This American's not in Paris - he's in my subconscious. And what a lovely place that is...

Last night this American icon visited me in my dreams. In real life, tonight I am taking the teenage girls from my church to sing to and visit with residents at an assisted living center. One of the songs they are performing is "Singin' in the Rain". I suppose that's what made me dream of him...

In my dream, I dreamt Mr. Kelly drove up in a rickshaw (?!) and asked if he could come along.
"Of course!", I tell him. Then I ask someone with a camera to take our picture and when he seems confused by my request, I proceed to gush over him and say things like, "This is the best day of my life!" or "I've seen most of your movies" or "As a teenager my mom was in love with you" and even "Will you teach me to dance like Cyd Charisse?"

The rest of the dream is a blur, but I recall cameo appearances by Judy Garland and the guy that plays the cop on Dumb & Dumber. No matter how it ended, there are worse things than waking up with Gene Kelly on the brain. ;)

Forget that he passed away when I was sixteen years old. I mean, look at this guy - such a strong, graceful dancer! Not to mention he could sing! True, his voice didn't sound as refined as Frank Sinatra, but maybe that's what I like about it...it seems untrained in a genuine, down-to-earth way. Ever heard "Moses Supposes" that he sings with Donald O'Connor from Singin' in the Rain? Don't forget his million-dollar smile. What woman wouldn't swoon with those eyes (and lips!) pointed her direction? ;) I love whenever Gene Kelly smiled his eyes smiled, too - with a little twinkle!

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And the thing that amazes me most about Gene Kelly is the same thing that blows me away when I watch Fred Astaire - that overabundance of creativity! The moves and ideas they come up with in their dance routines is jaw-dropping. For example, watch this video from It's Always Fair Weather (normally, I'm a big musical fan but I have to admit the lyrics of this song bring a new element to cheesy...however, watch it at least for 2 1/2 minutes. Even a non-musical critic would have to be impressed that Gene could time and pace his skates to reach his marks so precisely and then to TAP dance on skates??? I can barely make it around a rink (not straying too far from the wall, mind you) without falling on my keester!):

I love one fan wrote about Gene Kelly:

"I wonder if he ever falls during his routines.

Oh, wait, he's Gene Kelly. He never falls -

instead the rest of us just fall for him!"

Amen!!!