Judy Gomberg puts a funny, heartfelt and humorous spin on being a boomer. She beautifully captures the songs of our lives as our memories grow longer, deeper and stronger.
“We’re having such fun. We’re going golfing. We’re having such fun. And feeling fit. Isn’t it mad? We’ve never had so much fun—- Let’s quit.”
— Sondheim—1956 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Ambition only superceded by talent.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”
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 stand Tall. You threw a lot of spaghetti and All of it stuck to the wall.
It’s 4:45 when we begin thinking about dinner. We have an hour to get ready.
We put on a new blouse and hope It won’t get a food stain on it. This is new. We walk out the door.
We’re on line at our go to restaurant of choice. Long line but we are in the door, getting closer to the table. We grab some after dinner mints at the counter and a couple of tooth picks while we wait. If we order the corned beef and it is stringy the toothpicks will come in handy. Oy, the beeper they gave us to hold just went off. We push through the crowd, disregard the dirty looks. We’re in and being escorted to our table. “Excuse me sir maybe you got a booth? My husband has a bad knee, is a lefty and needs to sit on the outside and with his leg facing out. TMI- Again a dirty look, alas we are sitting.
Here honey have a pickle, it’s a good mix and they have the sour tomatoes you like. We catch up with out friends about medical stuff and get it out of the way.
I point to my mouth as to signal our friend that a piece of coleslaw is stuck to her lipstick. Yup, not a good look at any age. So we open the menu of oh so many choices. Excited that the two sides with our main course we can “substitute” did you ever? A potato knish or potato pancakes instead of baked or mashed. Glad we swigged a little mylanta on our way back into the house because we forgot oh, well something. Our orders are in. Only took twenty minutes for four people to decide. Not like it is ever an easy order going through the book of choices. Unless you had a willy for something. Like you could taste it. “Saul my friend says to her husband of all the many items to choose from a hamburger deluxe with sweet potato fries is what you are getting.”Saul says to my husband, can you believe with everything going on in the world you would think if I want a hamburger it would maybe, just maybe once go unnoticed and not a gonza magilla. Do I tell her a side of balsamic dressing is not going to matter in her salad if she orders the fried chicken as her main?” Ok, so we get our food and only one of us returns something- a veritable miracle.
My friend sent her fried chicken back, she only likes dark meat. She says go ahead eat. Your meatloaf won’t taste good cold. So we talk over one another. We know every detail about their grandkids camp experience and how long they waited at the airport when they went to Aruba this summer.
The table is cleared, a new dessert menu is handed to us. Wait, oh my they have the Boston Cream Pie tonight. I ask my husband if he wants to share, I suggest four forks and one dessert. You would think I was taking their toys away. No, my friends husband Saul says I am getting my own. Under her breath I hear my friend whisper “ maybe get the jello, you ate every sweet potato fry. Then “ give a kick” he says to her- mind your own sweet potato fries, did I mention that you inhaled the potato pancakes like they were going out of style.
Goodnight, it was great seeing you we yell out the car window. Same time, same place- next week. We took the flyer at the door it says the specials are chicken in the pot or flanken. See you in the morning at water aerobics. Vayismir I am so full.
“These are the days I will remember. These are the faces I need most. Everythin’ changes but I’ll keep forever. These days I will remember, these days I will remember…” Tyrone Wells.
Repost during the dog days of Summer.
“When I was just a little girl I asked my mother what will I be? Here’s what she said to me. Que sera, sera, whatever will be will be. The future’s not ours to see. Que sera, sera. What will be will be.”
And then she let go of my hand and “what will be” became what is.
How much easier life would be if we had a crystal ball for which to see. The future would unfold before it came. Minus the struggles, our choice of game. Challenges and misfortunes factored into the mix. Gave us our backbone our strength to behold. But just for a moment with a dream in place. Take away the name, add a new face. If we could throw our troubles into a pot. Would we take ours back and be grateful for what we got? I suppose we would, but just for today. With a dream, a prayer and a fantasy intact. We’d like to think of not taking ours back. With less of that and more of this. The hardships, the strife wouldn’t be missed. We have lost so much and gained even more. As fate unfurled, at our front door. The cards were dealt, we carried out the plan. A divine order in place, sensibility kicking in. We followed the plan. Kept our eyes on the win.
“When I grew up and fell in love I asked my sweetheart, what lies ahead? “Will we have rainbows Day after Day. Here’s what my sweetheart said. Que sera,sera. What ever will be will be. The future’s not ours to see. Que sera, sera.” Make it a great weekend!
A well sought after dream is to go through life loving lots of things. Your coffee and a muffin or perfectly toasted bread with butter and jelly in the morning. The older we get the more appreciative of the simplest things we become. As sybaritic pleasures go living with a dog is an emotionally healthy dream. Pumps up cortisol with every hug. Now more than ever with such prevalence for rescuing dogs and fostering them, it has become such a wonderful way to pay it forward. My #niecestopieces and their families all have Very Cute family member dogs. Sal, Cecelia (CC) and Jamo. My niece and nephew Jackie and Frank , their children and my sister Roberta recently lost their dog Koda. She was very much like my niece Jackie who is an R.N. at Westchester Medical Trauma Unit and helps manage the unit. She just turned 32. Jackie is a fierce and loving care giver. The paradigm for Loyal.
Yup, Koda helped to watch over her children. She was her dog soulmate. At this point they luckily still have Sal. Sal is a one eyed pug who lost his eye when he fell backwards off the top of the couch. He is a very good boy. He keeps on keeping on. He was left with sight in one eye, but has keen vision as to what really matters. Not shortsightedness here . In a most human like way he craves love. He is an endearing nudge. As long as you “throw him a bone,“ or pat his head- he’ll look like he is winking “grateful.” He just had a procedure done( tmi) to help his bladder. In the hospital for several days while he is mournig his full time buddy Koda, his bff all of -his 6 1/2 years,
Sal came home today from the hospital. He strutted back into the house and in such a Sal way and theoretically said “I’m home.” So at any given moment, on any given day, when we allow problems of abundance to get in the way of feeling good and keeping our eye on the prize- think about Sal and his ability to appreciate just being alive. Yup! Run on sentence. Ok Sal go to the first row of the audience. You will be escorted by your family to collect a Family Collaborated Winners Circle Award. They never let you down. You exemplify Courage! – “And when the night is cloudy there is still a light that shines on me. Shinin’ until tomorrow. Let it Be! Let it be!”
B.N. Before Netflix- on our T.V.’s with rabbit ears antennas.
On some “Grey” days we binged as Mc Dreamy took care of Don Draper and diagnosed it as just too much day drinking. We were left confused after Sam Seaborn ( Rob Lowe) exited the West Wing, while salivating over Carmela’s “Sunday Sauce.” Yum to those meat-a -balls. Bada a Bing style. Cannolis from Veniero’s for dessert Please.
And so the story begins when corned beef and pastrami meet on the corner of Potato Knish and Dr. Brown’s Soda. They bump into the Salami on rye with deli mustard sandwich and a pickled tomato from Katz’s deli.
As they all get ready to watch Mr. Ed whisper to Ozzie and Harriet a cute story about (ok who remembers their neighbor?) Thornyp- Played by Don Defore. Yup! They are meeting over at Donna Reed’s house to watch the Beaver and his brother Wally take on Ken Osmond a.k.a. Eddie Haskell in a game of H-O- R- S-E, in their driveway. After a pot luck dinner, where their luck kicked in with an end cut from the roast beef and bread pudding for dessert they sit around the piano and sing out loud with My Little Margie, Aunt Bee who is getting a ride over with Barney and being escorted by Opie. Oh “kay” then.
Their honored guest is Cosmo Topper. Is the rumbling from behind the curtains coming from George and Marion Kirby Cosmos famed ghosts only he could see? Once we heard a dog bark we knew for certain it was Neil the Kirbys goofy Saint Bernard.
Onto the next after dinner game of Clue which was positioned on top of Monoply in the game closet. We wait for That Girl (Marlo Thomas) to be Bewitched by (Elizabeth Montgomery) all the while Ann Sothern, who came with Don Porter is taking the minutes of the day. Eddie Albert shows up with the fur clad, diamond bearing Eva Gabor from their Green Acres Pad. We all know New York is really where they want to be.
A good time was had by all and they played until they narrowed it down to either Solicitor Peacock or Colonel Mustard being the bad guys who did in Boddy Black. Those were the days…
After sorting through the coats that were pilled on top of the bed in the “master” bedroom they got ready to go home just as Jim Backus announced “I Married Joan,” they all agreed that everyone Loved Lucy.
The category is Sitcoms in the Sixites. We’ll take Columbo for $1000.00 Please. And I quote – “Just one more thing. There’s something that bothers me. One more question from my Wife. What did you pay for those shoes?” Make it a great Saturday and step up your Wheel of Fortune.
Rummaging around the terrace for fruits of our labor. We’ll share a piece or two with our friend and our neighbor. And I quote David Whyte- “the ultimate touchstone of friendship is witness, the privilege of having been seen by someone and the equal privilege of being granted the sight of the essence of another, to have walked with them and to have believed in them, and sometimes just to have accompanied them for however brief a span, on a journey impossible to accomplish alone.”
Hang around someone’s laughter. Your days will carry a bounty worth the price. Without much effort, in the absence of strife. We only live once, not sure about twice. As adventures roll out 10 for a dollar. Make them work the the first time, it doesn’t take a scholar. Visit arcades, take pictures, ice skate galore. Days filled with penny candy. You can’t ask for more. Go bowling, have parties, Dream Big, and sing songs. Play 9 holes with precision. Hit the ball straight and long. As life marches forward add some lyrics to your song. Pick daises, make wishes, play kick the can. Have malteds, ice cream sundaes, Salted pretzels galore. Kale chips and oat bars are really quite the bore. Play mah jongg, canasta, bid the Baron 3 clubs. Be daring, add some lyrics, double down, take a stand. A Grand Life worth living – Dancing as fast as you can! Have a Fun Wednesday.
Norman Lear’s sentiments in Carl Reiner’s documentary on aging “If You’re Not in the Obit, Eat Breakfast,” -exactly! His credo is find your “hammock” and live in the “now.” As he sees it the transition of time in between the “ok it’s over, to what’s next, is when his productivity kicked in. At the end of a writing project, leading with humor and sending a message -he kept hundreds of people in his audience laughing. And I quote- Go Beat that- Happy 100 years yesterday Mr. Lear.
HBO launched the documentary, catch it if you can. Mel Brooks is hysterical , Dick Van Dyke glides across the dance floor, Norman Lear is brilliant, Carl Reiner orator extraordinare. They were all Nonagenarians -Mr.Reiner RIP -Mr. Lear Happy “100” omg years.
A big take away message is if you spend too much time working off disappointments and complications you will be one miserable soul. Excuses hold no water when they are used without discretion. Limiting your “woe is me’s” gives you more time to go for the gold. Give hugs, get attention where the tariff is reciprocal and strong.
The future might be an assumption but when you “find yourself in times of trouble ,” find your version of Mother Mary and become the ambassador of your estate. One thing the long “livers”had in common, whether or not chopped “liver” and french fries were mainstay’s, is that they fell in love with lots of things. They attached passion to their activities. They honed hobbies and had specific collections. Please pass the salt and pepper shakers -collection strong. Cole Porter, hit it- “The night is young, the skies are clear-So if you want to go walking dear. It’s delightful, it’s de-lovely, it’s delirious.” Make it a good week-end. You have a head start!
arosebyanyothername2016 