Living in a Tennessee Williams play

It has been hotter than a southern hell recently, and as a result I feel as though I've been living a Tennessee Williams play. You know the scenes....frustrated people milling about sweating...

But there is a good side to these high humidity dayseverytime. When I can't stand the heat any longer, I envision Elizabeth Taylor with that miserable husband and his family in "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof" or Marlon Brando and the women in "Streetcar Named Desire," and I am so much happier than them, I immediately feel cooler.

'Mama Mia' and musicals we love

Who cares if Pierce Brosnan is not a great singer? Certainly not me! What a fun movie "Mama Mia" is and how great to go to a flick and come away feeling like dancing. Films such as this inspire all ages. Just the other evening on "So You Think You Can Dance," one of the young contestants said he got started dancing after watching Patrick Swayze in "Dirty Dancing," and this young man was born long after "Dirty Dancing" came out.

So, let's do some brainstorming? What are some of the great dance film everyone should see?
"Paint Your Wagon"
"Chorus Line"
"Oklahoma" "Singing in the Rain" (featuring Debbie Reynolds who lived in my home area for several years while married to developer Richard Hamlett).
"Damn Yankees" with wonder Gwen Verdon. You can see a clip of this at www.youtube.com/watch?v=wTq8kVX0m5o
"West Side Story" "Caberet" "All That Jazz"
What do you think?

Names and salt can be trouble

Titling this blog Millay's Candle was supposed to inspire me to talk about life and experiences almost philosophically. I would rather think as a consumer right how, however, so expect more nuts and bolts information and less poetry.

For example, I am trying to stick to a low-salt...no added salt...diet, and this has made shopping a more enlightening experience. Frankly, there isn't much you can buy in processed and/or canned food that doesn't have unnecessary salt. Cereal is even a culprit, so read the box carefully. Example: Rice Krispies, 320 mg in one and a quarter cup; Raisin Bran, 350 mg. in 1 cup. Thanks to Kashi's Cinnamon Harvest, I can enjoy cereal without salt.

And don't even think of low-fat choices; these usually have the salt revved up to make up for the lost taste of fat.
It has been especially disheartening, however, to read how much salt is in foods aimed at children or in foods popular with children.
Read your way through the grocery next time.
It's not that salt is bad, but if you are aiming for no added salt then you need to play your purchases. Good purchases: pink salmon -- 250 mg. of salt in one-fourth cup but 782 mg. of Omega 3 fatty acids per serving. California Prunes -- 15 mg. sodium in two-thirds cup.
Don't even think about most of the soups, however.