I don’t remember where we were or why we were there. All I remember is myself and my sister being chosen to present a statue of the Blessed Mother to Jimmy Durante on stage.

I remember a man who seemed to be a thousand feet tall to me at the time asking me if I wanted to say something. Yes! I nodded, like a bobble doll. He flipped that microphone upside down, held it in front of me and said, “Go ahead”.

Nothing.

I was so mesmerized by what he had done that I was speechless.

My innocence was met with deafening applause and a standing ovation (for bravery, I’m sure).

But that was the day I fell in love with the arts.

So remember, when you bring a small child up onto your stage, you are in a position to affect them for the rest of their lives!

As Told To

Years later the way the story was told to me is that a priest in the church I attended as a very young child – we’ll call him Father Z – had several family members in the entertainment industry. Father Z took a hankering to myself and my sister (18 months my senior) and often arranged for us to appear on stage. I’ve been told we made several appearances with a variety of entertainers. But this is honestly the only one I remember.

Thank you, Jimmy Durante, Father Z and the man who seemed to be a thousand feet tall to me at the time. You set the stage that day and I fell in love with the arts!