THURSDAY, JUNE 10, 2010
On this day in 1922, a baby girl was born in Grand Rapids, Minnesota by the name of Frances Ethel Gumm. You know her better as Judy Garland, the great singer/actress. As successful and talented as Judy was, her life was sad and tragic in many ways. She died on June 22, 1969 in London, England of an accidental overdose of barbituates. She had recently celebrated her 47th birthday.
I want to share with you a very melancholy poem written by Judy that appears in Judy Garland: A Biography by Anne Edwards.
An Illusion
How strange when an illusion dies
It's as though you've lost a child
Whom you've cherished and protected
Against the wilds of the storms and hurts
In this frightening world.
Your child is dead.
An hyterical frenzy possesses you
Your precious, virtuous dram has been taken,
Torn from you defensive, guarding breast.
Next a morose loneliness`descends
You're a pitiful stumbling creature
Lost in the woods of despair.
Suddenly you see a light.
You straighten, and walk with steady footsteps into the sun
Time has done her work.
Your dream is gone - yes -
And you light a candle in your heart
In a remembrance of something never to be recovered,
But deep in your soul, in its embryonic state,
another illusion is maturing
Waiting to grow strong and radiant
Only to be crushed and join the other.
- Judy Garland
Congratulations to the Chicago Blackhawks for winning the Stanley Cup for the first time since 1961 - 49 years ago. The last time the Hawks won hockey's most coveted trophy, John Diefenbaker was Prime Minister of Canada and JFK was President of the U.S. Wayne Gretzky was born in January of 1961, so Number 99 was a mere babe-in-arms when the Hawks last sipped from Lord Stanley's Cup. A certain Barack Obama was also born in 1961 in Hawaii. President Obama made his debut in August of '61, so he was nestled comfortably in his mother's womb when the Hawks last won the Cup.
The Chicago Blackhawks will pay a visit to President Obama at the White House. It is widely known that the president is not a hockey fan. He much prefers baseball and basketball, which isn't surprising since he spent his childhood in Hawaii and Indonesia. However, Obama has lived much of his adult life in Chicago. His favourite baseball team is the Chicago White Sox and he is married to a Chicagoan. First Lady Michelle Obama was born in and grew up on the South Side of Chicago For many years, the Obamas made their home in the Windy City and will mostly likely return there after the president serves his time in office.
President Obama has had ample opportunity to attend a Chicago Blackhawks game or a Washington Capitols game. To my knowledge, he hasn't. When he was interviewed by the CBC's Peter Mansbridge, he told Mansbridge that he had never been to a hockey game. The interest is obviously not there. Hey, I wonder if Barack Obama has ever skated on ice.
- Joanne
