Last Saturday, my niece Caitlin came over to help me out, taking a few publicity photos for my show coming up in July. It’ll be my first run in a theater since the pandemic began, and I’m psyched! Three nights in a row, so I can really work up a head of steam. As luck would have it, Saturday was beautiful day, picture perfect. Ha, ha!
I wanted to get some shots with me throwing masks up in the air, and Caitlin’s iPhone was just perfect for
snapping away, as many as it took. And I love that you can see the results right away. It’s really amazing when you think about it.
Remember when it took a week to see your vacation pictures? By the time you got ‘em, you could hardly remember taking ‘em. There’d always be some shots in there where you’re going, what the heck? Why are there so many pictures of the sunset? Then you realized you were just trying to use up the roll. Seems kooky now.
Anyhoo, I’m so excited to be doing a live show, I had a light bulb moment. Why not take some shots of me doing a cartwheel? It’d be perfect! I used to be pretty good at that sort of thing: summersault, back bend, cartwheel, round off. Just like riding a bike, right?
Do you remember (I’m dating myself now, as if this whole blog post wasn’t doing that already), do you remember Mr. Mooney on “The Lucy Show?” He was the president of Lucy’s local bank and in charge of the trust fund left to her by her husband who’d kicked the bucket. They were at loggerheads most of the time because Lucy always had some harebrained scheme that she needed money for and he wasn’t having any of it. Eventually, she became his secretary. I’m thinking it was because she was spending so much time at the bank anyways.
This is a long way of saying, Mr. Mooney (played by the wonderful Gale Gordon) would do a cartwheel on the show every once and awhile. It always got a huge laugh because he was so straightlaced the rest of the time, you know? Here’s a link to a video so you can see what I’m talking about.
I didn’t know how old he was back then, but he certainly weren’t no spring chicken. I figured if Theodore J. Mooney can do a cartwheel, so can you-know-who.
The morning of the photoshoot, right after I walked Scamp, I thought do a test drive out in the yard where the
grass is soft and there’s plenty of room, you know, before I got all dolled up. I was totally confident, too. I says to myself, I’m going to nail this. So I wind up, planting my hands on the ground as I kick my legs up in the air. But (and this totally surprised me), my wrists and arms weren’t strong enough to hold my weight, and I came crashing down. I’m lucky I didn’t break my neck. OMG! I must have laid in the wet grass for 5 minutes, laughing my butt off. I was some glad Caitlin wasn’t around to document my disaster. Or Charlie.
My wrists were sore for a good day or two. I guess doing a cartwheel is not like riding a bike. Come to think of it, I’m not that great on a bike anymore, either!
Oh, I looked it up and Gale Gordon was born in 1906, so he was in his 60’s when he was cartwheeling on “The Lucy Show.” Pretty darned impressive, huh?
Now if you’re sitting there laugh at this, (and I don’t blame you), give this a try. Get down on the floor and do a summersault. I dare you. Can’t be that hard. Kids do it natural, right off the bat. I just attempted it and got as far as kneeing down and not even knowing where to start. Honest to God! I’m still chuckling.
That’s it for now. Catch you on the flip side!
Hear Ida Tell It: Head Over Heels
Live Shows: July 6-8 at 7:00pm, The Footlights Theatre in Falmouth, ME
Ida’s Independence Day-Off Zoom & Back Onto the Stage
The “funniest Woman in Maine” returns to the Footlights Theatre with an evening of laughter, insight, and a bunch of new stories.Ida will crack you up with her tales about love, friendship and the Pine Tree State of mind. Guaranteed to put you in touch with your “innah Mainah,” Ida has Moxie and she’s not afraid to drink it! Spending time with Ida is like a breath of fresh Maine air, so sit back, relax and enjoy. After all this time cooped up, you deserve it!
What are you waiting for? Reserve now!