Dancing Naked: New York City, 1962

When Dad was about 35 years old, he was sent to NYC on a business trip and he took mom with him. My grandmother babysat for me, my brother, and my little sister - but that's another story. Mom was so excited about this trip. She had never been to New York and she looked forward to the flight up, staying in a hotel, eating in restaurants, and sightseeing all day while Dad attended meetings. In addition, Dad got tickets for a Broadway musical which was right up Mom's alley. She had always loved musical movies: Judy Garland and Mickey Rooney - "Hey kids, let's put on a show!"; Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers - "In dealing with a girl or a horse, one just lets nature take its course"; Ruby Keeler - the world's fastest tap dancer. Attending a live Broadway show was the highlight of her trip.

Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers dance in Top Hat, 1935

From the first musical film Mom saw as a kid in St. Louis, she dreamt of dancing on stage. When she turned 18, she auditioned as a dancer for a production in one of the theaters in St. Louis but got angry and left when she was asked to lift her skirt so the director could see her legs. I am not sure what she thought she was going to be wearing while dancing on stage, but she perceived the request as inappropriate. Mom was paradoxically as prudish as she was bawdy; however, SHE chose when something was one or the other. If she used the F-bomb, she would fall off her chair with laughter. On the other hand, if I used it, she would bop me on the heard with a tablespoon. "What kind of language is that for a young lady to use?" (A large, heavy stainless-steel tablespoon, by the way.)

My Grandma never used tablespoons on us, but she had a way of looking at you that turned her from grandma to grand-witch and that's all it took to keep us grandkids in line. So, while Mom and Dad were in New York City having the time of their lives, we three children ate well but towed the line under Grandma's watchful eye. Grandma was too reserved and fastidious to be much fun, so I was thrilled when Mom and Dad walked through the front door, home from their adventure. I sat on the couch when they burst through the front door into the entrance foyer, giddy and all smiles. They entered the living room like two movie stars, and I was awed at the sight of my snappily dressed, sophisticated, and well-groomed parents. Especially, Mom. She had gone to a top salon in the city where her hair was fashionably cut and dyed in an exquisite copper red. With her department-store make-over and wearing a new emerald green, belted wool coat and black suede high heels, she was simply beautiful. Mom? Is that you, Mom? You look like a movie star!

Years, later, she told me that while she and Dad were in New York, they had gone to Radio City Music Hall to see the Rockettes. Afterwards, they went to dinner and dancing. Mom drank too much and when they got back to the hotel, she took off her clothes, stuck an earring in her belly button and danced on the bed for Dad. That's all she told me, but I knew there was more to the story. They were still so young then, so beautiful, and so much in love.

I didn't realize until years later how young they were. Years later, I had a wonderful and long telephone conversation with my high school best friend Kathy. While we reminisced, she mentioned that she always loved coming to my house because, compared to her parents, mine were so young and full of life. The comment gave me pause. My parents were just 20 years old when they married and 21 when they had me. I was 14 and a freshman in high school when they went to NYC and they were just 35 years old. Their trip was a momentary escape from the big house, three kids, and a boat load of responsibility. I look back and smile, feeling not only grateful they had those moments together, but that Mom shared her naked dancing story with me. The memory of it reassures me that her life, as short as it was and sometimes as difficult as it was, also was filled with laughter, dancing, and good times.

Just as my parents turned the corner on turning 50, Dad was offered a job in New York and they moved to Long Island. During that time, Mom and I had an opportunity to go into the city together and attend many Broadway productions, but something tells me that first NYC visit, that first Broadway show, that night she danced naked for Dad, is where the magic always stirred in her heart.