Dear Reader:

Doesn’t the thought of ” SOMEDAY ” still bring back images of Snow White singing about the possibility of true love and happiness… since it was first sung in the 1937 Disney animated classic Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs?

On the flip side – reality, we know too many dreams of ” somedays” with no plans to reach them …ends in failure and disappointment. WE have to make our ” Somedays” go from idle dreams to consistent preparation …concluding in satisfaction- an accomplished ” NOW” reality.

Still I never could have imagined that the next time ” Someday My Prince Will Come” (from the 1937 Disney film) would end up being performed in a World War II concentration camp by jazz musicians in 1943. Quite a story! Scary reality!

Heinz ” Coco” Schumann was born into a middle class German family. His father was Christian who converted to Judaism after marrying Coco’s Jewish mother. It was a happy life until Nazism and the Third Reich changed Germany forever.

The Nuremberg Laws were passed banning Jews from owning businesses and they were forced to give up their trades. At the time Heinz had a French girlfriend who nicknamed him ” Coco.” At 14 he began playing guitar and developed a life-long love of jazz and swing music.

Soon, however, jazz music became sanctioned… considered ” alien” and unacceptable in German culture. Jazz was banned. By 1943 there was a complete crackdown on nightclubs playing swing music.

An informant turned Heinz into the Gestapo and he was shipped to the Theresienstadt ghetto… it marked the beginning of his story with the ” Ghetto Swingers. ”

Surprisingly the Nazi guards allowed prison musicians to form bands… even playing jazz-the reason Coco was imprisoned??? The Ghetto Swingers were one of the most recognized camp bands by war’s end. And the most popular song requested-the jazz band’s rendition of ” One Day My Prince Will Come.”

Coco admitted it was the camaraderie and music that saved his mental state and kept his desire to survive burning. He later wrote,” When I played I forgot where I was … We knew everything but then forgot everything the moment we played a few bars. “

For over 50 years Coco refused to speak about his experiences but after attending a camp survivors’ reunion… the attendees begged him to tell his and their story. In 1997 he published his story first in German and later English.

So until tomorrow… Let’s all be ready when our ” Somedays” arrive… understanding that all of us are ” Enough” being ourselves …just as we are… but hey… who’s going to turn down a love of your life … your Prince? 😂

Today is my favorite day. Winnie the Pooh

And speaking of Winnie… Tommy picked up Winnie for John and Mandy before her ” camp” closed… Mandy reported their flight kept getting delayed… typical these days…

Mollie reported they got back in from Florida about 9:00 Friday night and were up and at’em Saturday morning-at Goose Creek – for the boys’ football games. Probably got more sun yesterday than their whole week in Florida!

Eloise dressed up for the games! Sure she ended up shedding accessories in the hot sun! But accessories make the woman!