Men are very much like birds,
Some sing a song, some seldom heard.
Some will fly – some never try.
Some will never reach the sky.
Some are low and some quite regal.
Some may choose to hoot with owls,
While others soar like eagles.
Tom Northam
Dedicated to Dana Ohl on the occasion of his graduation from the University of Michigan, September 26, 1986.
SUZY Q
Her mother didn’t want her,
Her father never knew.
Her family said to give her up,
It was the proper thing to do.
This was when I met sweet Mary Sue,
This tiny bundle known as Suzy Q
My mother found her precious,
And dressed her like a toy,
We never knew the story, true
But I wished she’d been a boy.
Although she was adopted,
She was my sister through and through,
This little girl, my sister, Suzy Q.
She soon became my best friend,
My playmate, the one I liked the best
She became the girl I’ve always loved
Oh, how we explored from east to west,
She was my father’s daughter,
My brother’s sister too.
This was our little Mary Sue
My sweet, sweet little Suzy Q.
She married young, “…would never last!
It did for sixty years and past.
This moonstruck couple fooled them all
They had two children; grandkids too.
And one and all loved Suzy Q.
Today, I learned that Suzy died,
And though I knew she was soon to go
I thought I had more time to say
To tell this girl who was given away
How much she meant to me and many.
How much I wanted her to know–
She’d filled the lives of far more than she knew
Goodbye, sleep well, sweet Suzy Q.
by Tom Northam
December 3, 2019
The above picture by Jaro Hess published in 1930, was given as a baby gift from my cousin, Robert Warren Camp, and hung over my bed from the time I was born. It is now in my office, and there is rarely a day that I don’t look at it. It has greatly influenced my life. It was the gift of Imagination and lets me go anywhere at any time and be whatever I want.
Music has inspired me to every emotional level…and has filled all of my senses.
Laughter has always been my best friend…right along with Jesus. It has also gotten me in trouble with both.
My Mother, Athol Hill Northam, besides the love of music and laughter, taught me that “the world owes no one a living…it was here first” and I would be “judged by the company I kept.” She also taught me that there is humor in any situation…if you look for it.
My Father, John Teter Northam, taught me to have a hard work ethic, to be honorable, to have Christian principles; that I would be better alone than in bad company and that there is nothing that I can’t do if I set my mind to it.
My Life has taught me to wonder what on earth I’m doing for heaven’s sake? Entertainment, whether through acting, singing, writing: songs, books, plays, poetry, music, or cooking or whatever I do…if I can give only one person a smile, or make them laugh, or feel good for a little while, or inspire them to be all they can be…that’s my gift…and I want to share with everyone.
Life is not a dress rehearsal…it’s the main performance! So give it all you’ve got, keep going…don’t cost a thing!
Tom Northam
The story centers on Maggie Hill, an unmarried, newly retired school teacher attempting to supplement here meager pension by selling Miracle Products, and Lady Anne Windesmeer, a recent widow who has been swindled by an unscrupulous lawyer. Brought together by their common financial straits, the two seniors convert Lady Anne’s San Francisco home into a bed and breakfast, which becomes the setting for a cast of characters that bring with them hilarity, intrigue, romance, warmth and a twisting chain of events which will shake your audience in more ways than one. This is the first full-length musical comedy ever created for senior theatre and presented in the Production-in-a-Packet Series format which states: Everything You Need To Produce A Show Except For Actors and A Stage. It is the winner of the 2004 National Mature Media Award. It is ArtAge Publication’s #1 best-selling musical.
Additional Comments:
Overture
Someone You’ve Not Met
A Bag Full of Miracles
I Can Make Old Things New
Please Pardon Me
Could This Be Love?
Old Enough
My Heart With Love Doth Fill
Has Love Come My Way Again?
I’m the Rotten Lawyer Elmer Strunk
I Needed Someone Special
