"The Sound of Music" Fan Marks Film's 45th Anniversary
NEW YORK (CBS) My college roommate use to call me a cornpuff.
I took it as the musings of the dramatic and hilariously funny actress that she was (she's actress Wendy Raquel Robinson). And, granted, I was pretty corny. But it wasn't until my senior year in college and another roommate, that I accepted the name with aplomb - because here I was, taking two hour breaks in between studying for finals, watching "The Sound of Music."
Mind you, my friends at Howard University would never get caught watching a classic Hollywood musical. And here I was, watching with bated breath, every scene of the Rogers and Hammerstein classic.
The first time I'd seen it, I was in high school and caught the network airing halfway through. It took me back to the sixth grade, when a classmate brought the album for her show and tell. She sang "Do Rei Me." I didn't get it.
But here, it clicked.
A year later, I'd find myself in Salzburg, Austria, the setting of the story and the movie. I was on a bus with 20 other self-subscribed "Sound of Music" fanatics. Picture a "Do Rei Me" sing-a-long in five various accents.
Six years later, I met my husband. I tested his resolve - I popped the four-hour tape into the VCR, and watched his reaction.
"I love this movie," he smiled. I knew he was a keeper!
And why wouldn't he love it? "The Sound of Music" is the epitome of optimism and can-do spirit - a story based on real life events during a heinous era of history.
Julie Andrews, what a sprite, a cute little caterpillar that morphed into a butterfly. I wished for my very own metamorphosis. No wonder I'd sing "Confidence" before exams and interviews.
Here, I thought I was some sort of freak of nature, holding this strange fascination for a film. So when the cast made their rounds over the last week to promote the film's 45th anniversary, I perked up. When I saw people of all ages and persuasions, including Oprah Winfrey, proclaiming their love for the movie, I took notice.
I can now proudly declare to the world what the Sound of Music means to me - how much I loved it and still do.
So that's why I will be buying the digitally-remastered Blu-ray thing-a-ma-jig-it. I want my kids to develop that same connection and fascination.
Cornpuffs of the world unite! There, I've said it - I feel confident, the hills are alive!
