No, she couldn’t sing. Her pitch and intonation were off, but she was the last to be embarrassed. Not that she didn’t care what other people thought of her, but she sang anyways, loud, proud, passionate, and off key.
I’m talking about Florence Foster Jenkins, a wealthy New Yorker woman of the 1930s and 40s who loved music and opera more than her money and reputation. Or so it seemed watching Meryl Streep who gave an endearing performance of Florence Foster Jenkins in a movie that came out this summer.
Now, I love Meryl Streep (she’s probably my favorite actress) so it’s no surprise I fell in love with Florence. But there is another reason. Florence was a dreamer, and she loved loved loved singing. She was also quite delusional (something her close friends and supporters encouraged for fear of hurting her feelings). But she wasn’t stupid. She took singing lessons. She practiced. And she took the risk of putting herself out into public and sang at Carnegie Hall at the age of 73. It was her final dare.
What did it take to defy the voices of reason and fulfill her dream? Where did she find the robust stubbornness of will and daring?
Florence had the good fortune of money, and that certainly helped. But she had other reasons. If you want to find out what they were, go and see the movie. Better still, find out what you want to do more than anything else in the world. Hum momentum into your curiosity and figure out how to feed your longing. It’s never too late.
If you could use a tuning fork, give me a call. I’m happy to help. Warmly, Tina