The Bathers, Pablo Picasso, 1918We hit the sunny beaches where we occupy
ourselves keeping the sun off our skin, the saltwater
off our bodies, and the sand out of our belongings.
.....
Erma Bombeck
I love this painting by Picasso. It conjures up memories of our family
trips to the beach when our children were young. It is so soothing
with nothing to do but to listen to the gentle roar of the waves and
spend the morning searching for the most beautiful shell. These
thoughts also bring to mind a cute little poem I loved as a child by
Dorothy Aldis.
The Picnic
We brought a rug for sitting on,
Our lunch was in a box.
The sand was warm. We didn't wear
Hats or Shoes or Socks.
Waves came curling up the beach.
We waded. It was fun.
Our sandwiches were different kinds.
I dropped my jelly one.
And since our discussions on Fred Astaire the other day led to the
subject of the sweet and charming Danny Kaye, who stars in some
of our dearest Manor favorite films like White Christmas, The Court
Jester, The Secret Life of Walter Mitty and The Pirate and the
Princess, I couldn't resist including this priceless beach picture!
Great post, Willow! I've never seen that Picasso and I LOVE it! The poem was sweet, and what a precious photo of Danny Kaye. My aunt Bette taught him how to swim. I always liked him.
ReplyDeleteA Brush, hey...wait...don't run off! You have to tell us more about your Aunt Bette, Mr. Kaye and the swimming lessons!
ReplyDeleteI love the beach, so much so, we had to have a holiday home near the sand and sea. The dogs and I get withdrawal symptoms if we don't feel the sand beneath our feet (paws). I can relate to the poem, nothing worse than dropping a sandwich on the beach, yuck! Picasso,one of my favourite artists. Great post Willow.
ReplyDeleteGreat picture of Danny! What a clown. He is one celeb I would have like to meet in person! Nice post willow. Always interesting.
ReplyDeleteI agree...Brush, you can't leave us hanging like that!
ReplyDeleteWillow, I hadn't thought of that poem in years. I was fascinated with the jelly sandwich when I was young, since I'd never had a sandwich that was only jelly. :)
And I love the Danny pic...hilarious! And the Bombeck quote is perfect...and so true! Very nice post!
Danny Kaye was brilliant and far too overlooked. He was a super start in his own right, a very talented man.
ReplyDeleteLove that painting too even though Picasso is not one of my faves. But like this painting. It evokes such lazy day feelings, doesn't it?
I've been to the Picasso Museum in Paris often and find that I am always drawn to his early works, works that are "realistic". His Portrait of Olga (1917) is in my office, across from my desk. Le Pientre Salvado en arlequin (1923), which hangs in the Pompidou, is another favorite. I like The Bathers, from the same era.
ReplyDeleteI don't recall the painting, or the poem, and was delighted with both!
ReplyDeleteAnd of course, we love Danny here. I always plug in White Christmas as I make the first batch of Christmas fudge!
Countdown...28 days till I get to see the ocean, listen to the surf, and walk along the shore searching for treasures.
ReplyDelete28 days.
I love this post Willow...We stopped by to see the kids a few minutes after church...they were in their swimsuits, loading the car with all sorts of beach things...I saw a picnic cooler and have a suspicion there just might have been one or two jelly sandwiches inside :)I hope your having a nice Sunday...
ReplyDeleteDavid, his portrait of Olga is also one of my very, very favorites. I blogged on it some time back:
ReplyDeletehttp://willowmanor.blogspot.com/search?q=olga
I am so envious...would love to see the Picasso Museum in Paris!
Even the Desert Diva needs a bit of water now and then!
ReplyDeleteI love the Picasso painting!
ReplyDeleteI commented to my friends last weekend, while at the beach, that I find it rather comical how one can hardly wait to hit the sand, feeling waves on toes, basking in the sunlight... only to grow tired of it all -- the heat, the grit, the sunburn -- only days (hours?!) later and long for home.
Ahhh, but I do love the beach and the beautiful setting that it provides for happy memories.
Such a nice montage of favorites in this post!
ReplyDeleteI live near the beach, still eat jelly sandwiches (with a little cream cheese) and I loved to watch Danny Kaye! He was born in Brooklyn, NY, too ! ;-) He always seemed like such a happy & contented man.
I prefer Picasso's early paintings much more than his later more abstract works....this one is wonderful!
Everything about this post says summertime...lazy carefree days. I can't wait to my little vacation at the beach at the end of next month.
ReplyDeleteWonderful photo of Mr. Kaye and I love the Picasso and poem! Ah, to be at the beach right now would be wonderful...We had such a great family vacation this year, perhaps our best one yet...Great post!
ReplyDeleteWillow, I saw your note. My uncle graduated from the Merchant Marines and he helped to open up trade years ago with the Far East...he and my aunt lived in Japan and around the world for most of my life, but my aunt was a wonderful swimmer, and helped train Olympic swimmers several years in the past. She was beautiful, and modeled for a while, and then she lived in the Bahamas for a while and while she did, she taught several famous people how to swim, one of which was Danny Kaye. The two of them were really neat people, unfortunately no longer with us, but my cousin Peter is--(and he, too, is an excellent swimmer!)
ReplyDeleteBrush, thanks for coming back and filling us in on that interesting piece of your family history! What a neat, neat story!!
ReplyDeleteI just sent you an email with photos I took of where Danny Kaye lived when he was alive. Thought you may like to see those.
ReplyDeleteHugs,
Joanne
Joanne, you are so nice! Yes, of course, I would love to see them. Thank you!!
ReplyDeleteI love The Bathers, actually I love all Picasso before he became a cubist. It's funny how true what Erma Bombeck said, I sure miss her. We always loved the beach. I grew up near the beach, the Pacific ocean and China Sea where the water swallows you, so we were always fearful of going far. Danny Kaye is wonderful I like your taste.
ReplyDeleteI think maybe the Bach reminds me of Danny Kaye. :)
ReplyDeleteCes, I swam in the China Sea off the coast of Japan and got tugged under by the current. It scared me so!
ReplyDeleteWillow,
ReplyDeleteThe theater, the theater; what has happened to the theater! :)
The Bach
Bach, "Doing Choreography" is one of my favorite scenes in White Christmas! He is especially funny in this!! Welcome back to the bloggyhood!
ReplyDeleteInteresting. Picasso had a way with contortion. I thought it was an old deodorant add. Love those trunks Danny Kaye is wearing.
ReplyDeletedanny kaye -- such a funny gentle man! the picasso is great; i like how he painted the women with such long necks.
ReplyDeleteYes, get a load of those trunks! My guys wouldn't be caught dead in those things!
ReplyDelete