A True Legend Has Passed....

Frankie Manning (1914-2009)

I was saddened to learn that Frankie Manning, whose name is practically synonymous with Lindy Hop, passed away on Monday, April 27. He was an amazing dance artist, and an even more amazing person. I'm so thankful that several years ago, I had the opportunity to attend one of his workshops in the Philadelphia area. Mr. Manning was a great teacher. His sense of humor, patience, and storytelling made the workshop more than just a dance lesson... it was an experience that I'll always treasure.

I like to think that Frankie is still dancing... at that wonderful Savoy Ballroom in the sky.

A Picture Is Worth a Thousand Words...

...and a $5 box of photographs represents a lifetime.


Recently, as I wandered through a small second-hand store in the equally small town where I live, a photograph on top of a box full caught my eye.


As I moved in for a closer look, the proprietress of the shop noted my interest and said, "The pictures are a quarter apiece... or if you want the whole box, $5.00." It was an offer I couldn't refuse, given my love of old photos and the fact that there must have been nearly 100 in the box....

It was much later in the day when darling husband and I had a chance to sit down and peruse this treasure trove. There are pictures of what appears to be the same family, spanning a generation or two, from the early 1900s to somewhere around the 60s. Family vacations, the homes they lived in, baby pictures, pets, it's all here. Of course, I knew after seeing a few of them that I just had to share this fabulous find with all of you. So, in the coming weeks, I'll be posting some of these fantastic snapshots of vintage life...

Ah, the days when swimsuits had good "coverage" and the beach was the main attraction in Atlantic City...

Stay tuned...

Past Life will return after these messages....

A little too close to home...

Living "in the past" as I do, usually the realities of life in today's world fade into the background. Today, a shocking and heartbeaking event occurred just an hour from where I live now, and in a small city that I grew up across the state line from. A dozen (possibly more) people were killed when a man walked into the American Civic Association building in Binghamton, NY and started shooting. Some 40+ people were in the building, many taking a test to gain American citizenship. No specific motive has come to light yet. I'm keeping the victims and their families in my thoughts...

It is amazing, given the increasing frequency of shootings like this, how often so many of us think, "it'll never happen here"... and how shocked, disturbed, angry, frightened, and generally upset we are when it does happen here. Alas, I fear that there is no longer any "here" that it can't happen. It's so easy to become oblivious to the possibility, but at the same time, who wants to constantly live in fear and paranoia? I wonder if that's how my grandmothers felt, at home alone during WWII, about the possibility of bombings or enemy attacks in rural & small town northeastern Pennsylvania...

I could picture the inside of the ACA building as newscasters were describing the events. Not because I'd been there for anything related to immigration or passports or green cards, but because I once attended a swing dance there with several friends.

Strange days indeed....