The Hills Are Alive

Winter weather equals many things for me. Comfort food, re-reading my favorite books, catch-up phone calls, clean closets, mittens and hats scattered all over my house, forecast obsessing, craft projects previously beneath me . . . . and when the novelty of being "stuck" wears off . . . .I seek solace in good TV. Movies, especially, trip my trigger when snow days dawn. And when this happens, without fail, the hills do indeed come alive.

There is no real discussion to be had for me here. Julie Andrews and the pure magic of the 1959 Rodgers and Hammerstein musical The Sound of Music is indisputable, making it THE PERFECT MOVIE. I want to be Maria setting out to "find herself." I want to be Kurt running into Maria's room in a thunderstorm and singing about "my favorite things." I want to be Liesl coyly falling in love with a Nazi. No film before or since has ever grabbed hold of me and never let go like this one. Yes, Breakfast at Tiffany's is delightful. I agree, we all grew a bit after watching Shawshank. Of course, the Lord of the Rings Trilogy was mesmerizing. But, when Captain Georg (pronounced Gayorg) von Trapp evolves into a protective, affectionate father, I'm done. When the children perform a puppet show with goats, I laugh. When Maria admits her love for the captain, I cry ("I must have done something good"). When Maria makes play clothes out of drapes, I dance. When the family takes to the hills running from Hitler's army, unwilling to relent, I soar. I have recreated "So long, farewell" from every set of stairs I can find.

I sang Edelweiss to all of my kids while rocking them to sleep (they didn't have a choice). I have taught my daughter all of the songs from this beloved movie (and you all said I didn't have a heart). Gretl, Marta, Brigitta, Kurt, Louisa, Fredrich, Liesl move over, there's a new von Trapp in town.