Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Sunlit St.Patrick's Day God
My mother loved the Kennedy Clan, lock, stock and barrel. Not only did she side with their politics, she believed in their family myth, and each death, each divorce, every hint of scandal affected her deep into her marrow: Camelot was her dream too, and for her, the Kennedy's built The Round Table.
My Junior year in HighSchool - it may have been my Senior Year - Momma took me to NYC during Spring Break to see some shows, and we stayed at the old Americana Hotel on 6th Avenue....I remember discovering the adventure of an actual white phone in our bathroom, and thrilling to the luxury Momma had situated us in. I remember the icy blue eye shadow I wore one evening to a gathering of my friends , and how grownup we all felt to be "partying" in Manhattan. I remember seeing Zero Mostel in FIDDLER, Barbara Streisand in FUNNY GIRL, Geraldine Page in BLACK COMEDY/WHITE LIE and others....but i also remember the St Patrick's Day Parade.
March 17th that year dawned sunny, but turned icy and wet, and as I tromped the streets with friends, a pair of my new favortie soft leather pumps got ruined by sloshing through the icy snow and rain that filled the streets. Momma had gone off early to get a good place on 5th Avenue to see the Parade, and later she told me the highpoint of the Parade for her:
As people gathered onto the VIP Stands set up at a central point of the Avenue, the sky was wet and unforgivingly gray, but as the Kennedy family began to climb the stairs and take their seats of privilege, clouds began to part, and when Ted and Bobby Kennedy came into view, Momma swore, the clouds parted fully, and the sun shone down on to the heads of the beautiful young men, and she told me their hair gleamed like gold! She said it made them look like young gods. She said it was something she'd never forget. And now, as it happen, on this day after Ted Kennedy's death, it's something I am still remembering.
My Junior year in HighSchool - it may have been my Senior Year - Momma took me to NYC during Spring Break to see some shows, and we stayed at the old Americana Hotel on 6th Avenue....I remember discovering the adventure of an actual white phone in our bathroom, and thrilling to the luxury Momma had situated us in. I remember the icy blue eye shadow I wore one evening to a gathering of my friends , and how grownup we all felt to be "partying" in Manhattan. I remember seeing Zero Mostel in FIDDLER, Barbara Streisand in FUNNY GIRL, Geraldine Page in BLACK COMEDY/WHITE LIE and others....but i also remember the St Patrick's Day Parade.
March 17th that year dawned sunny, but turned icy and wet, and as I tromped the streets with friends, a pair of my new favortie soft leather pumps got ruined by sloshing through the icy snow and rain that filled the streets. Momma had gone off early to get a good place on 5th Avenue to see the Parade, and later she told me the highpoint of the Parade for her:
As people gathered onto the VIP Stands set up at a central point of the Avenue, the sky was wet and unforgivingly gray, but as the Kennedy family began to climb the stairs and take their seats of privilege, clouds began to part, and when Ted and Bobby Kennedy came into view, Momma swore, the clouds parted fully, and the sun shone down on to the heads of the beautiful young men, and she told me their hair gleamed like gold! She said it made them look like young gods. She said it was something she'd never forget. And now, as it happen, on this day after Ted Kennedy's death, it's something I am still remembering.
Post a Comment