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My Other Spots:
JnutsJournalToo
Clayigraphy
My Saturday Evening Post
Schnoogles
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Family and Friends Blogs:
Whitney and Aaron
Daryn and Jon
The Girl I Mean To Be (Whitney's Blog)
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2006-05-14 - 1:18 p.m. My Life... or something resembling it.
The world began On October 13th 1954 in Pasadena, California. That was the day I was born, so I guess from my perspective that would be a true statement. The first home I remember was our little three bedroom ranch on Lawnwood Street in La Puente. Driving by it later, as an adult, I was amazed at how small it seemed, but for the first twelve years of my life it was the center of the universe.
I also remember holidays and all the mess and clutter that my mother painstakingly endured to make sure we all had the ultimate experience of whatever season it was. Our annual Easter event was making sugar peephole eggs, a project which would completely encompass our kitchen for days. It amazes me still how mom never let on how much the crunching of sugar under our feet on the kitchen floor must have bothered her, knowing what an emaculate housekeeper she's always been. One Easter, just before my sister Jeannie was born, she made the cutest dotted swiss dresses for Carol and me. Because she was teaching school full time at the time and hadn't been able to complete them until the last minute, she stayed up all night putting on the finishing touches, going to bed just as the sun was coming up. I'm sure this scenario was replayed many times during our young lives, whether it was a recital costume or a prom dress... we would always wake up to a wonderful creation laid out on the dining room table. I'm not sure that we nearly appreciated her sacrifices at the time, but motherhood surely teaches us.
Halloween entailed more sewing projects (our costumes were never "store-bought") along with the occassional haunted house, complete with ketchup dribbled all over the bathroom fixtures and floor. The memory of the smell of it reminds me that I am not nearly as tolerant a person as my mother must have been.
Needless to say, Christmases were awesome!
Another event that sticks out in my mind were the "days" that mom would give to each one of us during the summer. Since the school year was so hectic, with not much individual time allowed, one day each summer would be the thing I looked forward to most. She would leave the other two of us at home and spend the entire day with the other. Nothing was ever allowed to interfere. She would take us wherever we wanted to go. Sometimes it was a trip to Disneyland or Knott's Berry farm or simply a day of shopping for clothes. These "days" stick out in my mind among some of the most special of my childhood...
I don't remember ever not wanting to perform. I suppose much of that inclination took shape in the form of "class clown" in my younger years. It seems I always had something in the works; a living room recital, a garage show, a hula dance for the church luau. In 6th grade I casted, directed and performed in "The Sound of Music" with the participation of my Girl Scout troop. Needless to say, the girls outnumbered the boys in that production by a long shot. I did, however, write numerous letters to the Elvis Presley Fan Club, in hopes of soliciting his help in the role of Captain Von Trapp. *sigh* At that age, anything seems possible....
Ballet was a big part of my life in the early years, though it would take long into adulthood to fully appreciate the discipline of the ballet classroom. At the time I lived for the recitals and the glamor of it all.
At thirteen we moved up in the world to Hacienda Heights. Only fifteen minutes from my childhood home but far enough to throw me into a tizzy of disorientation. Nobody knew me... and how could that be??? It proved to be my first of many "startings over." During this time my best friend was Patty Duke (don't laugh) and I would spend hours ever day after school in my special little hideway under the stairs writing to her and pouring out my teenage heart. My energies were spent, not on my studies, but on devising and plotting a plan to get out of the world I was in and into the world where I belonged... Hollywood! (bwah)
In High School I thought I had truly arrived when, in Mrs. Bradbury's 10th grade drama class, I performed a "lip synch" to Barbra Streisand's "I'm The Greatest Star" and was subsequently asked to perform it in front of the entire student body. I was a "hit" for sure!... and it reinforced my determination to continue on the road to famedom. The next week, however, I ended up being diagnosed with mono and spent the next two months in bed.
I'll skip over all the rest of my High School years and all that took place in becoming "me", my obsession with Barbra, performing in one production after another and of course driving my mother crazy which is what it's all about when you're a teenager.
I graduated in 1972 and after six months of pursuing a Theatrical degree at Cal State Fullerton I decided that there was no better time than the present to hit the road and head to New York.. And so at age 19 I packed my bags and headed off to the "Big Bad Apple." New York was wonderful and glamorous, if you enjoy living on peanut butter sandwiches day after day for years and years. But at the time I loved it. I had no other choice. I did my time. Paid my dues. I worked for Bonds Department Store in the credit department for a while even though to this day I don't have a memory of what I actually did there. I supported myself with endless off-Broadway and off-off-Broadway shows (some that I'm not so proud of) and even more endless waitressing. The city had a very humbling effect on me. It made me feel so small and yet energized beyond belief.
In 1979 I landed my first real Broadway Show, "A Chorus LIne." I will never forget, as long as I live, the rush I had standing on that stage during the audition when the casting director walked up to me and offered me the part. It was the beginning of a whole new world for me. The National Tour lasted a year and took me to twelve major cities that provided me residence for a while, including... Hollywood, where we played the Pantages. Never during my teenage years would I ever have imagined that I would someday inhabit my very own dressing room on Hollywood Boulevard and be a part of that life as an "insider." It was definitely a dream come true. I think sometimes when we look back on our past we are able to remember a handful of moments that stick out in our minds as being truly wonderful. We are even more fortunate if we are able to recognize them at the time for what they are. This was truly one of those times. And given that, I consider myself extremely lucky.
Hollywood was followed by a three month stint in San Francisco, which stands out even more special as a special time in my life. It was there that I began dating a fellow cast member who I would end up eventually marrying. They call San Francisco "the city of romance." And it truly was.
In August of 1980 I was invited to join the Broadway Company of the show and made my debut at the Shubert Theatre in the heart of the Broadway district. Another dream realized. Brad and I were married in December of that year. During the run of that production I was able to experience some rare and awesome opportunities... one's that I will treasure for the rest of my life. Among them were performing at the White House for President Regan and again for the Iranian hostages and their families on their way back home through New York. I was also on stage during the very first ever "signed" Broadway performance for the hearing impaired.
Over the next two years Brad and I bought a home in Mamaroneck, New York and had no sooner closed the deal than we rented it out and headed off to the road together for a year in the National Tour of "A Day In Hollywood, A Night In The Ukraine." Stability did not appear to be a part of our future...
Upon return I took a summer job in Maine doing a production of "Chicago" while Brad landed the lead role in the Broadway production of "Little Shop of Horrors." It was during that time that we became friends with the songwriting team of Howard Ashman and Alan Menkin and many evenings and weekends were spent at their respective condos/summer homes. At the time I don't think I truly appreciated the impact of possibilities or imagined why I would ever have future cause for remaining in touch. But Clay fans will definitely understand the nashing of teeth...
The show had become the longest running Broadway show ever, and to celebrate, everyone who had ever performed in the show was invited back to participate. Though I had only given birth three months prior, I was chosen to take part in the most grueling dance number in the show. But it did me good. Brad and I were also chosen to participate in a "People Magazine" interview that evening with a half dozen other couples who had met during the show and had moved on to other chapters in their lives. One of these couples was Andy and MaryAnn "Beu" who had somehow already managed to spawn six children. Four of them being girls. (Another little nugget of memorablia that Clay fans might be able to relate to...)
Anyway, it was an enriching evening and, if I may, I'd like to echo the words of a fellow performer(MaryAnn) which truly hit home that night, though I've always wished that I'd been the one who had said it first! And that is... "Holding the leading lady flowers on opening night amidst all the hoop and holler and standing ovations is more than wonderful!... but it can in no way compare to the feeling of holding a brand new baby in your arms."
...or a weeping 17 year old as she pours out her heart to you (which I am finally able to add wholeheartedly these many years later.)
I did get the chance to do one last stint in my caeer in another production of 'A Chorus Line" in Flint, Michigan, during the summer of 1985. At the time I was there never even once pictured in my mind where I was on the map. The Midwest was just not a place I had ever bothered to think about. I mean seiously...why? Little did I know that it woud eventually become my home.
While I was away Brad held down the fort with the help of his mom, Belza, who had come out from Dallas. At the same time he was rehearsing for a new Broadway production of "Singing in The Rain" where he had been cast in the Donald O'Connor role. When he left for a year "on the road" with the National Tour our marriage ended, though I would not be aware of the fact for several months. I was afterall, at the time, securly stable and staying at with mom in California awaiting the birth of our second child. It wasn't until Daryn Blake was six weeks old and we were about to join "Daddy" on the road that I was informed that our marriage was over. Yes, my life has taken mny twists and turns.
But to make a very, very long story short, the next few years found me as a single mom, student and then finally an Adminstrative Assistant in a sales and marketing division of a local manufacturing company, Belwith International, located very close to my childhood home. Definitely full circle! My marriage three years later to the company President eventually brought me to Grand Rapds, Michigan where I now reside. And though my brief marriage ended in 1994, I've stayed in Michigan as my children were settled and quite happy in their schools and various activities. And aside from the miserable winters, it has proven to be a great pace to live and raise a family.
The girls have always been wonderful examples to their friends at school and have excelled in most everything they have set their mind to...particulary in their artistic endeavors I would like very much to take some credit for their accomplishments, however, I can't help but believe that their talents are gifts that come from a much, MUCH higher source.
I have been employed with Fifth Third Bank for the past thirteen years in the Credit Card, Commercial Loan and now Human Resources departments. I mean seriously... who would have ever thought? Not me. Ever.
But I am very lucky to have a positive relationship with my children's father, who has always been there to support our efforts throughout the years. And though my life seems to have settled down a bit from my seemingly exciting past, I do appreciate the slower pace and predictability of it all now. I have so many wonderful memories and I wish I could have mentioned more of them here. I do know, however, that probably the best moments have been just those of being "just a mom" and of raising two beautiful and delightful little girls.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
... 5/14/06... and it just keeps getting better.
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