Summer Play

Sixty years ago, Mom said the funniest line in a neighborhood play. Her schoolmate had a fondness for writing plays, so he’d organize the neighborhood kids and direct a self-written masterpiece. Everyone had a starring role.

Twenty years later, I organized outdoor clarinet concerts and charged friends 5 cents a person to watch me play the one song I knew – Born Free. They got their money’s worth because I played it over and over. Most people walked out.

Twenty years later, my daughter -- “Her Majesty” -- regally robed in bedding and a sauce pan for a crown, ceremoniously waltzed down the stairs every day practicing her entrances into imperial events.

Twenty years later, a nephew just debuted as the Wizard of Oz behind the one elegant prop that kids ranging from ages 12 to 4 could create – an Emerald shower curtain.

Twenty, fifty, or ninety years from now, neighborhood kids will still be performing masterpieces – the kind that make summer play memorable.