Dad in a tutu!

Vaudeville is dead, which is sad. Basically, it was an 8 act performance with singing sisters, dancing brothers, a comedien, and a skit, much like the Donnie and Marie Show or Hee Haw. Good clean family variety entertainment. Unfortunately, my dad never got that memo.

My grandparents wintered in Florida and we would visit them over Christmas break. A couple of times we flew, but usually we drove. Usually, my cousins would already be there because their other grandparents lived there all the time.

I'm not really sure who's idea it was to exploit the talents or lack there of us but someone did in the form of let's do a show! So we would find ourselves at one senior center or another entertaining.

My mother would sing songs like "A bicycle built of two" or "Yabba Dabba Honeymoon". She had a beautiful soprano voice and was an accomplished pianist. My younger sister, also sang and played the violin. Me - well, I don't sing so well and transposing music on the fly for my clarinet was never my strong suit - so I got to be the comic relief. Well, I was suppose to be the funny one.

I got to put on clown makeup and do silly skits like "Sucker on the Line" or "Is it time". Once in awhile, I might put on my tap shoes and dance, but by then I was in high school and that wasn't so cute.

My dad was a frustrated performer. Secretly, I think he wanted to be a star, but he didn't sing or play an instrument. No he did something far better than that - he scarred his daughters for life.

No, my father did parody ballet dances. At the time the instrumental song "Music Box Dancer" was popular. My mom would start playing the first few notes - dadadadada...and my dad would appear from behind the bedsheet curtain we had up on the back of the stage. He would be wearing a sleeveless t-shirt, bermuda shorts, white knee socks and tennis shoes and a tutu! He had all of the grace of a swan....with a broken leg, which he played to the hilt.

My sister and I, were in junior high when this first began, and it continued while we were in high school. Watching my father try to do a piruette and twirl was bad enough in front of strangers, but he also performed this routine at church talent shows. He would ocassionally add a new performance to his repertoire. I remember that he and my sister sang and danced to "A bicycle built for two". I, on the other hand was hiding, hoping that no one realized that I was with them.

I was a sophomore in high school before the vaudeville days were over, but maybe, just maybe I can convince Dad to take one more spin across the stage just so his grandkids can say...I remember when Grandpa danced in a tutu.