
Index
NEWS:
THIS MONTH’S MUSIC: “The Mahwah WaWa”
UPCOMING SHOWS
FEATURED NON-PROFIT: CDC Mental Health Resources
Photo: by Hank Mixsell, 2019
News:
On April 11th my friend Kim Moberg and I will introduce The Know Better Do Better Project at Club Passim, along with several other Iguana Music Fund grant recipients. This is a free, live and in person show.
Also coming up this month, I return to the New England Folk Festival on Sunday, April 24 (online). My first show is at 1:00 pm with my good friends Peter Fischman and Deb O’Hanlon, and in the second show I join the good folks of the Children’s Music Network at 3:00 pm.
Click for the details of these and all upcoming shows.
This Month’s Music:
“The Mahwah WaWa”
“The Mahwah WaWa”
© 2022 Tom Smith (ASCAP)
Over the years I have spent a lot of time on the New Jersey Turnpike and Interstate 95, and on smaller byways through Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, Washington DC, North Carolina and further south in Florida. In these states and territories there are 961 WaWa convenience stores, where you can purchase pretty much everything you need as you travel this amazing country; and quite a few things that you don’t need. On their web site, WaWa says “we’re on the journey for boundless convenience.”
One time, while traveling through northern New Jersey, my wife Margo and I got a bad (good?) case of “the goonies.” I am not sure, but I think Margo and I invented that term. “The goonies” is when fatigue takes over and ordinary things seem extraordinarily silly. Perhaps this has happened to you? It isn’t really “the goonies” unless accompanied by uncontrollable laughter.
On this trip we were heading back to Boston after visiting Margo’s brother and siter-in-law near Philadelphia. Early that morning we filled up the gas tank (and our lunch box) at the local WaWa store. After many hours spent in stop-and-go traffic, we reached the northern extremity of the New Jersey Turnpike by mid-afternoon. At this juncture there is a famous pit stop near Mahwah. When we got off to refresh ourselves, we were disappointed that while there was a WaWa in pretty much every NJ town, there was not one in Mahwah. For the rest of the trip, during occasional periods of silence one of us would say “Mahwah WaWa” under our breath, then we’d both break out laughing. That of course led to episodes of laughter launched by other examples – like the Wichita WaWa, Walla Walla WaWa, Wakisha WaWa, Chautauqua WaWa, Tomaqua WaWa – and if they go international, there is of course the Okinawa WaWa and the Guatamala WaWa.
Fast forward to four days ago: I have been struggling with my emotions; privately in and out of tears for weeks. The front page news has been overwhelming. Tears come at odd times – when I hear a child singing, when a grocery store customer says “thank you” to the person restocking the shelves, or when I heard the wood frogs emerge from hibernation to loudly croak they are ready to start another generation.
Strangely, in the middle of this emotional roller coaster, the memory of “the goonies” trip through Jersey came to mind. Maybe writing a song about it would help lift my spirits? How about a promotional song for the imagined Mahwah WaWa?
The song started to work its magic even before I’d finished writing the first verse. I found myself laughing at the silliness of this song, but also at my own creativity. I shared a first draft of it with my Children’s Music Network friends at our weekly virtual song swap. While singing it, I saw my friend Nancy laugh so hard she snorted tea out of her nose! We all had a good laugh as they sang along while muted. Afterword, several said it was their first good laugh in a very long time. This reaction was a great gift to me, and an encouragement to share this song and story with you.
I hope that you can give in to “the goonies” from time to time, or to just find something to smile about and be grateful for.
Steady on my friends,
Tom
(If so inclined, I invite you to leave a comment by scrolling to the end of this page.)
#WaWa, #Mahwah
Featured Non-profit
The Center for Disease Control and Prevention: Seeking Help
For obvious reasons, we are experiencing an unprecedented amount of stress. If you or a loved one find it difficult to cope, I encourage you to ask for help. If you are in the United States, these free and confidential resources from the CDC are a good place to start. Outside the US, please find your local mental health organization.
Tom
March 25, 2022The Mahwah WaWa
© 2022 Tom Smith (ASCAP)
All rights reserved
If you’re driving north near Hackensack
And really have to pee
Or you need a cup of coffee
I know the just place to be
It’s right outside of Mahwah
On route seventeen
While your there fill up you tank
With some WaWa gasoline
CHORUS:
At the Mahwah WaWa
A place where everybody knows my name
The Mahwah WaWa
I’m in the Mahwah WaWa Hall of Fame
There’s a bagel with smoked bacon
On top of egg and cheese
Or in select stores only
Fresh made salad if you please
You can buy a WaWa T-shirt
Or other WaWa gear
And if you’re 21 or older
You can buy a WaWa beer
CHORUS
I reach my destination
And I turn off the car
Put my feet up on the couch
Strum my old guitar
Then I hear a waffle sizzli
Calling gently in my ear
(But) There’s no WaWa in Chautauqua
Or anyplace near here
There’s no WaWa in Chautauqua
I think its time for me to take a ride
To the Mahwah WaWa
A chalupa with a smoothie on the side!
CHORUS
[SPOKEN TAG LINE] “on the journey for boundless convenience”
Carolyn Brodginski
March 29, 2022Your playfulness and creativity are inspiring, AND just what the doctor ordered. Got me thinking. We just returned from Houston, Texas, where my husband’s uncle drove us around in his LEXUS!…;)
Tom
March 29, 2022Glad it gave you a tickle, Carolyn!
Sally Baker
March 26, 2022Tom — I LOVE this song! Growing up in Wilmington, DE and visiting Philadelphia frequently, I am of course familiar with the Wawa stores. There’s a Wawa within walking distance of my brother’s house in Narberth. They make really good sandwiches there. I had never heard of Mahwah until one of my nephews got married in a hotel there. So, yes — a Mahwah Wawa makes perfect sense while giggling. Thank you!
Tom
March 26, 2022So glad this touched your funny bone. Yes, I also think that WaWa is doing a lot of things right. Humor is the sincerest form of flattery. 🙂
Steve Rapson
March 26, 2022A fun story and song, Tom. I avoid tears by avoiding the news. Is that so wrong?
Tom
March 26, 2022Not wrong, Steve. Everyone finds their own way to deal with it. Thanks for listening. I see there are a lot of WaWa stores in Florida.
Deborah Goss
March 26, 2022Wonderful!…thanks so much for the laugh. I guess we’ve all had the ‘goonies’, just not much lately as ‘all this’ has lead to an emotional place I’ve simply never been before. Sounds like I’m not alone. I wrote a slightly goonie song too a few weeks ago – it helps a little and I’m glad it showed up! I’ve noticed a couple of others finding humor during dark times. On the flip side, one of my favorite roadside convenience stores (an old general store in Sharon VT – formerly with creaky floorboards and tasteful gifts and snacks) was recently changed into a giant, obscenely crass version of the typical bad convenience stores, not an ounce of nutrition or folksy-ness anywhere. I’ve made notes for a song, but it’s not a happy one. However, I refuse to stop smiling — the old place is still in my mind’s eye.
Tom
March 26, 2022Take care, Deb. Music helps – whether that be a song that is silly, sad, angry … or however you can let the pressure off.
Paul Weilage
March 26, 2022Shared your song with my son and he inquired if you got a discount on gas for the publicity you might want to try even if you don’t have a Wawa close to home
Tom
March 26, 2022Thanks for sharing, Paul. I am hoping to leverage this song into a WaWa commercial… or perhaps as trade for a handful of beef jerky. 🙂
Nancy Hershatter
March 26, 2022I think the chain should
expand and open music stores so they can sell WaWa pedals.
Tom
March 26, 2022You are a marketing genius, Nancy!
Jon McAuliffe
March 27, 2022We’ve all had the Mahwah wa-wa’s in one way or another. This is a lovely song that reminds us to lighten up and laugh – at life, at ourselves, at the most grim situations that CAN make us laugh just the same, after a while. Great song, Tom, and VERY singable with a great chorus.
Tom
March 27, 2022Thanks Jon. I miss sharing songs with you.
Pat Kenneally
March 27, 2022Love it Tom! Made me laugh out loud. A much needed laugh out loud. Thanks.
Tom
March 27, 2022That’s the goal. 🙂 Glad you crossed the finish line, Pat.
Phil
April 16, 2022So nice and funny, Tom! I discovered WaWa on my recent road trip through some of the States you mention – the name made us smile too, but now I really have “the goonies” listening to this song – thank you! :))
Tom
April 25, 2022This makes me smile, Phil! 🙂