Before football ran seemingly for 15 months a year, now was the time that was "no sports" weeks for most small Michigan towns. Hockey and the NBA were small leagues (NHL had 6 teams once!) and there was no cable TV. You were stuck so to speak. High school and most college football teams had run through their 9 games, or pretty much so. Basketball at any level was a few dribbles away. Our sport now was raking leaves. Leafs 1, Raker 0.
At 4pm on Sunday, just when the sun was setting in the last days before winter, one of our 3 local stations played a movie - almost always a black and white masterpiece from the 30s. The music for the "intro's" to the show was Beethoven's 5th piano concerto (don't roll your eyes - this was the late 50s).
It seemed solemn enough and certainly evokes a black and white movie backdrop. I find the association when hearing the music - as I just did on the radio - to be as strong as a "visual". Our TV was in the corner near the fireplace so it was natural to stretch out on the carpet in front of the fire, sunset, that nice smell of our Sunday evening traditional meal of tomato soup and egg noodles along with fresh baked bread, musical breaks with my all time favorite concerto - the shear comfort of things pleasurable...I need now to go to the library and find a Carey Grant movie and remember the days before the Jets and FFalcons and endless pro football.