Like Carol Channing

It was a dark, chilly, evening, and I was out with a couple of high school friends, walking door to door to try and sell tickets for the current Fairbury High School musical.  I didn't have a speaking part, but I was content to sing in the chorus, as I did for every musical the school produced during my four years there. I don't remember for sure which musical we were doing that year, perhaps Finian's Rainbow, but it doesn't really matter.

Everyone who was affiliated with the musical in any way, big or small, was required to sell tickets.  As I recall, the town was divided into sections, and each of us was given a map, with a few blocks designated as our territory.  We usually went door to door with a friend or two, hoping to meet our quotas.

On this particular night, we were canvassing the east side of town, not too far from the high school.  As we walked up the front sidewalk of a mammoth old home, the dim blue light of the television was flickering through a front window, so we were pretty sure that someone was there to answer the doorbell.  The blonde, middle-aged woman who came to the door looked slightly familiar.  She was dressed comfortably in flowing, silky pajamas and fancy, high-heeled slippers.  When one of us asked if she wanted to buy tickets to the musical, she perked up, asking which musical we were doing.  After we told her, she smiled a big smile and informed us that she had performed in musicals--on Broadway. We listened politely, wondering who this crazy woman was, and why a Broadway actress was living in an old house in Fairbury, Nebraska.  After sharing her Broadway experiences with us for a few minutes, the mystery woman, who neglected to give us her name, regrettably declined to buy tickets to our performance, saying that she would be leaving Fairbury before the musical was presented.

So, we headed down the sidewalk to try the next house.  But it wasn't long before someone asked, "Wasn't that Carol Channing?"  Yes, that's who it was! We all agreed.  But, what was she doing in Fairbury?

For those of you who are too young to remember, Carol Channing was a very well-known, platinum blonde, Broadway star who won a Golden Globe Award and several Tony Awards for her roles in such musicals as Thoroughly Modern Millie and, especially, Hello, Dolly.  As teenagers, we knew her best for her frequent TV appearances and movie roles.  Even without makeup, her blonde hair, expressive eyes, broad smile, and distinctive, gravelly voice, should have clued us in to her identity right away.  As it was, it didn't take us too long to make the connection.

Later that night, I told Mom all about this woman we had met.  Mom assured me that she was most definitely Carol Channing.  Her husband was originally from nearby Steele City, and one of his aging parents was in poor health, so Mom suspected that they had rented a house in Fairbury for a short time so they could tend to the needs of their elderly relatives.

I'm not sure anyone believed us when we told our classmates that we had met Carol Channing, and actually carried on a conversation with her.  

I hadn't thought of this incident in years, until it popped into my head today.   Perhaps the memory was triggered by Victoria's experience this past weekend, when Erin took her to Denver to see the musical, Matilda, presented by some of the original Broadway cast.  Matilda holds a special place in Victoria's heart, ever since she brought a videotape of the Matilda movie with her from her foster home, when she first came to live with us.  She watched that movie every afternoon for months, or maybe even years!  I am convinced that that particular movie, with its theme of parental neglect and ultimate adoption, helped five-year-old Victoria make sense of her own situation.

Movies and plays, and books, too, can do that.  Perhaps that's why we love those stories so, and the performers who make the characters come to life. Performers like Carol Channing.