Socially Isolated but Spiritually Connected
Never Walking Alone

The desire to connect, a keen longing for the direct touch we have lost in pandemic time, reassurance around the bonds that animate our life together are present with us.

Dear Mayfield,

I was raised on theater, often musicals, performed by local and community theater groups, at summer stock locations where universities and colleges transfer their dramatic departments and productions, and on professional stages during occasional trips to Boston. My first theater memory from childhood is The Music Man. During their high school years, Molly and Amanda, were on stage or in the pit for performances at school and in the community. For years Molly and I have had subscriptions to Broadway in Chicago and had attended other shows for birthdays and holidays. The Robs and the two of us have often been in communication regarding what we have just seen on Chicago stages. Becky and Roger and I have had subscription seats at the Paramount in Aurora for years too and delight in the amazing quality of this regional theater while carrying on conversations with the Robs about these shows as well. And we have been very pleased with Starlight Theater summer performances in Rockford. And from time to time, I have enjoyed the Stagecoach Theater here in DeKalb. When Chorus Line, Little Shop of Horrors, Come From Away, or Newsies is on stage anywhere within a reasonable driving distance, I’m there. The loss of live theater is one that I am feeling right now.

Among my college summer jobs were two years when I waited table at a dinner theater staged in the ballroom of Springside Inn in Auburn, New York, a historic home and documented site of Underground Railroad activity. The theater company was excellent, and each season displayed an array of different productions, the well known ones and those that were edgy at the time. It was there that I first saw Jacque Brel Is Alive and Well and Living in Paris.  And the summer that included Carousel found me belting out Rodgers & Hammerstein’s “You’ll Never Walk Alone.”

I haven’t thought that much about “You’ll Never Walk Alone” in decades until these weeks of pandemic. Captain Tom Moore, a World War II veteran, will be 100 tomorrow, April 30,2020. In recent weeks, he has been taking a daily sponsored walk, laps around his Bedfordshire garden in Yorkshire, in the United Kingdom. His goal was to raise 1,000 pounds or $1,241.50 dollars to support the dedicated work of the medical staff in the National Health Service.  As of yesterday, his walks have been pledged to the tune of 29.3 million pounds or $36,397.192.50 dollars. He was quoted in a BBC article with these words: “To all those people who are finding it difficult at the moment,” he said, addressing a British public who have seen life turned upside down by coronavirus, “The sun will shine on you again, and the clouds will go away.” The pairing of Captain Tom Moore with “You’ll Never Walk Alone”  is such a fit. Captain Tom Moore, Michael Ball, and The NHS Voices of Care Choir presented “You’ll Never Walk Alone”  a few days back, and he became the oldest person ever in the UK to occupy the #1 spot for a single on the music charts. LINK After a few seconds, you can tap the skip ads button on the lower right corner of the screen, and Captain Tom and his song will begin.

So Happy 100th Birthday to Captain Tom!!! The gift he has sent around the world is remarkable. It extends comfort when we are lonely or afraid. It reminds us of the power of art.  It encourages us that we are never too old to make a contribution. It reaffirms that small acts can snowball into transforming gifts of substance. With him we remember the tender value and resilience of our life together.  Peace, Martha

PS — See the attachment. Diana has sent us information regarding JAMS and the 2020 Give DeKalb County program.