I haven’t been doing much writing lately. The weather has been uncomfortably hot and I was busy getting ready for the Renaissance Court (the downtown Chicago senior center) talent show. For two days, 40 or more of us showed off our abilities. Most of the performances, divided into two acts with an intermission between them, were singers, but we also had a couple of poetry readings, a comedy reading, line dancers and I did another belly dance. The show was put on July 20 and 21 and was a two-hour show. We started at 1 pm but had to come in at 11 am to be ready.
We began the show with the entire cast and crew singing Always Look on the Bright Side of Life. Some of the words in the song expressed what we were doing. The line goes “If life seems jolly rotten, there’s something you’ve forgotten and that’s to laugh and smile and dance and sing.”
One act worth special mention was a Chinese folk song sung in Chinese by a woman from China who also wore a Chinese pant suit. That is one of the fun parts about being a part of this senior center, we have people from many countries who come here. Several sing in the choir too, which is one reason the director likes to select music in other languages.
Our show had an emotional ending this year. Two women sang America the Beautiful. Then a Japanese poem for the earthquake survivors, read in its original language and translated into English by a Japanese woman was followed up with the song Tomorrow from Annie. It fit in well because the poem ended with the message that tomorrow will be better and people should never lose hope.
My Aunt did not come to the show this year because of the weather and several other people did not come either even though all the tickets were given out. We had some empty seats, but not many. The audiences were quite responsive, especially on the second day. I did see a few people I knew from other groups I am, or have been in, like the writing groups.
Here is a picture of me in my costume.
IT'S NEVER TOO LATE! 
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