“Heaven, I’m in Heaven,
And my heart beats so that I can hardly speak;
And I seem to find the happiness I seek
When we’re out together dancing beak to beak.” (-Adapted from Fred Astaire’s original version)
Note from the Production Crew of NOTEFLIX’s “Troubles in the Garden”: We have taken a break from our usual story line, to give you a breather – and let you relax during these trying times. Above, our lead couple, the Multicolored Bluebird of Happiness and Mamzelle Pinkie are enjoying life to the fullest, while they can – as should we all.
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“Stay all night, stay a little longer
Dance all night, dance a little longer
Pull off your coat, throw it in the corner
Don’t see why you don’t stay a little longer.” -Bob Wills, Singer/Songwriter, “Stay A Little Longer”, (Big hit Song in 1946)
Those were the days
- The war was over. The men had come home. The economy seemed like it was going to take off. There was hope, hope for the things to come. Dance all night, dance a little longer.
- People welcomed each other…gathered in bunches. The only ones who wore masks were bank robbers – and Willie Sutton was among them. Willie was about to break out of prison for the third time and the nation cheered him on, because he robbed from the rich and kept the money for himself. Stay all night.
- People went to movie theatres then, and they sat next to each other, strangers sitting next to each other. Can you imagine? The couple up there on the silver screen kissed in Technicolor. Everybody went to see “The Best Years Of Our Lives”, and then they doubled back for “Great Expectations”. An usher would show you the available seats with his flashlight. This was before smoking was bad for you, so you could light ’em up in the theater and neck in the balcony. Stay a little longer.
- John D. Rockefeller donated $8.5 million for the permanent site of the U.N. in New York City. Benjamin Spock published “Baby and Child Care”. Joe “The Brown Bomber” Lewis successfully defended his heavyweight title for the 23rd time. This was eight years after he won the fight – for America – against the German Max Schmelling.
- “Annie Get Your Gun” was the big hit on Broadway…”Zip a dee doo dah”, “Shoo-Fly Pie and Apple Pan Dowdy” and “Doin’ a what comes Nacherly” were big hits. Pull off your coat and throw it in the corner.
And the gentle times rolled on…in the next three years:
- A young actor by the name of Marlon Brando hit the stage as Stanley Kowalski in “Streetcar Named Desire”. Kowalski was a garbage collector and when Brando entered the scene, it is said you could smell him way back in the SRO section.
- Jackie Robinson became the first black to sign with the Majors. More than a million vets enrolled in colleges under the G.I. Bill. Dance all night, dance a little longer.
- Thomas Merton wrote: “Seven Story Mountain and Irwin Shaw wrote “The Young Lions.” Jackson Pollack changed the definition of ‘Art” forever with his drip out of the can paintings. The Long-playing record (33 1/3) was invented and available for sale. “The Little Prince” was the first and only record you could buy…and whatever the cost, it was worth it. The LP record spun so slowly you could read the label while it was spinning around – to the amazement of all. “Buttons and Bows” and “All I want for Christmas are my two Front Teeth” were at the top of the charts. “South Pacific” danced them out the aisles on Broadway. ”Happy, Happy, Happy Talk”, remember that one? And need we tell you, the Cleveland Indians won the World Series? Dance all night.
- “L.S.M.F.T.” meant “Lucky Strike Means Fine Tobacco – to some and “Lord Save Me From Truman to others. The North Atlantic Treaty Organization was signed in Washington, The Marshall Plan was funded. So things were not so bad, even though Truman did write a harsh letter to the music critic of the Times for lambasting his daughter Margaret’s operatic performance/debut on the Ed Sullivan Show. George Orwell imagined an improbable future in “1984” and Arthur miller wrote “Death of a Salesman” and then he married Marilyn Monroe. Pull off your coat throw it in the corner. Don’t see why you don’t stay a little longer.
- “I love Those Dear Hearts and Gentle People” and “Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer” topped the music charts. Rudolph made Gene Autry, who was a Singing Cowboy television/movie star, one of the richest men in America – for singing that song. Mr. Autry never had to ride a horse again.
These were High Times and the ’50’s had not even begun…
Wish we could have…
Stayed all night, stayed a little longer
Danced all night, danced a little longer
Pulled off our coats, throw’d ‘em in the corner
Don’t see why we didn’t stay little longer.
And now a word or two from Mathuzala, our guest columnist:
MATHUZALA SPEAKS:
- “Work is failure. Your species cannot grasp this morsel of truth – and that failing is contributing significantly to the Downfall of the Humans.” (-Ed. note: This quote also appears on page 59 of “THE RAT PAPERS”, a book which you can now buy on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, or through Author House. )
RELEVANT QUOTES:
- “You think too much. That is your trouble. Clever people and grocers, they weigh everything…Dance!” -Alexis Zorba, the Greek, -N. Katzantzakis Novelist
- “There may be trouble ahead/ But while there’s moonlight and music and love and romance/ Let’s face the music and Dance.” -Irving Berlin, Songwriter
- Happiness is not something you experience, it’s something you remember. -Oscar Levant, Concert Pianist, Composer
- “History is more or less Bunk.” -Henry Ford, American Industrialist
- “The only thing new in the world is the history you don’t know.” H. Truman, Former, and never impeached, 33rd President.
And that is the way it was…Until next week,
The TEDDIES are pleased to announce : The Award for the Best Lead Romantic Couple goes to: Mamzelle Pinkie and The Multicolored Bluebird of Happiness. (See celebratory photo at top of this post.) Though Bork, (See photo below) the Fierce and Angry Purple Slug, has entered a “This Election was Stolen” argument into the Academy, we are going with the results, as is, and moving on. Also, please note: No one else was nominated for this award.
