When we are little, people encourage us to dream. Whether we want to play center field for the New York Yankees or be a princess in a castle surrounded by dragons, the sky is the limit.
Then we grow up. Fantasies are replaced by necessities and paying the rent takes precedence over flights of fancy. It’s no one’s fault that the dreams die; we chalk it up to life.
Since the dawn of time, however, there have always been a persistent and lucky few who never completely let go of their dream and, despite insurmountable odds, shoot their shot, as the kids say. They risk being mocked by their friends and pursue the impossible anyway. Usually, they fail, but occasionally the gods smile on these brave souls and reward them.
For those of you harboring a secret dream of achieving the impossible, let me tell you the true story of Sadie Vimmerstedt. In 1949, Sadie was a 44-year-old beautician in Youngstown, Ohio. A widow, Sadie struggled to get by. What extra money she did have, she used to buy Frank Sinatra records, because she was his No. 1 fan in the whole wide world.
That all changed in 1950 when Ol’ Blue Eyes dumped his wife and high school sweetheart Nancy for the sexy actress Ava Gardner. Sadie was devastated and very disappointed in her idol. She stopped listening to his music and thought to herself, I hope he gets his someday.
Sure enough, seven years later, Sadie was sitting at her kitchen table when she read in the newspaper that Ava Gardner had kicked Sinatra to the curb. Sadie wished she was there to see it and said to herself, “I wanna be around to pick up the pieces when somebody breaks your heart.”
Sadie liked the line so much that she wrote it down on a piece of paper and showed it to a friend. That friend told Sadie that the line sounded like something the famous songwriter Johnny Mercer might come up with. Sadie thought so too.
Rather than let the matter drop, Sadie stuck the piece of paper into an envelope and sent it to Mercer. Wait—that’s not exactly true. Since she didn’t know anyone in the music industry, Sadie wrote on the front of the envelope, Johnny Mercer, Songwriter, New York, NY. No real address—just a name and city, having no clue if Mercer even lived there. Someone at the post office decided to redirect the correspondence to ASCAP (that’s a publishing organization) and they forwarded it to Mercer. When he opened this note, he was touched by the innocent simplicity Sadie had shown and immediately wrote her back.
Mercer told Sadie it was a great opening line for a song and if he ever finished writing it and got someone to sing it, he’d cut her in on 10 percent of the profits. Sadie, broke as she was, wrote back saying that no payment was necessary—she was just tickled that such an important man liked her words.
Mercer, the man who founded Capitol Records and won two Academy Awards, did finish the song, gave it to Tony Bennett and “I Wanna Be Around” became a smash hit. Mercer also gave Sadie 50 percent of the profits, making the hairdresser rich.
In the 60 years since, Sadie’s song has been re-recorded by Michael Buble, Patti Page, Aretha Franklin, The Beach Boys, Bobby Darin and would you believe, Frank Sinatra. Talk about the chickens coming home to roost.
The moral of the story? No matter your age or circumstance, keep dreaming of castles and dragons.
