A friend of mine shared with me yesterday a musical she is writing. The musical which she has been working on for almost two years (book, songs and lyrics) is about the last Czar of Russia – Czar Nicholas and his family. The family was taken to Siberia and held as prisoners in Ekaterinberg until orders were given by the Red Communists to end the existence of the Royal Romanov family – to wipe out 300 years of dynastic rule.

Little did she know that this part of history has always been fascinating to me. When my mother was a young girl, they lived next door to a Russian family in an area of Pennsylvania where the only work for the new immigrants was to go deep into coal mines and mine the coal for big companies. In fact, they lived in a company town – where the company owned the houses, stores and provided for the workers (well actually the workers had to pay for housing and food from money they made by mining – so it was really “the company giveth and the company taketh away”). Anyway, Mom learned a little Russian from those neighbors and often on holidays, after a few glasses of wine, I could get Mother to sing what became know in my family as “The Old Russian Lullaby”. – Well, my mother couldn’t sing – so needless to say, we would all fall on the floor laughing.

While I was listening to the magnificent intro to the musical, my friend was able to help me reach back into the past and touch my mother again. What a wonderful gift that was – truly wonderful!

There is a legend about the place where the bodies of the Czar and his family were dumped. The legend says that in that place seven birches began to grow in silent testimony to the horrible deed – a reminder of what was – never to be forgotten. Her intro was a reminder to me of what was and what I miss everyday.

Kudos to my friend Kathy Carlson and if this musical gets produced (and I am confident it will) – I will be sure and post it here first.