YOUNG AT HEART
That's me! Margaret Williams

Someone asked me how it feels to sing in front of "kids." It's much more fun to perform now in my advanced years than it was as a child. Why? The answer is simple. "Yesterday," as a child, I entertained to please an adult audience - now I entertain to please myself and whomever else is present. (However, a child entertaining children or adults in a medical facility is a different ball game, with only them in mind). When I sing before an audience of young adults, I feel I have something to contribute and share with them - something about who I am. In turn, the "kids" share with me something about themselves, and their taste in today's music. I enjoy "people watching" and imagining something personal about whomever is singing - what they are feeling. Although one of my fantasies as a young adult was to be a night club singer, classical music, light operetta, as well as pop tunes were my life. A blend of serious study and parties consumed my after-work hours. (Fifty years ago my doctor told me I should get 11 hours sleep a night and I told him I was lucky to get 11 hours a week!). Another of my fantasies was to own and operate a "Holiday Inn" (as in the movies 'Holiday Inn' and 'White Christmas'.) We would have theme
dinner shows appropriate to each month. Such a location existed-a sprawling old colonial house on the banks of the Mississippi in a small town just 20 miles north of Minneapolis.

Now I'm still singing songs from favorite Broadway musicals and whatever catchy tunes strike my fancy. If I couldn't be Jeanette MacDonald, I had to be me And I'm thankful to be given
One Moment in Time.

I am very fortunate to feel a sense of acceptance when I sing before a younger crowd. They've "taken me in," shown respect, and allowed me to experience a sense of closeness. I consider them among my dearest friends. The only thing that has really changed from the days of the "Stardust Melodies" are the repetitive phrases at 180 decibels, and that I can live with, if interspersed with the more melodic dance tunes! KJs are aware of this phenomenon!
____________________________