Helping After Hurricane Harvey On Sunday, I headed to the NRG Center with the quilt and a giant bag of puppets and props. I remembered the same kind of gorgeous, September day 12 years ago when I headed with the quilt to volunteer with Katrina evacuees at the Astrodome. Both times, I felt anxious and uncertain about how I would be able to help. This time my nerves had the added stress of sitting in traffic for 1.5 hours. I timed my arrival, just as the Texan football fans were exiting the the stadium's numerous lots. I reminded myself that standstill, football traffic, was a lot better than the horrible evacuation traffic 2 weeks earlier. The Shelter The huge shelter space seemed impressive compared to what I recalled from the Astrodome, when it held thousands of Katrina evacuees. But it still felt intimidating, as I headed for one of the 3 shelter areas, to volunteer. Spreading the Quilt I chose the area designated for women and children. I entered and spread the quilt next to a long line that was forming, to exit the area. The women were waiting to meet with Red Cross reps and it seemed to be a slow process. One mother with 5 young children, was more than happy to let her kids get out of line for a little fun distraction on the quilt. Then others came. Puppets, Songs and Crayons I felt pretty unplanned and sloppy as I sang some songs and pulled goodies from the bag. I fumbled with my wooden puppet because I had no chair to secure his dancing platform... I pulled out the marionette and his strings were tangled. The quilt kept sliding around on the slick floor... But the kids were sweet and appreciative, asking me where I got my pretty quilt and puppets. They helped untangle strings and adjust the quilt. One little girl ran off to fine a chair. And then they settled in. One boy asked if his dinosaur could dance with the puppet. Two toddlers with pacifiers sang the ABC's for me. Even a couple moms came and joined in with the crayons and paper and thanked me for coming. No child or mother shared a story or worry with me. I had no idea what their recent days had been like. I don't know where they came from. But I was glad to see there could still be smiles and a little laughter. A Drawing This is the picture I took home with me. A young girl drew the NRG Center with its colorful logo and a heart in the center of the building. She pointed to the stick figures at the bottom and said the shorter one was her. She pointed to the other and said, "This one is you." Then she handed me the drawing and said I could keep it if I wanted. I was touched. I stayed until it was dinner time. I was tempted to linger, so I could see how they served food to so many. I was tempted to wander over to the pet area and figure out how that worked. But I already felt out of place, with a few eyes looking towards the woman with carrying a quilt and bag. Even a guard laughed after studying me and said, "Volunteer?" I was sort of glad no one knew for sure.
I got in my car feeling lucky, that I was headed home to my undamaged house. I couldn't help feeling a little guilty, too.
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Finding Routine, After Harvey I returned to my senior groups 2 weeks after Hurricane Harvey hit Texas. I wasn't even sure if the Senior Center in Richmond was open, but I arrived with my quilt. When I entered the back door I could see the lobby was set up with donations for "disaster clients". Hugs and Stories, First The hugs lasted longer than usual. We had all been concerned, not knowing who might have been flooded and who might have been evacuated. It was a relief to see so many, back at the center. Some were quieter than usual and others were bursting forth with stories. There were a few tears and lots of comforting words. It was hard to know what my job was. Many obviously needed to talk, but I could see some growing more anxious with the hurricane focus. Distracted by the Lunchbox As we talked, I began putting the "school themed" props on the table and the focus changed. R. smiled to see the lunchbox and remembered his favorite school lunch.. which lead to a story of his godmother's homemade biscuits. M. said she didn't have a lunchbox in Honduras, but she had yummy hot lunches, thanks to Unicef. B. said she remembered bringing the same sandwich to school everyday. "I had homemade bread, with homemade butter and horseradish!" She laughed at how bad her breath must have been after lunch. "But it tasted so good!" Props Suddenly no one was talking about Harvey, because the things on the table were distracting us. The spelling book prompted talk of favorite subjects. The bell reminded us of all the ways teachers used to get our attention... with whistles and bells and even rulers slamming down on desks. Dancing in School M. asked me to get the music going. She had been stressed with storm worries and wanted to get up and dance. I played a jazzy version of Chuck Berry's "School Days". A few of us left our chairs and jumped up to dance. Some clapped and sang along. Others just laughed at the rest of us. In and Out I was glad so many were able to make it to the center on Tuesday. For some it took 2 hours in the senior shuttle, with road closures. Some came late and others needed to leave early. It was good to be reassured that so many were fine, after all. But there were others we didn't see... which lead to more worrying. Fewer Worries in the Afternoon In the afternoon I returned to the center where my senior quilt groups first began... thanks to my mom being a resident. When I walked in the building, I was reminded of 8 years ago when Mom was a new resident, hunkering down with other staff and residents for Hurricane Ike... and I was out of town. I had fretted over my mom from afar, but found her relaxed and happy when I returned. I remembe feeling a little grateful for Mom's memory issues. And on Tuesday, it was refreshing to meet with my afternoon gang where we happily enjoyed some living in the moment... with no talk of Harvey.
Walking to School A conversation started up about walking to school. V. talked about the mile long walk to and from school. "I had to walk home for lunch, too." V. also talked about a boy who used to get teased when he walked to school. "He was poor and only had one set of clothes." That reminded me of a story that B. told in the morning. She shared about a little girl who appeared one day in her Michigan grade school. "She just arrived at school one day and we'd never seen her. She had no shoes." She told us how the little girl had moved from Mississippi after her home had flooded. "She had nothing."
It was a sad, but also a fitting way to tie our school theme into the flood and storm news we had all been worried over. It was odd how the recent happenings affected our usually carefree group, but we also felt a little more bonded because of it. Hopefully our next gatherings will be a little less complicated. Back at the Shelter I headed back to the Women's Shelter when the roads cleared up after Hurricane Harvey. The moms were maybe more excited to see me, than the kids. The storm and flooding had kept kids from school for nearly 2 weeks and everyone was ready for distraction. We couldn't use the "Rain Forest Room" where I often gather with the kids on the quilt. That space was filled with donations, ready to be distributed to flood victims. I found another corner and sang songs and played games with the kids. Outside But the weather was gorgeous and lured us outside. Children who had been cooped up for days, ran up and down the climber and squealed around the play area. A few older kids wanted to color and draw, so we spread the quilt on the picnic table.
Dick, Jane and Sally Pickles I had a range of kids from 4 to 13 and they were wound up! I winked at the older kids to please play along with the puppet. I needed Pickles to help me calm these kiddos! Not only did the older kids play along, but they gave Pickles all sorts of advice about not being scared about starting school. One of the older kids suggested, "If somebody bullies you on the bus, tell the bus driver!" Chalk Pictures I wasn't sure if these kids would even know about chalkboards. Do they have them anymore? But they were eager to get their hands dusty and draw some pictures for me. I played a playlist of school themed songs. When Michael Jackson sang "ABC, 123", a few perked up like it sounded familiar. Not one child said. "That's Michael Jackson!" I was surprised. Seems like yesterday all kids knew the King of Pop. I stopped by today, a couple weeks later and the atmosphere is different. We've all been dealing with Hurricane Harvey and schools will be closed another week. Looks like my theme came a little too early.
Hurricanes Katrina, Rita and Now Harvey! As we prepared for Hurricane Harvey last night, I was reminded of our hurricane excitement, 12 years ago. Katrina In August of 2005, evacuees of Hurricane Katrina filled Houston's Astrodome. I lugged my Quilt and a load of "kid supplies" to the temporary shelter. I had no idea how I would be able to help.I remember being intimidated when I entered the eerie Astrodome. I found a spot in the sea of cots and tried to create a playful oasis for the children. Red Cross Shelter A few days later, I lugged my quilt and supplies to another shelter. A church in Sugar Land had been set up by the Red Cross, to house more hurricane victims. The smaller shelter was more relaxed than the big dome. I gathered children on the quilt for games and stories. I hoped I could also offer the parents a brief break from tending to their anxious or bored children. Rita I returned another day, but the atmosphere was very different. As I approached the building an anxious evacuee saw me carrying my quilt. "Oh, you can't stay here!" She warned me. "We're evacuating!" I obviously hadn't been keeping up with the news of Hurricane Rita, which was headed for Houston. Parents began gathering their families outside the building, where buses would soon arrive to carry them, once again to a safer location. I saw the big tree in the yard and spread the quilt. Songs, Games and Good-byes! I tried again to give the kids a positive distraction, with puppets and books and games. Parents readied themselves nearby, getting instructions and information about their new evacuation. When buses pulled up, parents came to get their kids. I discreetly handed bags to moms, with toiletries and a few surprises. I felt bad that I didn't have a bag for every adult and child on each bus. Evacuating My Mom When I got home, there was a message on my phone telling me I needed to come pick up my mom. Her assisted living residence was evacuating to Tyler, Texas. If we didn't get there soon, she would be put on the bus.I raced to get Mom and her best buddy, Tucker. She was fairly giddy about riding out the hurricane with us at the house. Her bag had already been packed. Preparing for Rita After hearing the horrific stories about New Orleans, Houston residents took Rita seriously. As the hurricane headed our way, half of our neighbors packed up and hit the road, while the other half prepared to stay put. Boarding Up It helped to have decent weather as we boarded up and moved lawn furniture inside. Skies We decided to sacrifice the beach ball and used a Sharpee to write a message with our phone number. By late evening, the skies grew dramatic, but there was no rain. A Positive Sign The rainbow seemed like a pretty positive sign, even if the predictions were awful. Hunkering Down After filling up bathtubs with water and eating a feast of barbecued chicken, we settled down to games. We headed to bed, wondering if sleep would be interrupted. Morning Skies The trees and clouds looked eerie in the morning light, but all was in place... except the beach ball. It was gone. Sadly, we never heard from any "finders". We hadn't lost power. Our bathtub water wasn't needed. We hadn't even wasted any gas, like some of our dear friends who gave up on evacuating and headed home after hours of standstill traffic. We lucked out... but there were many who didn't fair so well. Back at the Women's Shelter In a few days, I was back volunteering at the county shelter where I regularly did programs with kids. When I arrived at the shelter, I was met with a number of children who had recently moved in, after evacuating from New Orleans. Once again the quilt became a safe and cozy spot for children who had been through so much more than I could ever imagine. Harvey Last night as Hurricane Harvey headed for landfall, we watched the news with somewhat giddy anticipation. I sipped my wine and felt relieved that the eye was far south. I jumped and sometimes laughed, when numerous tornado alerts blasted on the TV. We sort of enjoyed our hurricane party and I feel a little guilty about that, now. What Did I Learn? It was odd 12 years ago to volunteer with hurricane victims, then suddenly realize I might become one. I'm glad we didn't become Rita evacuees. Even if we had dealt with more damage and drama, there still would have been no comparison. We had options about staying or leaving. We had a strong levee and cars filled with gas. We had resources and support available... at least I'm guessing that we had more than the people I met at the shelters. Natural disasters affect everyone. But there are so many people who have limited options about how to deal with a sudden disaster. That makes me sad. Harvey Update I wrote this post yesterday, but woke this morning to the news of Houston flooding. At this point our home is safe, but there are so many homeless in the Houston area!
As soon as roads are safe to travel, I'll take the quilt and head for one of the newly opened hurricane shelters... and see how I can help. Update #2! After posting this blog, our neighborhood ended up with a mandatory evacuation. My husband and I ended up becoming Harvey Evacuees for 4 nights. We were lucky and our house stayed dry. We're back home and the quilt is making rounds. Summers We Remember I wanted to fill about 10 boxes with crazy memory props. It was tempting to fill a plastic, kiddie pool with watermelon. But I've been trying to remind myself to simplify these gatherings. It's hard holding back. Games of Summer Most of our discussions revolved around childhood memories of summer and the games we played. Robert remembered playing baseball, among other things.
Margie shook her head and giggled about playing hide-n-seek. She nearly jumped out of her chair when she demonstrated how she used to leap out of hiding, to shout, "Boo!" Rainy Days Photos Spark Memories I unloaded more stuff from my bag, while the morning group amused themselves with photos of picnics, swimming, hammocks and beaches. It was fun to see how the old summertime photos brought laughter and chatter to one end of the table. I couldn't understand the Spanish, but I think stories were being remembered. Props At the other end of the table we had summer garden discussions. That of course lead to favorite summer foods, like watermelon and corn. That lead to talk of picnics and barbecues and how wonderful food tastes, when you cook and eat outdoors. We wondered if kids today even know that there used to be seeds in watermelon... and that half the fun was spitting them out! Where would you relax? We passed the chair around the group, to help spotlight whose turn it was. We heard about cushioned wicker chairs, in the shade of trees, dripping in Spanish moss. There were imagined rockers and hammocks and loungers, with views of rivers and cliffs and yards filled with family. A few were hesitant sharing in English, but other jumped in to interpret. We took off on a few fun tangents. One was a memory of being a child, picking cotton in the hot sun. "I remember taking a rest in the shade, lying on top of my picking sack." I loved that image of the cotton-filled sack, becoming a child's nap mattress. Summer's Beginning and End We discussed what was different about the beginning and the end of summer. Joyce said the beginning was full of anticipation, thinking about all the fun ahead. I talked about how I used to dread summer's end, when I saw store windows advertising "Back to School Sales". Betty laughed. "You didn't want to go back to school?" Betty lived in the country and she said there were lots of chores in the summer. "I couldn't wait for school!" She laughed. Bikes and Skates I shouldn't have been surprised that so many didn't have bikes as children. Bikes played a big role in my childhood summers. Surprisingly, more had memories of roller skates. Betty took hers to school and loved zooming down the hill on the way home. In my afternoon group, the skate on the table inspired a funny game, when Sadie balanced a couple of chairs on the metal skate. The funny toy-on-wheels ended up rolling around the table, collecting objects. (I never know how props will end up getting used!) Summertime Music I had some fun surprises from my afternoon group when I added a little music to the table. Sly & The Family Stone's, "Hot Fun in the Summertime" isn't a song that I expected anyone to recognize. But the easygoing late '60's tune, inspired some clapping and laughter. Bertha started with a slow, sweeping clap and others followed. Before long we were taking turns leading the others with our unique clapping styles. Again, this wasn't a game that had been planned. Dancing at the Table The music from the romantic movie "A Summer Place" was recognized by all. Immediately a few began to smile and sway. I was cautious, because this was a popular song, back in the day. Many of these folks were young and in love when the song played on the radio or at dances. Music can make memories surface and sober a group quickly. We kept it just light enough, by talking about dancing and then "dancing as a group" around the table. It's hard to compete with memories of dancing with an old sweetheart, but swaying and swooning and yes, laughing a bit as a group, was fun. Our spontaneous hand holding didn't seem corny or forced, it just seemed to fit the moment. None of us had our sweethearts with us, but we all had hands to hold. Summertime Heat When I played a recording of Gershwin's Summertime, a theatrical mood hit the group. I grabbed a folding fan and wiped my brow and fanned slowly. The fan made it around the table, with each showing us a little "fan drama". Carol made us laugh as she playfully peeled back her pretend-sticky blouse, then waved the fan. Many sang along with the old favorite. Mary accidentally changed the words. "Summertime and the women are easy..." Without teasing, I laughed. "The women are easy?" I'm not sure how many caught it, that the word should have been living, not women. But the giddy group broke into laughter. Sharing Stories, Hugs and Kisses In my afternoon group, I noticed how the cozy, air-conditioned room seemed to warm up with all our summer talk. But instead of slowing us down or making people cranky, our "heated discussions" seemed to lighten moods. It was hard to pull myself away from both of my happy groups on Tuesday. But in my afternoon group, I've never felt the need to share about my health. Have the folks in my afternoon group suddenly become more affectionate or am I just now noticing the way they've always been? Either way, it's a nice thing to see. It's a pretty pleasant way to spend a day, observing, giving and receiving hugs! No complaints!
Utensils Yesterday, I once again brought a kitchen theme to my groups. At the Community Center, I tossed lots of vintage utensils on the table. That's all it took. The stories followed. My Sweet Bunch We started up, just identifying these funny old tools. I laughed about my grandmother's potato peeler, which I still use. Ramona talked about using a potato masher, to mash beans for Mexican dishes. Wooden Paddle and Whisk It was surprising how many remembered a stove like the toy on the table. Our only gentleman in the group, said he learned how to cook on one just like it. He must have still been thinking about his old kitchen stove, when he later answered my question, "What's the worst thing about cooking." "When the fire goes out." What's the best thing about cooking? Mary said "the aroma" was the best thing about cooking. Most agreed, and then we talked about our favorite kitchen smells. Others talked about the fun of cooking with others. That got us off on remembering our mothers in the kitchen. I heard stories or moms making tortillas and pies. I got hungry hearing about cornbread and cakes. Books, Movies, Songs After browsing through some of the cookbooks, we began to wonder if there were any books that revolved around cooking. Then we brainstormed movies and TV and got off on a tangent, sharing our favorite I Love Lucy episodes. There were a lot of good scenes that took place in the Ricardo kitchen! The Ice box I was surprised at the reaction to my miniature ice box. Quite a few had them in their homes and remembered the ice man delivering big blocks of ice. But the sweetest sharing happened later, when Wilma and Betty lingered as I packed up to head out. Wilma took another look at the ice box and told me how the ice was tied up in a rope for carrying. I was confused, since I'd heard about the giant tongs that lifted the ice. But Betty chimed in and they both filled me in, as they recalled together. "I got to keep the rope..." Wilma began. After the ice melted a bit, she could remove the rope and soak and soften the rope pieces in water. Then she removed strands from the twisted rope and curled the straight pieces on a pencil. "I made hair for my dolls." Wilma recalled with pride. "Oh, we couldn't afford dolls, we made our own." I'm not sure why this touched me so, but it was such a sweet moment. I loved imagining these 2 dear women as young girls, in their kitchens. I honestly felt a lump in my throat being pulled into their special memories. I shook my head and sighed. "Thank you so much for sharing. This is why I love coming here. We just have an ice box on the table and suddenly I get to hear these wonderful stories." "We Feel Safe" Betty smiled back and spoke. "And this is why we come. These things you bring remind us... and we want to share. We feel safe in sharing at this table." What I Learned: It was sweet to know that this group feels safe. Of course some do more of the sharing than others, but all are given a chance. I hope it's okay that I share here. I have no idea if anyone even reads this blog... it's mostly to record my good memories. I would never share anything more personal than these good thoughts.
Cinco de Mayo... A Little Early It's the first week of May and that always calls for a little Fiesta with the Quilt Groups. Since I just returned from a trip to Mexico, I was ready on Tuesday, to wear my new dress with the embroidered peacock. The crowd at the Community Center was ready for some fun! Music of Mexico We spent a lot of our time focused on music of Mexico. When I noticed that half of the group was singing the words with a recording of Maleguena, it made me curious about how many in our group were actually from Mexico. I learned that only 3 were born in Mexico, but 2 grew up on the Texas/Mexico border. One fellow was from Peru, one woman was from Venezuela and another from Honduras. A woman who is new to our group was French Guiana, while another new friend was from Puerto Rico! What an amazing mix, all joining in with the music! 7 Celebrations I think this is my 7th time celebrating Cinco de Mayo with this crowd. It's amazing to me that so many of the same faces I saw today were the ones I saw years ago. What a devoted group, that arrives daily to the center, for activities, lunch and friendship. I kept thinking back to a few years ago when I arrived one morning to find the table already decorated and ready for our "Fiesta Theme". Some even brought food to share. Flags, Blankets and Dolls Terry was my biggest contributor, this year. Not only did she bring a beautiful Mexican blanket and a doll in festive dress, she brought her own photographs from when she was young in Mexico. Best of all, she had sewn fabric together and gave everyone a Mexican flag to wave. I often worry if The Mexican Hat Dance is insulting or just plain cliche, but everyone always loves it. Instead of putting the sombrero on the floor, I put it on the table. There are usually a few that can't stay seated and have to dance, while others play maracas. More Seniors On Tuesday afternoon, I gathered with a very different kind of group. We had no one who spoke Spanish or had memories of mother's making tortillas, but we had just as much enthusiasm. Music again was the key. The festive sounds of mariachis coming through the speakers lifted spirits and got instruments shaking. Power of Music We laughed about how the music energized us and one woman reminded us that, music has a lot of power! We talked about how music can lift spirits or even make us sad. We talked about how singing can make working easier or make the time go faster. At one point in our discussion about music, a dear woman pointed to the tiny donkey piñata and asked, "Is that little donkey lost?" I have no idea where that came from, but I figured we should include her thought. "Well, he might just be lost. Let's just make up a song about that." And we did right then and there. How I wish I had a recording of the funny song our group came up with. Props Trigger Stories It's interesting how the table props often trigger memories. A woman in my morning group spotted the hand towel with an illustration of an adobe house. It reminded her of her grandparent's hacienda in Mexico. "I wish I had a picture of the old adobe house, so I could paint it." She remembered once when her family returned to Mexico and found nothing left of the house, but rubble. Oddly that thought didn't seem to make her sad. "I can remember it in my head!" She reminded us. Stories of Travel It was interesting to hear such different recollections of visits to Mexico. Dorothy was delighted to tell about her short visit to Mexico as part of a cruise. Ken said he had a chance to visit Mexico back when he was in the service. I questioned why he shook his head and sort of frowned at the memory. "I was told about the women... who were eager for the servicemen to arrive!" He laughed. Ken is bright and charming and tall, even though he is in his 90's and in a wheel chair. It made me smile to picture him as a very young man, intimidated by these ladies of the night! Learning Some Spanish I didn't have time for "Lotteria" in the morning group. They love the bingo-like game and there would have been time for nothing else. But the afternoon group studied the colorful illustrations on the game cards and had fun trying to pronounce the Spanish words. What different approaches. Today So today, I put on my second Mexican outift. (It's just too much fun to shop in Mexico) and I headed to another group for some Fiesta fun! Only there was no fun to be had. For the first time ever, I set up the table for a group and nobody came. That felt pretty un-festive! There had been a glitch with the planning. I hadn't been put on the schedule at the assisted living facility. Most of my usual gang was on a day trip and others were involved in another activity. So I packed up my sombrero and all the junk and headed home. That felt strange.
What I Learned: I always feel a little guilty celebrating Cinco de Mayo, since it's really more of a U.S. celebration... an excuse for margaritas. But especially this year, I realized how much my folks with Mexican roots, enjoy the focus on their unique culture. I'm so happy to see how the festive music, bright colors, and the fun talk of food seems to unite us all! A Good Theme for Spring I can't resist focusing on birds at least once a year. So once again, I collected mostly wooden birds (and one made of soap) from around my house and carried them to my Quilt Groups. So Many Kinds I had endless bird photos as well. We did lots of categorizing games... guessing birds by description and finally by sound. For a while one of my groups sounded just like the St. Louis Zoo bird house. All began creating bird sounds from ducks to roosters to crows... It got to be pretty crazy, ending with lots of laughter. Where's the Music? Mary likes to dance and she gave me a pretty hard time for forgetting my music speaker. How were we going to dance to "Rockin' Robin" and "Do the Funky Chicken" without my music? We sang a few, but the only ones we knew the words to were kiddy songs like Ugly Duckling and Little White Duck. So our singing was limited. Humor Betty has a great sense of humor and she teased that we were a bunch of old hens. That lead to quite a list of bird related insults. Bird Brain... Crazy as a Loon... You Old Crow... You're Just A Dodo Bird... She's Totally Cuckoo...Silly as a Goose...Lame as a Duck... He Has Chicken Legs... Bird Facts We had quite a few books for some of our quieter folks. Every once in a while an interesting fact was shared. Our Stories We heard a story about a bird that got into the house one night. A sickly relative was staying at the house, in a hospital bed in the dining room. She was barely able to speak with a tube in her throat, when the flying visitor woke her. She was so startled, she was able to rasp out the word "BIRD!" enough to wake the family. Evidently the ailing relative lived many years longer, because the nickname, Bird had become hers from them on. Chickens We heard more stories about farms and the dreaded job of chicken killing. A few said it had been their job to take care of the live chicken, before cooking dinner. One gentleman described in great detail, how grandma wrung the chicken's neck, with a special little snap. Ugh. I was surprised at how many had chicken killing stories. Forgot When I got home from 3 groups, my head was spinning with all the bird talk we'd shared. I looked down on the counter and saw my bird earrings I'd forgotten to wear. I guess I'll have to do at least one more bird theme to make use. Surprise Gift In the evening after my Quilt Groups I met with friends and one had a surprise birthday gift. It was a blank book with a beautiful peacock. I laughed that I could have used that as a prop during the day It's been a number of days now and I'm beginning to realize I have enough bird stories of my own and from others, to fill a book. I think I now have an idea how to use my gift!
Tap Dancing With Button Gloves I dragged a little "Old Hollywood" to the senior groups this week The gloves with buttons sewn on the tips, were a big hit. Feather Boas Feather boas helped take us back to the the Old Hollywood days. I played a recording of "Puttin' on the Ritz" while button fingers tapped along. We shared memories of our favoirte Fred Astair dance scenes. Who Tapped? A few recalled their tap dance shoes and some shared about dance classes. None of us had memories of being in grand productions, but the finger dances were stage worthy! Modern Screen The old Modern Screen magazine brought back lots of movie memories. Many of the women in my groups were about the same age as Shirley Temple and talked about their Shirley Temple dolls. I played a recording of "Good Ship Lollipop" and a surprising number sang along. We tried to remember what movies we saw when we were children. Mary said she remembered being dropped off at the movies to stay all day. I told one group about how afraid I was of the whale in Pinocchio, that I crawled down on the sticker theatre floor. Favorite Movies I asked if anyone could name a movie they'd seen more than twice. Quite a few had seen Gone With the Wind, numerous times. Lydia remembered when her small Oklahoma town opened up a grand new movie theatre. The first show was Gone With the Wind. She went to see the movie, but the theatre burned down shortly after. Red Carpet Talk We talked about the red carpet and how the stars are always interviewed and asked about their attire. We wondered what kinds of dresses would be seen at The Oscars on Sunday night. One new member to the group, shook her head with an annoyed expression. "I'm not sure what they'll be wearing, but you can be sure they'll be showing a lot of... " She waved her hands over her blouse and added "...cleavage!" Mystery Bag Each of the groups had a chance to pass the quilted bag around the the table and make a guess about what was inside. Only two in all groups could detect the shoe shape, through the material. No one guessed Dorothy's ruby slippers. The little shoes got us off on lots of discussion about The Wizard of Oz. I played a recording of "Over the Rainbow" at one gathering. Judy's voice seemed to transport the group to another time. Many swayed and some sang along. I was concerned about the melancholy tone and switched to a different recording, by a blues singer. I was curious how they would react to the new voice that started soft and soothing then became more upbeat and jazzy. I looked at the faces and most had smiles as they listened. Then a woman at the end of the table smiled a secret smile and nearly whispered, "Soulful."
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The QuiltFor 20+ years children have called it the Magic Quilt. They've danced and pretended all over these colorful squares. I've dragged it to schools, shelters and studios where children have climbed on top to hear Magic Quilt Stories and to act them out. Archives
April 2022
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