Beauty, dignity, courage, brain power.

Hi there everybody, da harv here again. Beauty, dignity, courage, brain power. Woah, what a package. Many years ago I found myself enamored by a couple of ladies during a similar time period in my own life. Neither of which exposure had a man, woman, personal, or social connotation. Both of them, entertainers par excellence;  I speak of Martha Graham, and Lena Horne.

What got to me the most, was simply their way of communicating. Whether it was dancing, singing, acting, or life in general, they expressed themselves, straight from their well-traveled shoulders. It appeared to me today, although they are both no longer with us, our current problems, in retrospect, if we could heed once more what they, too, those two gals, had to say, might still provide much for us, we may all learn from. 

From Martha Graham, quote: “Misery is a communicable disease”.

My Translation from da harv: Hang with those who build. Grow with them. Growth will benefit all.

(And) from Lena Horne:  “It’s not the load that breaks you down, it’s the way you carry it.”

My Translation:

The more people you help, the more of them will be there to help you, when you need it.

      And would you believe, even before da harv became known to most actors involved with the world of voice over, our sixteenth president of the United States was elected to serve us all.

Well almost all of us.

The official legal end of slavery — did not occur until the ratification of the 13th Amendment on Dec. 6, 1865. That was 159 years ago. 

The 19th amendment granted American women the right to vote in 1920. That was only 104 years ago.

And now here’s an excerpt most folks will probably recognize. It’s a quote from a pretty famous speech: 

Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.

Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great battle-field of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of that field, as a final resting place for those here gave their lives that that nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this.

Abraham Lincoln said that on November 19, 1863.

And that my friends was a scant 161 years ago, from where we stand together today in 2024 . In my less than humble opinion, as Americans, we are the greatest assemblage of human beings in the history of this world ever.

And in case you didn’t know, folks, here’s a couple more notes about Martha Graham and Lena Horne. Well, Martha Graham. Wow, what a story. The Graham technique reshaped American dance and is still taught worldwide. She was the first dancer to perform at the White House, travel abroad, and as a cultural ambassador, can you beat that, and received the highest civilian award of the US: the Presidential Medal of Freedom with Distinction. In her lifetime, she received honors ranging from the Key to the City of Paris to Japan’s Imperial Order of the Precious Crown.

        She remained teaching and some say even dancing, to age 96. And then one of the most exciting people ever to be seen on stage: Lena Horne. Her career spanned more than seventy years, appearing in film, television, and theatre. Lena advocated for civil rights  and took part in the March on Washington in August 1963. Later she returned to her roots as a nightclub performer and continued to work on television while releasing well-received record albums. She announced her retirement in March 1980, but the next year starred in a one-woman show, Lena Horne: The Lady and Her Music, which ran for more than 300 performances on Broadway. She then toured the country in that same show, earning numerous awards and accolades. Horne continued recording and performing sporadically into the 1990s, retreating from the public eye in year 2000.

 And take it from me, seeing Lena Horne on stage live, was an unbelievable experience 

And now I’m going to go back to talking to my toys. Have a good one, everybody.  

-da harv