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Bette Midler Honoured<\/p>\n
“I\u2019m no fool\u2014I brought a hanky \u2019cause I knew it was going to get very, very emotional. Because this is something that, you know it\u2019s a kind of, you sort of sit at home and you watch these shows. And you think \u2018Well, what about me?\u2019 You know? (laughing) And you can\u2019t help it! You\u2019re a human being.
\nI want to say that there\u2019s this David Byrne song\u2014you all know it! \u2026Most of you know it. (speaking lower) Maybe a *few* of you know it. \u2018You may find yourself living in a shotgun shack. You may find yourself behind the wheel of a large automobile. And you say to yourself \u201cthis is not my beautiful house, this is not my beautiful wife. How did I get here?\u201d\u2019 How did I get here? I have absolutely no earthly idea how I got here. I really don\u2019t.<\/p>\n
I came from nothing. I came from the most isolated place in the United States: Hawaii. And I spent most of my time reading books in libraries. And I had a mediocre education. But somehow or another I was mesmerized by the idea that someone would get up in a pool of light and be completely and utterly transformed. And transfigured. And beautiful. And that, when the light hit them, they had something not just to say\u2014but something to reveal.<\/p>\n
And I remember when I was a kid I saw \u00c9dith Piaf on television, and I saw her\u2026 I think it was the first time I\u2019d ever seen a human being do what she did. Which was to completely unzip her skin and show her soul. And I\u2026 I never really recovered from it. I really felt that I understood what that was. And that I could do it.<\/p>\n
And subsequently in my life, I saw many people do it. People that I learned to love. I saw Tina Turner, I saw Aretha, I saw Janis Joplin. I saw so many people, so many men, so many women. And I fell in love with them, and I fell in love with the idea of what they did.<\/p>\n
And I have to say, when I say \u2018How did I get here?\u2019 I say it because I\u2026 I\u2026 I never looked up. I had my nose to the grindstone every moment of my life. I worked like a f—- animal. I did. I worked like an animal. I couldn\u2019t help myself. I was compelled to work. I was simply compelled. And now that I\u2019m older, sometimes I think \u2018Was it the hormones? Was it a dream? Was I just swept up in some vast illusion? What *was* it?\u2019 Because now I\u2019ve slowed down and I look back.<\/p>\n
But I have to say that it was\u2014talk about \u201cMr. Toad\u2019s Wild Ride\u201d\u2014it was a hell of a ride. I had a blast. Even though it was work, it was work that I loved with all my heart. And it was work that brought me into contact with the most brilliant minds and the most wonderful wits and the most brilliant music. Things that made my heart soar and my heart sing. So even though I had my nose down, I heard it all, I saw it all, and I loved it all. And I have to say thank you so much to the Kennedy Center for validating this insane dream that I had when I was just a kid. I thank you from the bottom of my heart.”\u2014#BetteMidler, 44th #KCHonors recipient<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Bette Midler Honoured “I\u2019m no fool\u2014I brought a hanky \u2019cause I knew it was going to get very, very emotional. Because this is something that, you know it\u2019s a kind of, you sort of sit at home and you watch these shows. And you think \u2018Well, what about me?\u2019 You know? (laughing) And you can\u2019t … <\/p>\n