The Hills Are Alive

When I was in 1st grade, Greenville High School's annual musical was The Sound of Music.  With my mother as the director, my brother and I were cast as Kirk and Gretle.  I don't mean to brag, but I kind of stole the show.  Not only have I been told this...but I knew it...even at that age.  I was up on stage, and I absolutely knew people thought I was cute.  They even added a duet w/me and Capt. von Trapp - a very cute father/daughter moment.  I relished the attention all of the high school students gave me for 3 months of rehearsals.  I found my home.  That experience - at the age of 6 - solidified my love of singing.  I knew I could make people happy.  The Sound of Music also has a special place in my heart because it reminds me of my maternal grandparents.  They lived in Florida and we would visit them every spring around Easter.  It seems we always flew back home the night that this movie was on...so I have very strong memories of sitting and watching it every year with Gram and Pop-Pop before we left.  
As I grew older, I began to understand the story better.  I have always been interested in that time period in the world's history.  I  have wondered if this interest stemmed from my love of this movie.  World War II is such a horrible time in our history...but here is a touching, wonderful story of love and being true to yourself and your beliefs at any expense. It also enforces how music can help us deal with various circumstances - fear...love...boredom...happiness...confusion.  No, we don't go around singing whenever we're afraid or confused.  But we do listen to music to help us sort through things.  
The reason I'm writing about this random subject is that Oprah is having the original movie cast on her show this Thursday.  When I first hear this, I looked up airline tickets to Chicago.  No joke. I cannot wait to see Julie Andrews.  Have you ever been asked the question, "if you could spend time with one person other than family, who would it be?"?  My answer is Julie Andrews.  I adore her.  She's talented and classy and represents childhood memories to me.  Christopher Plummer...love him, but I"m still slightly intimidated by him.  I did see him in a Broadway production of the show.  I cried when he walked on stage.  
Of course Thursdays are my busiest days...kids after school, piano lesson and yoga keep me away from home until 7:30.  But you'd better believe I'll be DVR-ing it...and this program will not be deleted.  Thursday will be a frabjous day, indeed.