The Hills Are Alive . . .

. . . with the Sound of Music,

This beautiful, Oscar winning film starring Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer, was first released in the United States on May 2, 1965, more than sixty years ago. The film has just been meticulously restored and remastered for the big screen. Last Saturday, I had the pleasure of attending the annual sing along and watch party at the Hollywood Bowl. Attending this event has become a beloved tradition for our family. Daveen and I, together with other members of our family, thoroughly enjoyed this year’s show. We sang out hearts out along with a chorus of our 18,000 fellow audience members

Before the movie began at 7:30 pm, there was a pre-show costume contest, with many members of the audience on stage in costumes represented in the Sound of Music. People were dressed in lederhosen, as nuns, and some had even repurposed their curtains!  As I sometimes say, to Daveen’s consternation, “a timed good was had by all.”

I hope that my two grandsons who attended with us may, fifty years from now, take their own children and grandchildren to enjoy this traditional Bowl summer evening, as they say, “under the stars.”  I believe that Julie Andrews herself is still living nearby. At eighty-nine years old, I hope she was smiling to herself at the vigorous applause.  She certainly deserves it.

I believe that a large part of the reason we are here on earth is to help each other. Daveen and I make a habit of taking on tasks the other doesn’t care for. For example, I shop for most of the groceries, and Daveen handles our social events.  (I like shopping for food. I don’t like long telephone calls.)

But creating a successful work of art like the Sound of Music is complex and requires hundreds of talented individuals, each contributing their best efforts. That to me, is one of the best uses of our time, working together to make one another’s lives better.

And speaking of making lives better, this time at the bowl, I paid $90.00 for valet parking.  Those of you who have attended a concert there know why I splurged on the parking.  If you self-park in the lot, you either need to wait up to 30 minutes to get out, or you have to park blocks away and walk.  I think I’ll continue to use the valet– isn’t that one of the reasons why, in my thirties and forties, I worked on Saturdays?

So, thank you Rogers, and thank you Hammerstein.  Your Sound of Music brought a whole lot of delight to the sold-out crowd at the Hollywood Bowl last Saturday night.

And thanks to my readers for spending a few minutes with my blog.

Alan