As an apprentice under Oscar Hammerstein,

Consummate wordsmith brought words to the point of a rhyme.

His work spanned theatrical lifetimes, his sense of rhythm, was simply sublime. 

His content dictated the form as a sentence,

Turned a paragraph into a story through rhyme.

Sinatra sent in the clowns, and Bernadette Peters took a walk through the park with George.

Ambition only superceded by talent.

Like when “good things get bettter/bad things get worse/Wait—I think I meant that in reverse.”

He took us “Into the Woods” and in good “Company” were we.

Every theater lyric a short story, every line the weight of a paragraph you see.

“A funny thing happened on the way to the Forum with a “Little Night Music,”

And a “Gypsy” or three.

With “Passion” he composed the story,

From the “West Side” of the street was the call. 

Dear Mr. Sondheim, in our memory, you will always, yes always Stand Tall.

You threw a lot of spaghetti and All of it stuck to the wall. 

Have a good Saturday! In Sondheim-esque fashion-face the music, whistle a tune and sprinkle some passion as your day goes along. 🎼

No Smoking Zone-Lucky Strike strike me lucky. We pulled into a New-port- got up onto our Camel rode off toward Parliament turned onto Marlboro Plaza corner of Salem Square and ran into the Kent of Earl. All the while hoping our Chesterfield coat kept us warm and made us look Kool. We’ve come a long way baby- my has Virginia gotten Slim. Phew! Gratitude turns what we have into enough-

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5 people killed and 25 injured-

And now Colorado Springs -The fatal rampage inside Club Q-

“That certain night , the night we met, there was magic abroad in the air. There were angels dining at the Ritz- “And a Nightingale Sang in Barclay Square.” Words by Eric Maschwitz, music by Manning Sherwin. The song was written in 1939 in a French fishing village Le Lavandou right before the outbreak of the Second World War. Fast forward— On a steamy week-end eve you get dressed, put on your lipstick, turn off your music and walk out the door. You look forward to debriefing the week with a friend and meeting some new friends. You’re all set to chill in a high energy, safe haven club, on your local Barclay Square- the nightingales were singing. Dry martinis, familiar faces and music you listen to at home and know every word to. A perfect design for a five-star time. One would think. And then the World According to Garp doesn’t happen. No Lin Manuel, THESE senseless acts of tragedy are what is “promised.” Our promised land nearly 70 years after World War Two- on the the doorstep of World War Three. “Praising Isis, Gunman attacks Gay Nightclub, leaving 50 dead in worst shooting on U.S.Soil. Yes, on U.S.soil again and again. We scream in horror, we cry in disbelief as one more lunatic walks into one more gun shop and puts down one more stolen credit card. We then pay dearly for the laws that govern the strongest nation on earth. We pray for the insane and fund them in jail after they take away our freedom of choice, as to which place to dance the night away–that takes our Life away. In concentration camp like fashion we become prisoners of the loose cannon, suicide bombers who live to die. The adage of ” do guns kill people or do people kill people” is center stage again today.. One avenue for slaughter is 18 year olds being allowed to buy murder weapons. How long is congress on sabbatical from revising laws on buying over the counter rifles in a store that houses beef jerky too? Dear G-d please look in our direction. We need our backs covered and we are willing to double down for this.

Front and Center- through the years-

The Answer is Yes!

Can we have a play date?

Can you tie my sneakers?

I love cornichons- please just two more. 

Can we do an art project while we watch Sponge Bob?

Can we put on make-up and wear your high heels?

I think I will have pizza the kind that is square.

Can we go to the craft store and get chocolate croissants next door?

May I have some pretzels, the kind that is dark?

How much more time can I stay? 

Please call mom and ask for more time here-can I stay longer?

Please some more hummus to dip my carrots in.

It’s my sisters B-day, can We make her a card?

When we plant the terrace, can I plant watermelon seeds?😎

Next time get the yogurt with cookie crumbs on top. 

I think I will have french toast for dinner, I love it so much.

Can you make the water in the shower warmer? Please.

Ok, guys get ready it’s time to go home. 

Just five more minutes, it feels like we 

just got here.

I made this in school for Grandpa and you.

Look I got braces, they are purple and red. 

Can you come to hockey and watch me play?

I have ballet on Wednesday will you come to watch?

Can we build a lego, and we’ll leave it by you?—-

17 years and counting with 8 kids so close-to heart-Let’s do it “71″–We wish this on everyone. Bh

Botox and nose drops and needles for knitting,

Walkers and handrails and new dental fittings,

Bundles of magazines tied up in string,

These are a few of our favorite things.

Cadillacs and cataracts, hearing aids and glasses,

Polident and Fixodent and false teeth in glasses,

Pacemakers, golf carts and porches with swings,

These are a few of our favorite things.

When the pipes leak,

When the bones creak,

When the knees go bad,

We simply remember our favorite things,

And then we don’t feel so bad.

Hot tea and muffins and corn pads for bunions,

No spicy hot food or food cooked with onions,

Bathrobes and heating pads and hot meals they bring,

These are a few of our favorite things.

Back pain, confused brains and no need for sinnin’,

Thin bones and fractures and hair that is thinnin’,

And we won’t mention how much we forget,

While living in the moment, we’ve less to regret.

When the joints ache,

When the hips break,

When the eyes grow dim,

Then we remember the great things we’ve had,

And then we don’t feel so bad.”

Make it a fun Saturday!

Disneyland, Disney World add dolls in wheelchairs to ‘It’s a Small World’ attraction

They had no more raisin bran muffins left at our local deli so we went to corn, Plan B. The restaurant only had a 6:00 or 9:30 time slot available to dine. So yes, we went to Plan B. The bus was really overcrowded so we waited for the next one- Another Plan B decision. One and done meager alternative are you kidding me choices .

 Up early, in a time to make the donuts moment we watched the news as Christina Applegate, (Married with Children! Etc.) received her Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. She was barefoot and being held by her co-star Katey Segal. She was grateful and weepy as she explained her latest diagnosis of MS. 

In 2008 she had a prophylactic double mastectomy after finding an early stage tumor and receiving a BRCA1 Genetic Mutation diagnosis.

We binged watched her performance in the Dead to Me, tv series. What is touted as her best and funniest work, Anchorman, with Will Ferrell there were laugh out loud moments. 

She is a versatile actress. Funny, clever, engaging and relatable.

Her BRCA1 diagnosis makes her most relatable as our family is riddled with this deleterious mutation. Familiar indeed to surgeries and the aftermath.

In the everyone got something category we work with what we got and do all we can. Praying all the way to the new bra dept. 

Fast Forward- as we drank our early morning coffee and read the newspaper we came upon the story about Dolls in Wheelchairs at Disney. 

This newly added diversity representing a population of children, who in the everyone got something category live with the physical limitation of getting up and walking to the next exhibit.

In 2019 Ali Stoker (first caught our attention on Glee) was the first person on Broadway to perform from her wheelchair. She was paralyzed since youth from a spinal cord injury as a result of a car accident. She never begrudged her fate, studied performance art and went the distance, sitting down. If anything her disability served as a motivator and helped propel her all the way to her Tony winning performance in Oklahoma.

Ali Stoker has since become part of the #AerieREAL Role Model Campaign. It is a body positive and inclusivity initiative led by the underwear retailer Aerie. The campaign highlights a diverse group of women from varied industries and backgrounds and uses their unretouched photos in ads. 

So just for today let’s embrace our individuality, mix in our limitations and remember when it comes down to it- “It’s a small world after all.” 

How to Win Friends and Influence People.

Dale Carnegie won friends and influenced people he never met. His basic principle to aim for cheerful friendliness and approach things with zero ambiguity. Pushy tactics are not necessary when you carry your own concept of yourself. “Don’t criticize, condemn or complain.” His book has gone the distance on the daily, like our morning coffee, Al Rokers weather report and scrolling through Instagram. Eliminating gossip and judgements leaves time for forwarding junk emails to 10 people as an opportunity to win the lottery. Lol.

 His suggestions served as the prototype for all The Chicken Soup for the Soul publications. Helen Gurley Brown in her Cosmopolitan style, told it like it was as career and love life merged, through red lipstick and panty hose and we paid close attention. We watched, we must confess, early on when Phil Donahue met “That Girl” and interviewed Jean Nidetch (founder of Weight Watchers.) We learned the value of zero point foods and loosing some lbs.

Back to -Oh Dale, how your words resonated loud and clear upon first read and today when we need a reminder or two. That unpleasant look from so and so the other day had everything to do with them and very little to do with us. People project their feelings and own bias when their defending the one side of the story they didn’t hear.

We long for the long ago days when we walked into the candy store and put the new Betty and Veronica, Little Dot and Archie comics on the counter next to our bazooka and twizzler treats. How bout the primordial smells of the gum in the pack of baseball cards that one of the kids on your block shared with you? The very familiar smell of a brand new spalding ball lingers on in our bag of childhood memories. We believe our first art lesson was on Etch a Sketch, and early writing lessons happened through creating stories of where Barbie and Ken will go on their honeymoon. We thought Bermuda would be nice. 

One guilty pleasure we recall was chewing double bubble, piece after piece (not knowing we were helping our dentist enjoy his summer home with each bubble that landed smack across our faces.) Oh the 60’s where art thou now? Our world is bleeding out of control. Shootings on college campuses, in our local grocery stores and our grade schools are coming with rapid fire speed.

Fear when we walk down the block and into our CVS to find shampoo locked up is our new normal. PTSD, insomnia and binge eating a deleterious trifecta too common in our everyday. So Dale- just for today we will “Get busy, keep busy. it’s the cheapest kind of medicine there is on earth- and one of the best.” Thanks, Mr. Carnegie we’re in.

Dear Jamesy Gom,
We watch your strides so long.
Your hair “flows” out of its helmet,
Your “A” game far and long.
Your “cycling” of the “biscuit” as you “Bar Down” into the net.
A cause for a “celly” we are busting from the get.
You got the rink covered,
The opponents can surely tell.
While your friends were playing checkers in theory,
Your chess game very strong.
You are such a talented hockey dude.
Center rink is where you belong.

Senate Majority Blue all the way.

Freedom to choose, fingers crossed here to stay.

Truth in the numbers proved we came out on top.

The era of terror will hopefully stop.

Our tables while dining have no room for discussion.

We’ll hold on to Democracy, add an element of percussion.

The Wizard of “Oz” take the man made of straw.

A victorious outcome as they tallied the score.

We all came together, our voice strong and loud.

Your maga made creeps can no longer claim proud.

Our bodies, our selves we fought for our rights.

Threatening tactics added energy not strife.

We truly believe as United we’ll claim.

Forever as one our independent domain.