105-year-old retirement-home resident can still sing - chicagotribune.com

105-year-old retirement-home resident can still sing - chicagotribune.com

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Cold...

It is so cold in our house! I think it's because all of or most of our radiators were turned off. Before when it wasn't THAT cold, I turned them off because THEN it was too hot. I don't mind though. It's not that bad. But I am going to go around and turn the radiators on. Isn't this officially my stupidest blog entry ever?

Carol Burnett...

Riding high off of the 50's Broadway show, I wanted to share a bit of my research, most notably this video of Carol Burnett singing the song “Shy” from a tv version of “Once Upon a Mattress.”




This was restaged for television but gives you an idea of what her stage performance must have been like.

The down side of top siders...

I have worn some pretty ridiculous outfits in my past. I'm not talking about that big bird outfit I wore as a singing telegram messenger, I am talking about some of my chosen articles of clothing at various times in my life. Unfortunately, my early adult years took place in the 1980's. Early, early on in perhaps 1980 or 81, I went through a brief preppie stage. I wore Izod sweaters like everyone else, but I didn't feel I had completed my mission. I stumbled upon a picture in GQ and decided that THAT was what I wanted to look like and so, I went out in public (to the theatre no less) dressed as such...

We will start with a pink shirt and blue and green striped tie. Slip on some pink socks to match the pink shirt. For footwear, we will step into a pair of boat shoes or deck shoes... you know, Topsiders... the ones with the white rubber bottoms... Add a blue blazer with brass buttons and wait I am not finished... the pants... the pants were the best part in fact, the outfit doesn't really sound THAT bad but the pants took it over the edge. I had on a pair of khaki pants. Khaki pants?What is so “edgy” about that? Well let's just say that all over the pants were green embroidered whales!!!!!!!

I went out in public like that! I traipsed all through London almost as bad or maybe worse. Oh wait, yes, it was worse. Because I had a really neat - o matchy outfit that involved a red and blue thing horizontal striped polo shirt, a pair of bright red golf pants... the top siders and best of all and the finishing touch, a red beret. Oh for the love of god!!!! And the perm... the full afro head of dishwater blonde bouncy curls I attained from a beauty school student who cursed through the whole process and burned the back of my neck. I must say that I looked very much like an attractive lesbian woman for several years in my early adult years. Oh wait, ditch the attractive part.

No wonder I am bald now... my hair finally HAD it with me. “Yo, Dorn, down there underneath us, yeah, YOU! We are checking out buddy... no more follicle folly's for us. But don't worry, we will leave you slowly. The guys in the back will go first so that you won't really notice. But soon, soon you will just give up and put us ALL out of our misery with an electric razor.”

The worst was yet to come though because of a thing called, “Willie Wear.” These were baggy suits made of cotton material or sear-sucker and you would wear it either with just a t-shirt underneath or worse, a dress shirt (vibrant color preferred) and a BOLO TIE!!!!!!!!!

My friend Eric and I both had Willie Wear outfits and we proudly wore them to one of my first cabaret performances at The Raccoon Club in Chicago. I tried to find an image on google but there doesn't seem to be ANYTHING... it's as if Willie Wear just self destructed and left no evidence of ever having existed. But it did. Because I WORE it.

Eventually I would tire of Members Only Jackets and trendy trendy clothes that were in style for ten minutes at a time. Even my stone washed jeans and matching 80's jacket with the leather on the very broad shoulders.

My favorite era and and era of clothes I actually miss were the black turtle neck, jeans and combat boot uniform of the gays. I like wearing that. And let's see, what else? Maybe the t-shirt blazer with rolled up sleeves phase I went through in college. That was nice.

But as for those whale covered khakis... thank heavens they are now an endangered species of clothing... that is until those crazy young kids want to dress the kooky way mom and dad did when they were kids... or dare I say now, the kooky way grandma and grandpa dressed!!!

a memory...

I will wake up in the morning with a collection of memories. As if they come in packets. There is always the lead memory and then a bunch of fringe memories bubbling up around the main memory. This is THIS morning's memory...

I am in grade school in the cafeteria that has been transformed into the assembly hall (after having been a gym...) and metal folding chairs are placed in rows in three sections. I am at this thing called an “assembly.” It may have been the very first one I ever attended. What strikes me most interesting are the gaggle of teachers who are suddenly up on stage in a large group and they begin to sing the song “Kids,” from “Bye Bye Birdie.” I can remember Miss Talbert most of all. I remember thinking it odd to see our teachers up there on the stage (Oh forgot to mention that at the end of the cafeteria/gymnasium is a small stage.) It's odd to see our teachers looking so vulnerable.

And now the fringe memories... all related to this.

I remember Sandy Whitting and Jay Vandewalker suddenly appearing in winter coats, hats and mittens skipping up the aisle and singing “Christmas is Coming, the goose is getting fat...” I am awestruck by Sandy's amazing singing voice. She reminds me of Darla Hood from the Our Gang movies. I am wondering why and how they are suddenly now stars of the school up on stage singing and so well rehearsed with lines to say and more songs to sing... HOW did they (especially Jay) get to DO this? I WANNA DO THIS!!!

I remember my fifth grade teacher Mr. Tyrone. He had MS. He was in a wheel chair, a young man actually in his mid twenties. He was the teacher every fifth grader wanted to have and I was one of the lucky ones who got him. If you were in Mr. Tyrones class, you were a celebrity. He was different than all the teachers. Never had there been a teacher like this. He had a different way of teaching history for example. He would just TELL us the stories in a modern way. “So this Columbus dude... he decided he was tired of where he lived and wanted to find other places to go to and see... so he gets on this big ship and...” Never did I learn as much and as well in his class. Best of all, he played the guitar and wrote an original song for our grade school that WE, the celebrity class got to SING ONSTAGE at the assembly. Here are the lyrics to the song we sang:

(Sung against a rock and roll guitar beat)

H-I-G-H-L-A-N-D-S

H-I-G-H-L-A-N-D-S

H-I-G-H-L-A-N-D-S

H-I-G-H-L-A-N-D-S

WE ALL LOVE OUR SCHOOL

BECAUSE WE'RE COOL!!!!

H-I-G-H-L-A-N-D-S

Mr. Tyrone's health faded during the year but he kept on teaching. Even though he now was unable to walk with his crutch (as he did sometimes) he now remained in his wheel chair and had thick, thick glasses he needed to see the text book (his special one with the great big letters). But he still told us stories, he still got his guitar out and he taught us until that very last day of school. I think he died a couple of years later. But I am telling you, he truly was the Coolest teacher that there EVER was. And we all loved HIM because HE was cool.