Look for the silver lining
Whenever a cloud appears in the blue
Remember, somewhere the sun is shining
And so the right thing to do is make it shine for you

A heart, full of joy and gladness
Will always banish sadness and strife
So always look for the silver lining
And try to find the sunny side of life

So always look for the silver lining
And try to find the sunny side of life

Songwriters: Jerome Kern, B. G. De Sylva.

I have often written about my love of old movie musicals. When I was growing up, this was my entertainment. We’d spend the entire day at the local movie theatre. Mom and dad had a plan in all this. For fifty cents, we could get in to see the movies, buy popcorn and a beverage and not need a babysitter. We would be entranced by the big screen and technicolor moving pictures, with beautiful music, costumes and silly plot lines- but it kept us amused for the entire day. We’d often spend time watching a second run through of the movie and no one seemed to care. Mom and dad could then tend to their weekend tasks without interruption and knew we were in a safe place.

I learned a lot of valuable life lessons in that theatre. I learned that there was a silver lining in every cloud, and even if it was raining somewhere, the sun was right behind those clouds, painting beautiful images in the sky. I learned that my hopes of finding an imaginary prince would soon become dashed. I learned that good triumphs over evil. I learned that in the movies, everyone breaks into song without any motivation whatsoever. I learned I could escape the trauma of adolescence by spending my time in a completely different environment. I could become someone else for a while and I didn’t need drugs to make that happen.

Times change. Entertainment has changed too. Now there is so much reality facing our young people, that there is little hope of escaping from it. When they do, it has to be induced with some synthetic substance. The world of make believe is filled with amazing visions wrapped in stunning colors and filled with stories of love and hope and wishes that really do come true. I’m an old fogey now, but I still love those old visions of a perfect world presented by those movies of old. Today, I have a future to look forward to which includes clouds of silver and gold – dreams of a new, perfect, flawless body – hope for a pain free life with no stress or trials to face. And that’s no made-up story. It’s the whole truth.