This Is The Day I Was Born

 Well, yes, I was a few months old when this photo was taken.  I remember the cloverleaf table I'm sitting on.  I remember, during World War II,  saving bacon drippings in a jar that sat on the stove  Why?  We were told it was needed for the war effort. 

I remember being in elementary school and listening to General MacArthur's "Old Soldiers Never Die" speech on the radio.

I was in Atlanta and South Florida in the 70s doing civil rights work. It was scary, but we thought we were invincible.

My life has been filled with adventure.  Much of it brings good memories,  especially my big family that continues to expand.  

Eleven years ago, on my 75th birthday,  I wrote a blog posting very similar  to this one.  I said I was the happiest I've ever been.  

That is no longer true.  While I'm reasonably content and still living a full life, I have suffered loss.  Loss of those very close to me, loss of my ability to travel and attend big venues, especially church.  My life has narrowed  All of my middle-aged children, and other family members, have experienced their own losses, some small and some huge.  It's my choice to live in that space with them, as best I can. And, of course, the flip side is that I get to share in their triumphs as well. 

My friends, who truly keep me centered and sane, are fading.  Some are gone. Some are still, like me, on the journey.  They, along with a few family members,  provide me with, among other things, intellectual stimulation which I require on a daily basis to stay happy.  

Loss is the price we pay for living a very long life.  Along with it, if we're not cognitively impaired, we can model the way we believe oldies should behave and how we should be treated.  When my doctor's assistant calls me "young lady," a demeaning title for an old woman, I can't let that slide.

My faith is strong, my sense of humor is in tact, and I still have miles to go before I sleep. 

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Oklahoma!

My granddaughter is a theater major at Palm Beach Atlantic University.  When she was home for Thanksgiving she serenaded us with

several songs, including one from my all time favorite musical play and film, Oklahoma!

This reminded me of a story about the great Agnes De Mille,  She was an extraordinary choreographer.  She was also funny and full of herself. 

For the play and later the movie, Oklahoma!, she choreographed the Dream Ballet that appeared in the middle of the story.  The first half of Oklahoma is a lighthearted story of a girl trying to decide which boy to invite to a picnic.  The second half is dark and scary.

The Dream Ballet seamlessly accomplished the transition.  De Mille did this for many famous musicals of that era. 

The play, Oklahoma! first appeared on Broadway in the early1940s.  It was the quintessential story of America at the turn of the century.   In an interview with her friend, Sylvia Fine, De Mille said that service men, on their way to Europe during World War II, sat in the back rows, many of them with tears streaming down their faces. Oklahoma symbolized "home."

But the most amazing thing De Mille said in the interview was this: London, beginning in the late 1930s, was blitzed by the Nazis.  The theater district, along with many other areas, was totally destroyed.

In 1947,  after the war ended and great Theatre Royal Drury Lane was repaired, Oklahoma! was the first of post-war wave of Broadway musicals to reach London's West End.  It received rave reviews and sellout houses, running for 1,543 performances. 

But the first night, when audience members were dressed to the gills, to watch this quintessential American play, they chose to thank America.  After the performance the entire audience linked arms and sang the entire score back to the cast.  

We know we belong to the land, and the land we belong to is grand.

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