The Huntington

If you've never been to The Huntington, in San Marino, CA, you really should go. The Huntington is a private nonprofit collections-based institution, founded in 1919 by Henry E. Huntington. This site is one of the finest research libraries in the world. It also houses a fabulous art collection, including The Blue Boy by Thomas Gainsborough, circa 1770, and Pinkie by Sir Thomas Lawrence, 1794.

There is also an array of more than a dozen botanical gardens with plants from a geographic range spanning the globe, which covers 120 acres of the 207-acre grounds. There were several roses named after famous ladies. Unfortunately, the picture I took of the Princess Diana rose didn't do it justice. You can't possibly see it all in one day, which is why several in our group had already been there a few times.

You can make arrangements for a guided tour, which I would recommend. Our guide had a myriad of tales and had worked at The Huntington over 50 years ago. She was very interesting.

The Library's collection of rare books and manuscripts in the fields of British and American history and literature is extraordinary. It has on display some of the finest rare books and manuscripts of Anglo-American civilization. Altogether, there are about 6 million items! Again...not all in one day.

We had a lovely tea buffet luncheon with finger sandwiches (I know it sounds very girlie, but the guys enjoyed it too), with many different kinds of wonderful cheese, and the desserts were scrumptious, pecan tarts, lemon bars, and of course something chocolate. Fortunately, we were able to walk off a calorie or two after lunch. The unfortunate thing about the day was the temperature. If it wasn't 100 degrees, it was very close.
Heed the warning to wear comfortable shoes.

They had a nice gift shop too. Of course, I never met a gift shop I didn't like, but the little "rose" items, such as soap and stationery, make nice presents. And it was air conditioned! A big bonus for the day.

We were all speculating on how much this land would cost today, as our guide mentioned that when Henry bought it in 1902 for $600,000, everyone thought he was a little crazy, because there was nothing much there. Such is a visionary.

Listen to My Heart

I can remember the first time I heard the song, "Listen to My Heart." I was driving on the freeway, and I decided to finally listen to the Nancy LaMott tape my cousin, Sandy, had given me a long time ago.

When that song came on, it took my breath away. I thought I was going to have to maneuver three lanes over and stop on the side of the road and just listen. I thought it was the most beautiful melody I had ever heard. And to this day, I still do. I'm sure the orchestration with the strings had a lot to do with it, as well as Nancy's beautiful voice.

Several years after hearing that song for the first time, I had the opportunity to meet the composer of that piece, David Friedman. I am so glad he decided to do a vocal workshop in Southern California last weekend. And I'm most happy that he turned out to be such a wonderful, inspirational person. After all, his songs are all about inspiration, love and hope.

My wanting to meet him goes beyond that one great song. I also had the good fortune to sing another of his fun songs, "My Simple Christmas Wish," when I played Glinda, the Good Witch of the North in "Noses are Red." This was an original musical my acting coach, Alice Carter, wrote and directed two years in a row. This was a dream come true that I would get to perform this song in front of an audience that included many actors. The lyrics are so clever.

"Just in Time for Christmas" is another gem of his that I sang at a private party over the holidays. If you want to check out his music, go to David's own company, MIDDER Music Records, where he wrote for and produced all of the late, great Nancy LaMott's CD's, most of which I own. In addition to the songs I've mentioned above, be sure to check out "We Can Be Kind," "Trust the Wind," and "Ill Be Here With You." The latter song was the title of a wonderful cd that features all of David's songs and was a benefit recording for Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS.

Friedman's credits include musical direction and vocal arranging for five Broadway shows and numerous Disney feature films, including "Beauty and the Beast," "Aladdin," Pocahontas," and "The Hunchback of Notre Dame."

His songs have been recorded by Diana Ross, Barry Manilow, Kristen Chenoweth, Kathie Lee Gifford, Petula Clark, Lainie Kazan and many others.

Charlton Heston

When I heard about Charlton Heston's passing, I remembered the time my hubby and a friend flew down in our club's Cessna 172 to Palomar Airport, where a limo picked them up and drove them the short distance to the La Costa Resort for lunch.

In the 70's, it was the new hot spot for tennis enthusiasts, and we first discovered it when we went there on our Sunny Hills Racquet Club's weekend outing. In any event, on this particular day, Dave and Bill had to wait in the limo for some time before they could get back to the airport for the return trip home. It seems the limo was waiting for Mr. Heston to finish his tennis game (or lunch) as he showed up in his tennis gear with a uniformed airline pilot.

Mr. Heston apologized for keeping them waiting. When they got to the airport, he pointed to a twin-engine turbo jet and said, "That's Bill Cosby's." He then went over and boarded a single-engine Cessna 182 (a step up from our 172) and departed. The plane may not have been a status symbol but having your own airline pilot standing by sure was.

It's good to know that when these great actors leave this planet, we still have their wonderful movies to watch whenever we want. And it's nice to recall that Charlton Heston was a true gentleman.