Land of Lucy

 “It's a helluva start, being able to recognize what makes you happy. ”
― Lucille Ball

 “Love yourself first and everything else falls into line. Your really have to love yourself to get anything done in this world.”
― Lucille Ball

 “One of the things I learned the hard way was that it doesn't pay to get discouraged. Keeping busy and making optimism a way of life can restore your faith in yourself.”
― Lucille Ball

For as long as I could remember, I have always been a fan of Lucille Ball. Lucille Ball is, to this day, the greatest comedienne of all time. She earned this title by being a pioneer in her own way of bringing laughter to the world. In a day in age where television was brand new and nothing to too exciting, she had the entire world buying televisions JUST to watch her show, I Love Lucy.

She was the first woman to be pregnant on television. She was the first "real" person we ended up investing our emotions into. She was the first woman head of a studio. She was a perfectionist. She was hilarious. She was silly. She was clean. She was no-nonsense. She knew every aspect of the business, inside and out. She was tough. She was a hard worker.

She would have been 101 years old on August 6th. It's the same birthday as Lisa's. So we both decided to go to Jamestown, NY, the hometown of Lucille Ball for her birthday weekend. Every year there is the LUCY FEST and we wanted in! It was a six hour drive to Jamestown and we half expected the theme song to I Love Lucy to start playing the minute we saw "Welcome to Jamestown!" Our hotel was full of I Love Lucy memorabilia and pictures everywhere of Lucy playing her zany character that she played on television for 25 years.

The first night we went to see "Lucy under the Stars" where in a little courtyard they had a big projector playing I Love Lucy episodes with a whole bunch of people in lawn chairs, laughing and enjoying all the old classics. There were so many we can all think of. Bill Holden. The chocolates. Vitameatavegamin. Harpo. The ballet one. The grapes. It's amazing how millions of people can relate and know EXACTLY what episodes we were talking about.

The next day we took a bus tour of Jamestown. We had a fantastic tour guide who was very knowledgeable and very friendly. We saw murals of Lucy everywhere, saw the house Lucy was born in, went to the house she grew up in (which was also having a garage sale!), and the tour ended with a visit to the Lakeside Cemetery. We went to visit Lucy's grave.

This was big for me. I was going to be standing in the presence of this comedic legend's final resting place. The tombstone had a big heart that said "Ball" on it. I stood there in front of her grave and I began to quietly weep. I couldn't help but feel her spirit right there with me. The honor and excitement of being in that presence, but also the tremendous gratitude of being there and just for what Lucy has done for me in my life. Lucy brought me so much joy and happiness growing up. Lucy always made me laugh and is in my life someway, somehow. Everyone who knows me knows this about me. I even heard Lucy's spirit speak to me, words I will hold close to my own heart. They were for me to hear and no one else. As we left the cemetery, I put my hand on the tombstone and said a silent prayer of thanks to Lucy before we left. It was a big deal for me.

Lisa and I participated in something called the "Lucy Games" where I actually stomped on grapes like Lucy did in one her funniest classic episodes, and Lisa competed in the chocolate wrapping contest and won second place! We watched more "Lucy under the Stars", and at night we went to a replica of Ricky Ricardo's Tropicana to a comedy show with five or six Comedy Central comedians. But the before we went to that, we had Dinner with the Mertzes and Ricardos.

At the Crowne Theatre, we had a beautiful dinner and there was a three act play of these impersonators doing Lucy and Ricky Ricardo, and Fred and Ethel Mertz. The play did a montage of different things they did on different episodes. But these characters were absolutely MARVELOUS! The Lucy impersonator was the best one I have EVER seen in my life, and I have seen many! The mannerisms, the expressions, the voice, I felt like I was right there with the real Lucy! What a treat! I would pay big bucks to follow her and travel to see any other Lucy show she does!

The next day we explored two museums. One of Lucy and Desi's professional life with I Love Lucy and the second museum was on their personal life. There was so many different clothing Lucy would wear, and information on the brilliance of Desi Arnaz that is STILL used in television today. It was because of I Love Lucy that we have re-runs today, and the reason television shows use three cameras at once to film, and I Love Lucy is the only TV show that plays every hour of every day somewhere in the world. No other show can say that! The history is amazing!

I am glad I got to share Lisa's birthday weekend at the Lucy Fest. Lucy was so important to both of us, and Lisa is so very important to me. We had a fantastic time and I highly recommend to anyone to visit the Lucy Fest next year. It's such a wonderful tribute to enjoy and celebrate a woman whose face has been seen more around the world than any face ever, and to show the gratitude for the happiness and joy she brought into so many lives. To quote her ex-husband, Desi Arnaz: "I Love Lucy was never just a title."

Yours in service,
MASTER TRENTO