Life of a Show Girl (the Twins' Era)

Someone asked me how long my twin sister and I have been "performing" (using term loosely) songs and dances. I think this is the earliest documentation I could find. No date on the photo but I'm guessing we were 2 1/2 or 3 1/2. (I'm the chub-ster on the right.) And yes, based on the very short dresses my sisters were wearing in the dead of winter, it was the '70s folks!

Here we are with a group of cousins singing to Grandpa and Grandma Johnson as part of a family Christmas. This has been quite the long-standing tradition! 

Then throughout childhood, we sang at church things, 4-H things, bridal showers and baby showers (our mom would make up the lyrics), and for nursing residents. That pretty much went by the wayside after high school graduation, but we resurrected it in 2000 in the form of an "opening act" at each of our sister weekends.

So yeah, we're not shy and it's always fun to make people smile! Too bad we're not making billions like that other show girl...

But if you are a fan of hers, there's something in Wisconsin Rapids worth checking out!

Every year the South Wood County Historical Museum hosts a Christmas Tree walk with beautifully and uniquely decorated trees throughout the large home.

This year, some creative Swifties paid homage to her latest album. Cute.

Look closer and you can see the "garland" mimics her trademark friendship bracelets. And, you can grab one off the tree for yourself!

Look even more closely and you'll see song lyrics from multiple albums that tie into winter or Christmas. Great job, ladies!

There are at least two dozen other trees to see – plus decorated mantels, wreaths, rooms. All for a free-will offering for the museum. Check it out this season! 

You might just start singing and dancing yourself!

Behind The Scenes Behind Bars

Welcome aboard for your very unofficial tour of Alcatraz! First off, the Alcatraz City Cruises company does a great job of jetting you over to the island – and they leave about every half hour during the day AND accommodate more than 200 passengers per trip. Win!

Before you board, you can get a "paper mache" type layout of the island. It's not a huge island but all the buildings are squished in there somehow.

Beautiful waters despite the ugly destination.

My co-worker Tom and I feeling rebellious going to prison!

Alcatraz was a federal penitentiary until 1963. In 1969 Indigenous activists occupied Alcatraz for 19 months.

A guard's watch tower that at first looked like a lighthouse to this lighthouse fan.

The official "welcome" entrance to Alcatraz.

A former "officers club" that burned in a fire either caused by Indians or hippies. The jury is still out on that.

Lovely sign on the roof so you know you do NOT want to land there.

Just an artsy shot.

The model industries building.

The current state of electrical...

...And plumbing. In case someone has this crazy idea to reopen this place!

More from the Indian occupation.

Well of course there's a morgue. Not everyone can survive these luxurious island accommodations.

In the cellhouse now.... no privacy for showers or anything else.

My childhood dream house had spiral stairs. But yeah, not so sure in this setting!

The narrators in our fascinating audio tour of the cellhouse...

Who knows how they got former inmates to participate, but it added a real-feel element to the tour.

Three levels of cells. My first thought was Shawshank Redemption! Such a similar look and feel. And Al "Scarface" Capone was here!

Cells were 5 feet wide so even I am too tall to sleep in the "width". Not by much.

I can smile when I know it's just a tour and I don't have to spend extended time here. Of course, women weren't welcome anyway.

Solitary confinement is as bad as it sounds. 

The prisoner on the audio tour said he'd just have to adjust to the dark and pretend to play a TV screen in from him to visualize something – anything. 

Oh just me looking at angles and finding something pretty – architecturally. 

Prison library again reminded me of the Shawshank movie!

Free time for most included smoking – they got a lot of cigarettes – and hobbies like chess and music.

The escapees in 1962 made fake mask heads to put in their beds while they burrowed out of prison via the tunnels they dug with spoons. There were three of them and they were never found.

Prison cafeteria offering a balanced meal!

The kitchen crew made sure there was a knife matching each black outline on the cutlery board. Should I be alarmed they were all missing?!

Random beauty because prison gardens were actually a thing.

An artsy shot of the Bay Bridge.

A light house that appears to be more used by birds than anything else!

Evening view of the Golden Gate Bridge from the island.

Oh yeah, we're in California. There are palm trees here! 

More surprising garden work.

And a little bit more.

Another artsy shot of the Bay Bridge over to Oakland.

Our ride.

View of the San Francisco shoreline. It's definitely a compact city on a hill for lack of a better definition. 

Thank you, Congress, for making Alcatraz part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area. And thank you for coming along on my virtual (surely incomplete) tour of Alcatraz.

Super Classic Country

One thing hubby had in common with my parents was a love for classic country. And I mean super classic like from the '50s and on. So it was pretty amazing to get our classic fix at both the Opry and the Country Music Hall of Fame.

Our seats at the Opry were in row J, as in Jim. So close we could see everything and everyone in actual size!

This was our line-up of entertainers. And we were excited.

A nice surprise at the Opry is church pew seating with cushions! So nice.

I was expecting the usual red barn but the Opry has gone digital, so it was a different background for sure!

Hall of famer Rhonda Vincent opened up the show with some amazing bluegrass!

Drew Baldridge not only impressed us with his "Somebody's Daughter" song but a new, unrecorded "Rebel" song.

I was so inspired by Jessica Willis Fisher's story that I've ordered her autobiography.

Opry Hall of Famer Whispering Bill Anderson moved us to tears with his new song relating to Alzheimer's -- the last person I'll forget.

And there's a long story about Gene Watson. Jim and several friends saw him in concert last year and hoped to convince him to come to central Wisconsin. He did perform an hour-plus away and Jim saw him. But the performance at the Opry sort of solidified his "legend" status.

We had an amazing comedic break in the action with Gary Mule Deer. Stupid what I would call Dad Jokes, but he made us laugh none-the-less!

And then there's Dasha. Hubby and I obviously love her recent hit "Austin," but she was super entertaining with two other songs.

When we concluded with a hall of famer Don Schlitz, I realized that there are so many people behind the amazing country songs we hear on the radio. He wrote "The Gambler" and "You Say it Best When You Say Nothing at All" to name a few. Wow.

When Jim and I went to the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, our admiration increased.

Here's the songwriter I just mentioned.

And here's "whispering" Bill – officially appreciated for more than 2 decades!

There was so much more we saw and listened to and experienced, but I think our glimpses at history (especially remembering what our parents listened to) hit closest to home.