Where Comfort Is

I find myself, in the great quiet of these gentle days, retreating into the songs and memories of my youth, much of it available on Youtube.

I play songs from Carousel, perhaps the finest musical play ever produced. If I Love You... What could be more beautiful? I return to Cole Porter's Kiss Me, Kate often, to absorb the music I grew up with.

By the time I was old enough to grasp politics, Paul Robson had been chased out of the country and was living in Moscow, but I love to play his Old Man River, the Jerome Kern melody from Showboat, and one of the most moving renditions ever recorded.

I play episodes of What's My line, hosted by the articulate and gracious John Charles Daly, and watch the panelists try to discover who the mystery guest is. Today it was Joe diMaggio.

It is a privilege to be old and have such memories.