Hi everyone.  Hope you are all well and continue to stay that way during this global health crisis we are facing.  But in addition to protecting your physical wellness, what are you doing to stay mentally healthy today?

(Image found online.  Original source unknown.)

I know we are still facing a serious situation but a new year gives us hope for the new days, seasons, opportunities & moments ahead. Still, music is something that will never change for me. It is my refuge, the most comforting part of my life & the one thing I consistently count on. So until a more normal semblance of life returns, I am going to share a song I listen to that helps me escape the current state of things, if only for a few minutes each day. And if this helps anyone else, even better.

Tony Bennett has often said today’s singer was the best he ever heard. And in many ways she was. Judy Garland, born Frances Ethel Gumm on June 10, 1922 in Minnesota, started singing with her sisters when she was a child. By age 13 she was signed to Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer by studio president Louis B. Mayer.

She started in radio & eventually moved on to movies. Her career-making performance as Dorothy Gale in 1939’s “The Wizard Of Oz” when she was 16 turned her into a legend, a role every generation since has discovered her in. It was truly an iconic part and she was absolutely beautiful in it.

It may be hard to forget how young she was when she died (aged 47 in 1969) all her marriages, her battles with substance abuse and the fact that she was one of Hollywood’s first casualties. But her incomparable voice, her acting, her live performances & her incredible heart are what she gave us all. Nearly 100 years after her birth & more than 50 years after her death, Judy Garland is still one of the most beloved stars the world ever saw.

“If happy little blue birds fly
Beyond the rainbow
Why oh why can’t I“.

Judy Garland as Dorothy Gale in 1939’s classic, “The Wizard Of Oz“. (Image found online.  Original source unknown.)

Judy Garland: “Somewhere Over The Rainbow” (1939, written by Harold Arlen and Edgar Yipsel “Yip” Harburg).

I do not own the rights to anything.  I am just sharing what I love and how I am coping with you.

Stay well.