Memories of Meryl
by Dale Orlando
One of Meryl's friends shares her favorite piece of acting by Meryl Streep

One Thanksgiving vacation when she was at Vassar and I was at Goddard, Meryl came over to visit. This was the day I learned that she was going into acting and would probably not pursue her singing. Her voice, the strongest and sweetest in northern New Jersey in the late 60s, will always be remembered and missed by anyone who heard her perform in high school musicals. During rehearsals our music teacher, Claire Callahan, would patiently and gently command excellence. Meryl would rehearse her performance and sing while I hung scenery and painted backdrops.

Once in a while we'd catch a dinner break together and rush over to my grandmother's for spaghetti and meatballs. Sometimes Meryl's kid brother, Harry Streep III, a.k.a. Third, and my younger cousin Jimmy would be there too. Grandma was a very popular cook. A chubby, soft spoken little Italian, she loved Meryl and adored her appetite. Meryl and I were used to hanging out at the kitchen table for meals. We would retreat with Grandma downstairs to the den for television and family entertainment. In those days, Grandma would listen to us gab, laugh at our silly jokes and assure each of us that we were special and she was so proud of us. Agoraphobic, she kept a tidy, delicious, self-fashioned prison and never attended one of our musical shows. Instead, we would entertain her with stories about putting the shows together and she would laugh and love every minute of our company. A sweet quiet soul, Grandma often expressed concern about young women out in the world alone and would caution us to take good care of ourselves. She couldn't imagine a life of freedom for women, but encouraged us to make our opportunities and do whatever we wanted.

I hadn't seen Meryl for a few years on this particular visit and we were anxious to swap stories . . . hers of the summer stock in Stratford and New York City . . . mine of the heated civil rights struggles in South Carolina. Grandma, nearly apoplectic from my story about driving into a Orangeburg Dairy Queen with a minibus of black and white campers and a black male counselor while 40 white patrons climbed into their cars to leave, looked to Meryl for some sanity. Instead, Meryl delivered a performance that might have caused a coronary that very minute if little old Liz wasn't sipping a rare Anisette.

It seems that Meryl had a New York apartment quite a distance from the place they were rehearsing for an off Broadway performance. One night rehearsals ran very late and into the early morning hours. She walked a few blocks in the silent darkness and went down into the subway, arms loaded, carrying her props bag, a costume bag and all of her make-up in another case. As the train sped along with very few passengers, she became aware of a creepy guy ogling her from the opposite end of the subway car. She got so nervous that she decided to get off at the next stop, six blocks from home. As soon as she was street level, she knew she had erred in judgment, because she could hear him behind her. In the streetlights she watched their shadows and as she walked faster, his pace increased. He had something in his silhouetted hand although she couldn't tell what type of weapon. She did not know self defense and her arms were loaded with bundles. Convinced she was about to get mugged or worse, she threw down her bags and in one continuous motion, spun about into a karate stance shrieking, "HYAAII" at the top of her lungs. The little man behind her screamed in fright, dropping his apartment keys as he turned and ran, thinking this crazy lady was about to beat him silly.

If she ever had any doubts about her ability to convince another that she is who she is not or ever had to convince herself that she could appear to be anyone, the switch was thrown that night. Watching Meryl as she reenacted this frightening scene for Grandma, I knew she had made the right decision. Her acting is a truly great gift she shares so generously with the rest of us.

About Dale Orlando: For 20+ years, Dale Orlando, MA Psychology, Fitness Coordinator has designed successful health, sexuality and behavioral training programs for youth, adults and seniors. Her passion for neuroscience and recent clinical brain imaging studies nurtured the development of this integrated aerobic and neurobic health and wellness program for participants of all ages. Visit her website at Smart Walks to learn more about this exciting new program. Thank you, Dale, for sharing this wonderful story. © 2003 Dale Orlando. Kindly do not reprint without permission.