Once upon a time in a small town near Kiev a man and woman got married. They wanted a better life so they moved to Philadelphia.
The husband was a salesman and sold a lot of produce. When they were settled in this new city they decided to start a family. One of their daughters was named Shirley…..yes this is about my mother.
Mom was a gymnast and loved to dance. She created a dance called the Devil and the Lady. She had a three dimensional paper mache devil’s head. She put one arm inside the head and had the devil’s arm attached to her shoulder. She wore a white flowing dress. And the audience enjoyed this beautiful and creative dance.
Once another dancer became ill. So the owner said, “You have to do a fan dance number.” Shirley was very petite with a size 4 1/2 shoe. She put on a beige leotard filled with sparkly rhinestones. The ostrich feathers were 3 feet tall. The trick was never to let the audience see your body.
Later she met my father and they married. They were promised jobs in New Orleans. My father’s job did not last very long and my mother felt that she was getting a little old for those dances.
She was offered a job to be the hostess of the most famous club on Bourbon street called the 500 Club. Her job was to seat all the people who came to see the show. People came from all over the country to come to the 500 Club. People came…some celebrities, and politicians, came to see Lily Christine the cat girl. She was dressed as a little cat and danced on the limbs of a tree.
When my parents went out, my baby sitter, Allouette, a tassel twirler, would sit with us. She could not read so she would pick up a book look at the pictures and make up the words from the pictures in the book. Lenny and I would laugh so hard.
Her job was stressful… and Shirley got a peptic ulcer. My father told me that I caused it. Shirley was in pain and drank a great deal of buttermilk. Her doctor told her that she had to quit that job or she would have to have surgery. Shirley quit.
Because my mother used very strong theatrical make up she had lead poisoning all over her face. A wonderful doctor named Dr Burke sanded off a layer of skin from her face and she had this done twice. Within a couple of months Shirley’s skin was flawless.
She got a job at Merle Norman where she learned to do more modern make up. Soon she got a great job at a store called Mason Blanche. Shirley sold cosmetics and fragrances.
When a lady came in, Shirley sat her on a stool, cleaned her face, and proceeded to do an outstanding looking make up job. No one else at the store did this. When African American women came in she did the same…..to be continued….
Love,
Richard
