"MacArthur's Park is Melting in the Dark....

All the sweet, green icing flowing down.
Someone left the cake out in the rain.
I don't think that I can take it
'Cause it took so long to bake it
And I'll never have that recipe again, oh no...."



For some reason, the prodigious rains we've been having reminded me of Jimmy Webb's 1968 "MacArthur Park". It was recorded by Richard Harris that year and Harris' version is my favourite.

There was a lot of discussion about the meaning of the song. To me it seemed obvious it was about lost love. I don't think it had anything at all to do with cake melting in the rain.


The icing on one of Doug's first birthday cakes was white, not green. However, it does look like it could have been melting that hot August night in 1963. I know I made the chocolate cake he is eyeing in this picture; not sure who brought the white one, probably either Grandma Ruth Lynam or Grandma Betty Botkin.

The picture was taken in the kitchen of our first house (after two apartments) on the south edge of Brooks - what we referred to as the Hanzie house. It was a cute little two bedroom bungalow with an open porch across the front and a big yard. The man who inherited it when his parents died offered to sell it to us for, I think, either $3,500 or $5,000. I know it wasn't very much, though at that time it seemed like a lot. I also remember him offering us an antique bed and dresser for $25. The bed was carved walnut, as was the dresser which had a marble top. At that stage in my life, I hated antiques. How many times since then have I wished I'd been smarter?

We lived there a little over a year before the house was sold to Gene & Carolyn Dixon. Later they sold it to Richard & Virginia Westlake who lived there for many years.






This picture of my parents was taken at Grandma Ridnour's October, 1962. Their cakes were made in honor of their 25th wedding anniver-sary. Mom's sister, Lois, probably made and decorated the cake on the left. She made and decorated a lot of cakes for weddings, birthdays and anniversaries. I'm pretty certain she was self-taught. I can remember watching her make frosting roses and being quite impressed.


Rain and cake. Is 'MacArthur Park' the only song which links the two?