The Premiere

(Pg. 86 of That’s Outrageous)

Moonlight and love songs, never out of date . . .
On that you can rely, no matter what the future brings
As time goes by.

from the song “As Time Goes By” by Herman Hupfield

IT WASN’T SO MANY YEARS AGO WHEN MOM WOULD MEET guest artists upon their arrival in Grand Rapids, whisk them off to an early dinner in her modest white Plymouth, and then deliver them to Symphony Hall for their performances that night. It was a stimulating activity, and as author of program notes for the symphony for years,Mom gathered fascinating tidbits during her dinner conversations, few of which made print but many of them provided for lively exposition with her family.

Famed choreographer and dancer Edward Villella was her favorite, and she never tires of reminiscing about him,his wit, good looks, and charm.

That part of her life is but a pleasant memory, now that she has a budding career of her own as artiste extraordinaire of Independence Village in Petoskey.

Mom approached her premiere at the retirement home with studied trepidation, leaving her family and friends a bit nervous. “Will she or won’t she?” we asked ourselves, hoping our insistence on the piano accompanying her to Michigan from Charlotte, North Carolina, in November would not have been in vain.