Bena Mae’s Kitchen: No one is laughing now! Wow!

 From the looks of her, she seemed an unlikely contestant on "Brit’s Got Talent," Britain’s equivalent to our American Idol. 

When she walked out on the stage she could have been your neighbor. A little plain, a little frumpy, light years away from being a huge star. The audience snickered and laughed and Simon Cowell rolled his eyes  when she said she wanted to be like Elaine Page, a top singing star in Britain.  

But as soon as she opened her mouth to sing, jaws dropped to the floor, eyes widened, and the audience stood and cheered. The panel of judges were mesmerized. They and the audience had judged her by the way she looked, never dreaming that a great talent was hidden by her nondescript appearance.  But suddenly she was a world star. She had the voice of an angel. The world loved her immediately. Already she has had over twenty million hits on U-Tube. One of her web sites is "You Can’t Judge a Book by its Cover." How true.

Piers, one of the judges, said people from all over the world started calling…China, Russia, the U.S. I cried when I heard the beautiful lyrics of "I Dreamed a Dream" emanating from this little woman from a village in Scotland. Susan Boyle, in one brief moment, had made us forget the sad dreary state of the world. She had become the lead-in to the nightly news on all the networks, talk shows, and what we would be talking about tomorrow. Hers was an uplifting story that gave hope to people who had abandoned their dreams.

This forty-seven-year old woman who had ‘never married, never been kissed,’ had  spent her life taking care of her mother until her mother’s death at ninety one. At her mother’s insistence, she had promised her  that she would pursue a singing career after her mother had gone. When asked by the panel why she had waited so long to begin her career, she answered that she had never had a chance until now. I predict a bright future for her. Her days of being lonely are no more.

When asked in an interview if she would change her appearance now that she was famous, she said, "Why should I? This is who I am." Bravo Susan. We love you for who you are. We love your spirit and the twinkle in your eyes. We love you for the inspiration you have given to so many who have already given up. And we love you for the unselfishness and devotion you paid to your dear mother. Your story leaves us with the ‘feel good feeling’ that we don’t often hear these days.

And it turned Simon Cowell into a likable person.

You Gotta Try This!

To Die For Pot Roast

1 beef roast, any cut, to fit size of crock pot

1 Pkg. Hidden Valley Ranch Dressing mix

1 pkg. brown gravy mix

1 pkg. Italian Dressing mix

1/2 C. water

Combine mixes well.  Sprinkle over roast in crock pot.  Pour water into bottom of pot.  Cook on low for 6-7 hours.

Note:  To add vegetables to roast, place them in crock pot 3-4 hours before roast is done.