Author Archives: Margaret Admire

Mopping a Theatre Floor

“Mopping the floor after every strike is supposed to symbolize the completion of a show and the allowance of another one to be built on the same place. That and it makes everything all shiny and such.”

This cleansing ritual is used as a transition between shows performed in the same theatre. In my high school, the honor was only performed by seniors, but in the informant’s theatre it is open to anyone and everyone who wants to help ease the transition between shows and mark the liminal phase. It probably started out of the necessity of cleanliness, and stuck around as a transition  ritual.

Backstage Rules

“At the Greer Garson theatre, absolutely NO non-performing arts majors are allowed backstage. There’s no other reason, okay, well maybe it’s a slight liability issue too, but the belief it is bad luck to have an audience member or such behind the scenes.”

My actress friend told me this. In my experience, thespians are a pretty superstitious bunch. However, I imagine this practice originated in the practical issue of actors and crew members not wanting to have to deal with extra people getting in the way of heavy moving sets and quick changes.

The Lord helps he who helps himself…

“The Lord helps he who helps himself-or she who helps herself.”

My grandma and mom always tell me this proverb when I (or my siblings or cousins or anyone, for that matter) complain about things not going in my favor. This particular version was collected from my grandmother, a devout Roman Catholic of Irish-American descent. It means that even though you should trust in God, you can’t rely on Him for everything and are better off trying to solve your own problems instead of just praying about them.

I found a variation of this listed in Sean Gaffney and Seamus Cashmans’ “Proverbs and Sayings of Ireland” (The Wolfhound Press, Dublin, Ireland 1974) on page 50 as: “God helps him that helps himself.”

Broomfield Days

“Broomfield Days is a celebration of Community. It starts early in the morning with the Lions Club Pancake Breakfast. Next up in the 5K run. Followed up by the parade where all kinds of community groups from the High School Marching Band to local churches parade down Main Street for all to see, cheer, and collect the candy thrown out by the parade walkers. Afterwards, there is food, fun, games, and entertainment provided by a variety of local organizations.” – My father’s description of the local harvest festival, celebrating the local community. It occurs every fall.

Don’t Make a Mountain Out of a Molehill

“My grandma always says: Don’t make a mountain out of a molehill… It means don’t worry about the little things.” – collected from my friend who said the proverb was passed down through the maternal line in her family. She heard it from her mother and grandmother, who learned it from her mother, and so on as long as they can remember.  The informant intends to pass it along to her daughters when she has them.