7-25-2023 6:30pm

Illusions that Turned into Dreams

Christine Larkin Editor

SKYLARK'S ARTICLE OF THE WEEK - ILLUSIONS THAT TURNED INTO DREAMS

And the winner of Miss Texas is…Mae Beth Cormany! Tears of joy flowed as the illusions began.

It was 1972. America was fighting in the unpopular Vietnam War and our presence there was spreading. It wasn’t just cities that were burning; women were burning their bras, too. It was a tumultuous time in America. President Nixon ordered the development of a Space Shuttle Program, and The Watergate burglars succeeded in their second attempt to break into the Democratic National Committee offices at the Watergate complex in Washington, D.C. They would eventually get caught and Nixon resigned.

In-the-midst of the American chaos, a long-standing tradition was in place. Girls from all over the country were being groomed for local beauty pageants. After three attempts, Mae Beth Cormany would finally be crowned Miss Texas in 1972. She would later go on to enter the Miss America pageant in 1973 and came in third place. This was devastating to her, but there was a silver lining. In a twist of fate, she went on a national USO tour and became the lead singer with the folk group, The New Christi Minstrels in 1974 after the former lead singer won the Miss America pageant that year. Mae Beth eventually met Mike Rengel, a Defensive Tackle for the New Orleans Saints, got married, and changed her name to Beth Rengel. She would use this name for the rest of her professional and personal life, even though she would marry three more times. Her marriages all ended in divorce, but she has a beautiful daughter, Ana, and a granddaughter, Bella. These are her dreams come true. These are not illusions.

Mae Beth Cormany was just 18 years old when she walked up onto her porch after school one day and found a flyer stuck in the door announcing a local radio contest in search of the new Miss Astro. The winner would go on to represent the Houston Astros baseball team with prizes that included a four-year college scholarship, a car, a Rolex watch, and a trip to Puerta Vallarta, Mexico with pink Samsonite luggage in tow. She walked into her kitchen and threw the flyer in the garbage. Her mother found it and convinced her daughter to enter the contest. Mae Beth wanted no part of it. Her mother was a believer that “you never know until you try” and her grandmother believed that “you don’t regret the things you do, but the things you don’t do.” She agreed to enter the Miss Astro contest and won. Her mother bought pink taffeta fabric to make her a dress. She also purchased a pair of shoes and dyed them pink and sewed pink flowers on them. Mae Beth’s mother made all her clothes. Her parents drove her to Houston, Texas and left her there for four days. Alone. She eventually gave the trip to Puerta Vallarta to her parents, but they bought her a ticket to come along with them. This was life affirming and was the turning point in starting a life in pageantry that instilled a drive in Mae Beth Cormany that would later catapult her career as a reporter and news anchor. The illusion haunted her throughout her career, but opportunities would continue to come her way.

As Beth went on to pursue her life away from home, she never forgot her roots. She loved Christmas’s spent with her maternal grandparents who lived a couple of hours drive away. Those were exciting drives as she anticipated pulling into the driveway of their home with a white picket fence around it filled with decorations and Santa Claus. The best things in life are free. This feeling would stay with her for her entire life.

It’s 1976, and Beth Rengel and her husband, Mike, are living in New Orleans. She eventually begins modeling and working her first anchor position with the CBS affiliate, WBRZ-TV in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Although her career is evolving, her marriage starts to fall apart. She was married to a man she didn’t love for four long years, and she wanted out. Beth never loved Mike in the way a wife should love a husband, and she knew it at the altar. But like a good beauty queen, you put on a smile and walk down the aisle.

By now, Beth was divorced and moved to Tulsa, Oklahoma for another anchor opportunity and began dating a new man named Milton Berry. She eventually got a better offer to work in Atlanta and moved there, continuing to date her new beau long distance. But that job ultimately ended, too, and Milton convinced her to move back to Tulsa. They decided to get married and soon had a baby girl named Ana. The illusion was fading, so she thought, as Beth settled into domestic life. She loved being a new mother. As time went on, Beth received another offer to work in St. Paul, Minnesota, but turned it down. She did not want to be away from her child and her husband, and Milton wasn’t having it. Then, an NBC affiliate in Tulsa called. She told them she’d come back in a year. They held the job for her. Beth and Milton eventually divorced, and she went back to work.

There's a new man in Beth Rengel's life by now. Don Holloway was a pilot from Florida. They met through a mutual friend. Once he moved to Tulsa, he quit his job. Beth is now the sole breadwinner. One night, there were technical difficulties at the station, and Beth, not realizing the mic was still hot, cussed on air. Tulsa is in the thick of the Bible Belt, and she caught a lot of slack for this. Although she publicly apologized, her public was unforgiving and so was the management. Beth was out. She could hear her father’s words, “It’s better than a kick in the ass.” To Beth, this was the ultimate kick in the ass. The illusion penetrated her soul, but she was no quitter, so she carried on remembering the words of wisdom she heard growing up.

Don started to become violent. Beth was not taking any more of his abuse, so she ended their marriage. Feeling beaten down, but not defeated, Beth moved on once again. By now, protecting herself and her daughter are her main priorities. No man and no white picket fence were going to stop her.

After her third marriage ended, Beth took some time for herself and eventually met a nice man named Morey Villareal. They were married for just a short time. This was Beth’s fourth husband. Her last husband, she says.

Throughout Beth Rengel’s life as a small-town girl from South Texas, all she ever really wanted was a family, and a home with a white picket fence around it. She thought the illusion of this would make her happy. She never sought to become Miss Texas or ever thought she'd have a chance at becoming Miss America, but she fell deep under the spell of it and into the illusion of the possibilities. As a news reporter and anchor, Beth was controlled by the management who told her what to wear, how to look, and what to say. Her life was not her own. Through her four marriages, she received the greatest gift of all, motherhood. This is what eventually broke the illusion, and her life took on new meaning. Her humble upbringing gave her a strong value system and a belief in herself even when she doubted it at times. She eventually went into real estate and bought herself a house. This time, there is no white picket fence. Ana lives nearby.

Beth is no longer living in illusion. She is currently living her dream as a mother, a grandmother, and a girlfriend, not a wife. Illusions can turn into dreams. And Beth Rengel’s life is a dream come true. She even interviewed Oprah.

I enjoyed talking to Beth Rengel on the phone to get this story. She has written a book, "Anchored in Illusion", that takes you through her fascinating life from illusions into her dreams. I have not met Beth in person. Yet. Her daughter, Ana Berry, is a friend of mine from our days freelancing in New York City in the entertainment industry. Ana now lives in her hometown of Tulsa, Oklahoma, and I live in my hometown of Bay Shore, New York. Two gals who pursued dreams of our own in the big city and left to go home again. Life does come full circle. I’m happy to welcome Beth Rengel into my world of 60 and beyond.

Beth currently has in her possession more than 100 Santa’s, and her favorite is her Victorian one. She says, “this is a man that will never let me down.” To read more about Beth Rengel and purchase her book, visit www.bethrengel.com. "Anchored in Illusion" will captivate you like it did me. Life is but a dream, sweetheart.

Peace and Love,

Skylark

At 60 and Beyond, our lives can become everything we've dreamed it could be.

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SKYLARK'S PICK OF THE WEEK - HOME

One of my favorite pastimes is looking at beautiful homes. My mother and I used to drive around town looking at all kinds of homes that we'd dream of living in one day. We'd say to each other, "but are they happy?" My personal favorite is a rustic ranch. Home is where we can feel safe and protected from the world outside. It's where we get to create our own world and decorate in our own personal style. It's where we have holidays with family and friends and create memories to last a lifetime. And maybe you even have a white picket fence.

SKYLARK'S INSPRIATIONAL QUOTE OF THE WEEK

"There's no place like home”

-Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz

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SKYLARK'S QUESTION OF THE WEEK

What kind of home do you dream of living in one day?

Please answer in the comment section below. I'd love to hear from you.

SKYLARK'S SONG OF THE WEEK - OUR HOUSE by CROSBY, STILLS, NASH, AND YOUNG

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ABOUT SKYLARK LIVE AND HOW TO FOLLOW ME

My brand, Skylark Live, consists of a weekly newsletter, Skylark Live Town News, a monthly vlog, 60 and Beyond with Skylark, and monthly in-person chats called The Skylark Sessions. They are all designed to inspire and motivate women to thrive in older age through knowledge and self-awareness at 60 and beyond. Andiamo! Let's go!

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