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UPBEAT TIMES • October 2014 • 29 WORDPLAY by Marcia Singer • lovearts@att.net NEEWOLLAH


SANTA ROSA, CA. ~ (Hal- loween –mirror trick) Ameri- cans spend billions each year celebrating Halloween. Candy, treats, masks and costumes, party favors, decorations, ap- ples and pumpkins, toys, and intoxicating beverages. Manu- facturers and retailers of Hal- loween fare will compete for yearly mega bucks. Will you be participating in this year’s “seasonal occasion”?


Trick-


or-treating? Partying? Hand- ing out treats to neighbor kids at your door, or turning off the lights and hiding? I usually enjoy creating a


costume, assuming a different identity for the fun of it and en- tertaining folks (and being en- tertained in return) during my senior community visits. I alter my voice, body posture, let- ting my imagination run wilder than usual. We’re free to give alter egos a hey day.


een


But our modern Hallow- traditions


have evolved through centuries of changes,


face-lifts and surgeries since its Druid “Samhain Festival” ori- gins. For the Celts of ancient England, Ireland, Scotland and northern France, November 1st marked the end of harvesting and return of herds from the pastures. It was the start of the New Year and preparing for hard winter. Superstition had it that the veil between the worlds was thin; on October 31,st spir- its of dead ancesters roamed about seeking eternal rest –or revenge!


Lanterns made of


potatoes or turnips carved into frightful faces were lit to scare evil ones away. A mask might fool them, too. Other spirits were welcomed, those believed to foretell marriages, and wind- fall fortunes. Over the centuries, a Pope,


the Roman Goddess Pomona, Reformationists, New England settlers, Irish immigrants and the “mischief nights” of “The Little People” took turns in- fl uencing this holiday. So did Appalachian Scots and Ger- man settlers, Southern voodoo practitioners --and British Vic- torian styles. Halloween has been pliable. Puritans let it alone. Early immigrants let off steam with it. Victorian soci- ety romanticized it. War times took attention off it. Today’s holiday is party-time for both kids and grown-ups.


Parades Autumn


are popular. Most are innocent fun, though we know in some metropolises, they’ve raged out


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of control, calling out police patrols. For most of us, October of- fers a chance for some fun. Will you invent a compelling char- acter, create an awesome cos- tume –pretend to be somebody else? Or try on for size being stronger, more clever, funny, famous,


uppity or magical?


Highlight a talent, a silly side, or change your appearance? You might pick a trait you’d like to try on for size, behind the mask or face make-up.


I


taught an assertiveness training many years ago to ‘shy’ people. I invented a game called, “Be Somebody Else.” First each student picked a prop from a suitcase: a hat, string of fake pearls, Frisbee. The rest of us then interviewed, asking ques- tions to fi nd out who this new person in front of us, was now. A mind-blowing range of not- at-all-shy characters popped out --with the help of a costume prop! I’ve loved many Halloween roles: a ‘fairly godmother,’ a fl oozy in a cheap rabbit fur coat, a pirate’s ‘wench with a wrench’ (hardy har har), and gift-wrapping myself in a huge box. Wearing twenty- gallon trash bags with trashy items glued on, won me a prize at my former trailer park community. Who or what will you become for NEEWOLLAH? Shining deLight, Marcia.


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www.tweeteneldercare.com UPBEAT TIMES • October 2014 • 29 ... continued from page 5 October Concoctions


mezzo aria, “My Heart at…” In a 1935 fi lm, “Goin’ To Town,” Mae West actually sang it, quite musically, but in her in- imitably sexy way, while in the arms of a chubby tenor, all the while stroking his long, lovely, dark, curly locks of hair, which she, of course, will cut off, as the story insists. Of course, I am a fi lm buff, one who wants everyone to enjoy the great per- formances of the bygone era. I was downright sad when I met a young person lately who nev- er ever heard of John Wayne. Perhaps my small effort will help introduce great entertain- ment. Mae West was the high- est paid woman in America in the 1930s, outranking FDR and the head of GM during the de- pression. For a more musically brilliant contemporary performance, please google the fabulous Ca- nadian opera comedienne, Nat- alie Choquette, who performs every aria better than anybody.


She is unique! With gleeful abandon she athletically ca- vorts around the global stage performing with the greatest orchestras under the baton of the most demanding maestros, while singing every note beau- tifully, never missing a beat! That’s why it is surely worth it to fi nd her YouTube June 24, 2010 pseudo-seductive perfor- mance of “La Diva et le Mae- stro,” The Diva and the Mae- stro, giving us an unforgettable version of “My Heart at Thy Sweet Voice,” with Maestro Charles Dutoit and the Montre- al Symphony. Her originality in comedy is adorable and her musicianship is


stellar. “She


sings from her heart” has been written about her. In that spirit, she helps raise funds for servic- es for cancer patients and also produces special children’s albums,e.g.: La Diva Malbouf- fa, to promote healthy eating.


... continued on page 31


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