ANNIE Comes to Hickory

You gotta love it when NYC comes to a small town near you!

CAST, our local children's theater brought Annie to the stage this Christmas season so I decided to take my grand girls. (not in the pic)

When  Kat (the orphan in yellow with green rickrack) found out, she gave me complimentary tickets!

Is that sweet or what!

Sweet is what it was. Everything about this performance was sweet.

Well maybe not everything on account of - you know - Miss Hannigan.  That's  her in the tacky dress! 

My youngest grandgirl sat on my lap whenever Miss Hannigan was on stage!

But afterward we met her up close and in person and discovered she wasn't actually a mean lady after all.

She is Cathy Stallings, CAST's director who appears to be a limitless source of energy and enthusiasm, guiding the children through one show after another. Certainly not the sort of person who hates little girls!

Many of these characters also played in BLUE but there were some new ones as well.

I was super-impressed with the acting and singing! First rate. Go see it tonight or Sunday if you live near Hickory and get the chance.

Oh, and thanks to Kat!

This Day in History: Niagara Falls Adventure

I know I just included a "This Day in History" feature on Friday but I can't let this one pass.  On October 24, 1901 a school teacher decided to take a little trip over the Niagara Falls. In a pickle barrel.

Annie Edson Taylor was 63 years old and needed money and somehow thought that this would raise some bucks for her use.  It didn't exactly work out that way.  There was a flurry of publicity at first but people lost interest and she died in poverty.

Annie was the first to go over the falls but not the last. Fifteen more people would try similar stunts between 1901 and 1995  Ten survived.

For some reason, Annie's story strikes me as the most interesting. I suspect it's because she was a woman and she did this at a time when women weren't exercising as much independence as we do nowadays.

Part of me really wants to include her story in a novel sometime.

Legend has it that a cat rode the barrel over the falls with Annie. This may or may not be true but hey, if a cat can take the plunge, then why not a mouse, as in FIELD TRIP TO NIAGARA FALLS.

Looks like fun!

And here's a historical novel for adults that look fascinating!
THE DAY THE FALLS STOOD STILL

A great resource replete with with history, photos, legends, and daredevils!
NIAGARA FALLS: AN INTIMATE PORTRAIT

Oh wait - I just realized something else happened this day in history.  It was the first day of the history writing workshop where BLUE was born and nurtured! 

Historic!