Party of One?

Julie Andrews as Cinderella, 1957

In 1957, Rodgers and Hammerstein wrote a television musical based on the fairy tale of Cinderella. It starred a very young Julie Andrews.

It was produced again for television in 1965 starring Lesley Ann Warren and most recently again in 1997 starring Brandy.

Leslie Ann Warren as Cinderella, 1965

It was the 1965 version with Lesley Ann Warren that I grew up watching. I loved the idea that with a little magic a pumpkin, some rats and mice could transform into a golden carriage, horses and coachmen.

But what I liked most about Cinderella was how she was able to use just her imagination to take her anywhere she wanted to go. Her imagination was all she needed to live the adventures she dreamed about. And she did this all while sitting in her own little corner in her own little chair.

I'm as mild and as meek as a mouse

When I hear a command I obey

But I know of a spot in my house

Where no one can stand in my way

In my own little corner in my own little chair

I can be whatever I want to be

On the wing of my fancy I can fly anywhere

and the world will open it's arms to me

This is me, July 1967, Chatham, New Jersey

As a small boy, I also lived a life of adventure through my imagination. I remember playing that I was a secret agent (ala Maxwell Smart), or a scientist who studied lions and went on Safari (ala Daktari), or a spaceman getting ready to rocket to the moon.

I spent many wonderful hours just playing alone. I really was (and in many ways still am) my own best friend.

My mother has a saying that goes: “ I may be living in my own little world, but that’s okay, they all like me here.”

The reason I am writing today about all of this is that I recently got a submission for this blog that inspired me.

The submission comes from a friend of mine who has been ill, on and off, for many months. What I find inspiring is that even while she is stationed in her home, often too ill to travel or even run errands, she is still able to find joy in her surroundings. And has learned to enjoy the care that she can provide herself.

My friend wrote:

I've been ill for a long, long time, and every time a friend shows up with food, I feel doubly nourished.

But I have also felt increasingly helpless and, yes, pathetic.

This evening, as dinnertime approached, I thought: What would I do right now if I were not ill "all the time?"

I had only to look to the balcony of my condo for the answer.

The land of inspiration

Mmm, I can almost smell that basil!

Less than 20 minutes later, I was digging into a steaming bowl of penne pasta, slathered with butter, lemon & olive oil ... dusted with shaved parmesan cheese ... and sprinkled with torn up fresh basil leaves.

YUM!

Not only did it taste wonderful. But I felt stronger for having gone ahead and done it, instead of eating some cold or instant thing.

Or letting someone else do it for me.

Food IS love.

And tonight I remembered that it's one of the best ways we can show ourselves that we are, indeed, lovable.

In sickness and in health.

Lemon Butter Penne (makes two small/medium servings):

Ingredients:

1 Cup Penne Pasta, cooked al dente
1 half-inch pat of Butter
2 ounces of Lemon infused Olive Oil (available at most food stores)
4 crushed Garlic cloves
Shaved Parmesan
About six large torn-up Basil leaves

Directions:

Put the Butter, Oil & Garlic in nuke-safe container and microwave it about 30 seconds on high.
Pour over cooked pasta.
Sprinkle with torn up Basil leaves.
Dust with the shaved Parmesan.

MANGIA!

If you feel inspired to sing from your own little chair, here are the original lyrics to Rodgers and Hamerstein’s song:

In My Own Little Corner

I'm as mild and as meek as a mouse

When I hear a command I obey

But I know of a spot in my house

Where no one can stand in my way

In my own little corner in my own little chair

I can be whatever I want to be

On the wing of my fancy I can fly anywhere

and the world will open it's arms to me

I'm a young Norwegian princess or a milkmaid

I'm the greatest prima donna in Milan

I'm a heiress who has always had her silk made

by her own flock of silkworms in Japan

I'm a girl men go mad for love's a game I can play

with a cool and confident kind of air

Just as long as I stay in my own little corner

All alone, in my own, little chair.

I can be whatever I want to be....

I'm a slave from Calcutta

I'm a queen in Peru

I'm a mermaid dancing upon the sea

I'm a huntress on an African Safari

It's a dangerous type of sport and yet it's fun

In the night I sally forth to seek my quarry

and I find I forgot to bring my gun!

I am lost in the jungle all alone and unarmed

when I meet a lioness in her lair!

Then I'm glad to be back in my own little corner

All alone, in my own, little chair

Julie, 1957

Leslie Ann, 1965

So, where will your imagination take you today?

Have a great day. And please, remember if you ever find that you are talking to yourself, be polite and listen.