What I learned from Shirley Temple . . .

Because of Shirley Temple, I was never afraid of living in an orphanage should something happen to my family.  That was back in the early 1960's, when we were in the U.S. Army.  I laugh about it now but back then, I had an orphanage selected not far from my paternal grandparents' apartment.  I didn't want to live with my grandparents, but at St. Peter's Orphanage I'd be just up the street and they could come visit me from the other side of the fence. 

The Shirley Temple movies were "A Little Princess", 1936, and "Curly Top", 1935.  In "Curly Top" her character actually lives in the orphanage, as does her older sister who also works there.  The "care givers" were lacking, tremendously, but I found the antics of life in an orphanage more fun than depressive. 

The orphan never saw herself as an "orphan", much less alone or lonely.  There was always so much to see and so much to do in that little piece of space and by golly, she made the best of it all despite the harshness of life.  And she made lots of neat friends all along the way. 

I admired the young girl's independence and curiosity of all things interesting.  And there was always plenty of interesting things around.

I imagined, as a child, living in an orphanage and always thought it would be an adventure if it ever happened.  I'd even sit on my Grandparent's curb at their apartment and look up the street at the children playing in the yard at St. Peter's Orphanage.  They seemed just like me, oblivious to the world in the way only a child can be and interested in others to have fun.