There have been tens of thousands, maybe hundreds of thousands. From the widely known to the utterly obscure. Occasionally the brunt of jokes but always atmospheric, one way or another. And usually, encouraging us to relax in spite of ourselves.
It’s my new Go-To Dream Job. My Next Big Thing. My Scandalous Ambition.
Lounge Act.
Let’s see, now.
Among the sultry singer types, there was Billie Holiday of course. Classic. Tragic. Unspeakably talented. There’s the mid-century Hollywood version of the upscale club crowd, with Sinatra in Pal Joey, kept by a delectable Rita Hayworth.
Did he really say the lady is a tramp?
But I suspect it’s Michelle Pfeiffer as Susie Diamond who epitomizes the je ne sais quoi I’m seeking to embody – smoldering (and unforgettable) in that slinky red dress, draped over a gleaming piano, crooning.
The Fabulous Baker Boys. Fabulous indeed.
I’ll grant you I might resemble Piaf more than Pfeiffer, but you get the gist. It’s an unexpected career move, but hey – who says we don the roles anyone else slaps our name on?
There are alternatives, of course, like stand-up comics we love to hate or those we love to love. Personally, I’ll take my dose of Joan Rivers anytime, anywhere – Oh, to have seen her in her early Johnny Carson heyday! And then there’s Kathy Griffin before the D List made her A List. Not everyone’s taste, but then neither am I.
Of course, what I really have in mind is a little different.
Me. Lounging.
As in sprawled on my bed, on the sofa, on pasha pillows of lavish silk scattered on the floor. Sipping something. Not lifting a finger. Punctuating my requests (for service?) with ample use of “dahling.”
Very Countess Luann, don’t you think?
No crazy schedule. No stressed out kids. No role as the yo-yo alarm clock that wakes the sleeping teen every two minutes until he finally rises. No dishes to wash, no fridge to fill, no meals to make, no stack of bills, no driving lessons.
Lounging.
A whole lot of nothing, not that I’m particularly good at doing nothing. But maybe, with practice?
Is it burnout? Single Mother Sanity checked at the door? Must I audition?
Yup. I’m working through the details, planning my approach, sizing up my strategy – though I’m not exactly holding my breath. Nonetheless, I don’t have to budge for a day or two and that alone may furnish the enthusiasm to try out option A, slipping into a snazzy sequined something, stepping onto a smoke-filled stage, curling my kittenish fingers around a cool metal mike, and belting one out.
Move over Molten Michelle.
Baited breath for the up-and-coming Big Little Lounge Act?
It’s important to lounge and do nothing occasionally. I am a list person and get disappointed if I can’t complete everything on the list. So my husband has suggested that I add fun or relaxation to my list. That’s not what lists are for! But if it helps you relax, perhaps you should block off your schedule for some lounging. Good luck!
Maybe if I get a Lounge chair? 😉
Ah the Fab Baker Boys movie is excellent. I luv the part when Susie walks in late to the audition, breaks a heel, and sez SHIT! People can surprise you as the boys found out. :O)
It is a great movie, Gandalfe. (Hit the link underneath the words “Must I audition?” – and you’ll go to Youtube, to the entire audition scene including the part you mentioned. Funny stuff.)
“This is show business?”
Nabbed this for my Facebook friends.
Lounge chairs are nice. Singing like this is better. ;O)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7TULYBRHBAs
Yes! The famous piano “lounging” !!! (Good one, Gandalfe.)
Likelihood the BLW will sit around doing plenty of nothing – low to non-existent. Things will indeed change for you as an empty-nester, and you will want/need to find new things – good. If you really want to be a lounge rat, consider how Jerry (my best friend, fellow jogger, and psychiatrist) loves playing the best-known songs of the past century on the piano. He goes to bars and restaurants — where ever there is a public piano — and plays (and folks sing along and talk and enjoy it). I pulled/tore my calf gastroconemius in a 5k last week and am doing some “nothing” and hate it. It’s more fun to think about doing nothing than doing it – gets boring quickly, including (to an extent) reading all those great books you imagined reading in your free time.
Mmm, I like this dream. It’s playful — and no one says you can’t do a little rehearsing in a private karaoke booth before you go public ;). Bring props, I say!
Sometimes the best stress relief is to get into comfy sweats (sequined if you desire) cranking up the tunes (on the home stereo) and belting it out.
There is absolutely nothing wrong with pouring yourself a hot beverage or a cocktail, easing into the softest cushiest spot in the house and doing absolutely nothing. As long as you keep the mind from reeling, it will do a body and a mind some good. Enjoy your weekend!
Sequined sweats. I love it!
oh! and I LOVED the movie. I remember imagining myself in her place on that piano. Love the Bridges boys too…
Enjoy your break! No one deserves it more than you.
Thx! Nothing like a little red clay and dreaming… 🙂 Have a great weekend, April!
I think it was Rita Hayworth who said, “They go to bed with Rita Hayworth. But they wake up in the morning and it’s me.”