My Weekend Crush

It may seem odd, on a weekend dedicated to America and fireworks and backyard BBQ, to pick a distinctly distinguished British actress. But, bear with me, this is just how my mind works sometimes. You see, whenever I think of Julie Andrews, I think of the holidays. Perhaps it’s because her iconic films like “The Sound of Music” and “Mary Poppins” seemed to be replayed constantly during long holiday weekends when I was a child. Or perhaps it’s because her uninhibited, full-throated, mountain-top spin introducing us to Maria always makes me think of freedom. (Admit it, you totally did that spin in your living room until you were woozy and your parents told you to sit down, already.) Or maybe it’s that I just like being a contrarian and on the day we Yanks celebrate our independence with bombs bursting in air, I have to go pick a Brit.

Whatever the reason, Julie has always been one of my favorite things. Her perpetually pleasant parlance, her wonderfully winsome personality and her resolutely short hair all made her stand out as an independent role model growing up. Her singularly sensational singing abilities are unquestionable, of course. But what I always liked about her was she presented another, more approachable option to girls. We can’t all be Marilyn Monroe or Audrey Hepburn (and, no, we won’t get into the “My Fair Lady” brouhaha here). But perhaps we could be Julie instead. You don’t have to be perfect in every, just practically so. Also, heavens, didn’t she just look supercalifragilisticexpialidocious in a tux? Happy Fourth of July weekend, all.