The woman singing “I kept on turning the handle,” a song from the point of view of a silent movie camera operator in 1913, is Joanna Seaton. She is the lovely and charming wife of my friend, Donald Sosin, who is a famous composer, arranger and accompanist for silent movies. Donnie and I met on a course in the Catskills that was required back in 1977-78 in order to learn the TM-Sidhi program, which culminates in learning yogic flying. Our paths didn’t cross again until August 2006 on an advanced course for yogic flyers in Bethesda, Maryland. Now, thanks to e-mail, it is easy to keep in touch.
Recently Donnie sent me an e-mail telling of his adventures with his wife and son, who is one of the smartest and kindest persons I’ve ever met, and I moseyed over to YouTube to see if there were any videos I could share. I chose this one because I am utterly charmed by the wicked humor of this song and how beautifully and wittily Joanna sings it.
Joanna’s performance was part of “Le Giornate Del Cinema Muto” in Pordenone, Italy, in October 2008. Donnie accompanies her on the piano.
