Video: "RoseMarie"
Like many young people, when I was growing up, I didn't like to hear my older family members, teachers, etc. tell me about "the good old days" when things were so much better--or "different" if you looked at those days through my perspective. So when my Aunt Zazie (yes, that's what I called her--no idea why) came to visit carrying these VHS videos that were not only in black and white but the main characters were SINGING through the whole movie, I whined and tried to make excuses not to watch them with her.
But she wore me down and before I knew it, I was laughing and singing along. Yes, I fell in love with Jeannette McDonald and Nelson Eddy movies. But more than that, I fell in love with things that were "old"--or at least much older than me!
Through watching these old movies with my Aunt Zazie, I came to understand that just because something is old to me doesn't mean that thing is no longer pertinent or valuable. Sometimes (a vast majority of the time, truth be told) Old is much better than the new!
As a writing and literature teacher, I LOVE the old classics--stories and movies that have been around for a VERY long time. I love teaching literature that is hundreds, even thousands of years old. It is from the old that we often see themes and other insights within the new.
J.K. Rowling never would have been able to write the amazing Harry Potter series if it hadn't been for other authors who had come before her and paved the way for an audience to fall in love with such a magical story. We see themes and similarities throughout the series that can be found not only in mythology and religion, but also within great classics such as The Lord of the Rings!
How does one love the new without knowing, loving, and respecting the old?!
So while I groaned and complained and cried and whined, I am so thankful for those hours I spent watching Jeannette McDonald and Nelson Eddy movies with my Aunt Zazie. Now that I am the "old[er]" one attempting to teach the young[er] ones, I begin to understand and appreciate more fully the value of my aunt's influence on my life and in my education.
And I didn't even mention the fact that just my naming her Aunt "Zazie" and her allowing me to call her that helped encourage my creativity!!!!!
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