True Story Tuesday - The Hills Are Alive With the Sound of Crying

I love The Sound of Music. From the first notes of the opening credits, I was hooked. My reverie was shattered during my first viewing, though, when my dad nonchalantly came in the room as the von Trapps were hiding from the Nazis in the abbey. "You know they get caught and sent to a concentration camp, right?" he asked innocently. Agog and aghast, I turned to him with tears in my eyes, "Really?!" I asked hoping I'd misheard. "Yep," he answered. "And Gretl doesn't make it out." I could hardly stand to watch the rest of the film. I was heartbroken and devastated.

I breathed a hefty sigh of relief as the family traipsed across the Alps in the closing scenes; however, I don't think I've seen the movie since where I haven't had a skipped heartbeat and baited breath watching Captain von Trapp face off with Rolfe and plead for their safety. "This is it. This is the time they get caught," I subconsciously say to myself. I am pleased to announce, though, that in 27 viewings of the classic, they've reached freedom each and every time. Thanks a lot, Dad.