Another Great Man Gone...

Yesterday morning I received news that my Ex's father had passed away. First from a friend, and then in an email from my Ex. I don't hear from her often, and it's usually only after something major has happened. The email I received from her last, was one about her struggles with breast cancer. Suffice to say, this has not been a good year for her.

Last night I was supposed to tell a story at Story Salon. I had planned to talk about the days I spent in Fresno, last week for my birthday. It was going to be a short tale about how a large symbol of my childhood had been torn out by the roots, and how a few other small things had chipped away as well.

Instead, I got up and paid a little tribute to her father. It started out all right, but I was then overcome by the emotion of it all. I didn't bawl my eyes out, but tears flowed and I was barely able to get the last words out.

Ron was a good man. A wise man. A patient man and a great father. He had his flaws as all of us do, but of the several things I remember, one particular remembrance stood out. When my Ex had asked me to leave, and was saying some pretty bad things about me, Ron came to me and asked me one question, and I answered him. To his credit, he believed me. He told me it takes two to make a marriage and two to make it end. That it was never one hundred percent one persons fault...

He then said he hoped I would keep in touch...

Sadly, I never did.

That is my fault...

A Couple Of Things...

IRONY

noun, plural i·ro·nies.

1.

the use of words to convey a meaning that is the opposite of its literal meaning: the irony of her reply, “How nice!” when I said I had to work all weekend.

2.

Literature .

a.

a technique of indicating, as through character or plot development, an intention or attitude opposite to that which is actually or ostensibly stated.

b.

(especially in contemporary writing) a manner of organizing a work so as to give full expression to contradictory or complementary impulses, attitudes, etc., especially as a means of indicating detachment from a subject, theme, or emotion.

3. 

Socratic Irony

4. 

dramatic Irony

5.

an outcome of events contrary to what was, or might have been, expected.

Why the definition?... 

Last week I did a story at "The Story Salon" L.A.'s longest running story telling venue. What did I tell? Well, I told the short tale of my doing the Key note speech at that eighth grade graduation in June.

Beverly (the lady who runs it) wanted to hear my speech and a short lead in tale of why I did it. I failed the why portion, but did the speech part as the opening to the night. 

Why the irony?...

I decided to do the speech because out of everyone at the graduation, nobody managed to get the speech on either video, or audio, so I decided to do it again at "The Story Salon" because they video tape every single show... Except this one... The person who normally videos everything was out sick with a respiratory infection... 

Ah, well.

The other Irony? I don't quite know if it's exactly an Irony, but this last weekend I went to The Ronald Reagan Library. 

You ask why?

Because there was a huge  Disney exhibition there...

The Disney exhibit was great! There were a lot of items you don't normally get to see up close a personal...

A Few things I'd seen before...

And a few things I just thought were cool...

My friend and I spent over three and a half hours in the Disney side, about an hour in the gift shop and about an hour and a half in the Reagan side...

The Regan side had a few interesting things like...

Air Force One...

A piece of the Berlin Wall...

and a replica of the Oval Office...

Of course there were a couple of pieces of unintentional humor...

And...

I have to say it was a very enjoyable day over all, but I couldn't shake the feeling that sooner or later and alarm was going to go off screaming "Democrat! There's a Democrat on the compound! But it never happened.

I do want to say that I never thought I'd ever agree with Reagan on anything, but there was one thing...

I do  hope more Republicans will go to the Reagan library and stumble across this piece of signage and then take its message to heart...

 

This is a long one...

About two weeks ago, I went with a school group of eighth graders to Disneyland...

Yep, that small pond of red was us. We actually had a really good time. Most of the students were well behaved, and mainly, only had trouble with making a couple of the boys pick up their feet and keep up with the rest of the group. One of the girls had never been to Disneyland before, and it's always a treat to see the face of someone who first experiences the Happiest Place on Earth.

None of these pictures to follow will show any of their faces, because they are minors and deserve their privacy.

Although, one of them did make it into the lagoon at the Nemo, submarine ride.

I really had a great time... Despite  what this picture from Space Mountain shows...

Anyway...

This is simply a prelude to what happened last week.

For their own private reasons,  I was asked to be the Key Note Speaker at their graduation...

No, that is not me behind the lectern. That is the Pastor of the church the school is housed in. And no I was not asked at the last minute to fill in because someone else had bowed out. I was give almost three months notice to write the Commencement speech. Granted I waited until the weekend before to write it, but I wanted to have my show, and the trip to Disneyland behind me, before I wrote it.

I was one of the first people to speak that day, and since no one recorded it, and I forgot to hand someone my camera there is not proof beyond the actual speech to prove I did it. But since it's the only real thing I written in the near past, I thought I'd post it here. Enjoy it for what it is...

6/14/2012 First Lutheran commencement speech:

Congratulations First Lutheran Graduates of 2012!

Before I start, I’d like to say that several people have told me that many of the eighth graders here at First Lutheran School think I’m “Cool”.

I’ve never been “Cool” in my entire life! So, thank you! Thank you, very much!

I hope you all still think I’m cool after I finish this speech.

-------------------------------------------------------------

Do you know how hard it is to come up with a commencement speech for eighth graders? There are no guidelines.  Every commencement speech I listened to, or read, was done for the collegiate level.

You can get away with a lot more at that level.

On the eighth grade level, there are a lot pitfalls a person could easily drop into. Especially at a church based school.

Language is one. As you may imagine, curse words are a big no, no. I generally try not to use foul language. I consider it a refuge for the illiterate.

People who aren't smart enough to come up with a better word for what they are thinking, or how they are  feeling, use cuss words.

You can’t use pedantic words (Big words) in a speech to eighth graders, because your audience hasn’t had the schooling to understand them yet.

That doesn't mean you're not intelligent, it simply means you haven't reached that grade level, yet.

That one is an especially a tough problem for a writer, being words are his business.

The second is certain subjects. I can’t even tell you what those subjects are, because you, your parents or the church might have a problem with it, or find it offensive.

Trust me, you will eventually find out about those things. And if you're really curious – Wait about a year, then ask your parents.

Anyway, I literally watched, or listened to, or read nearly a hundred key note speeches on line. Neil Gaiman, Aaron Sorkin, J.K. Rowling, Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, Bill Cosby, Meryl Streep, Barack Obama…  

Senators, Psychiatrists, and Physicists, oh my!..

If you really want to experience a great Key note speech, I highly recommend Neil Gaiman’s speech to the 2012 class, at The University of the Arts in Philadelphia. He talks about  the life of an artist.

Or Steve Jobs inspirational speech to the 2005 Class at Stanford. They are both online, look them up.

The truth of the matter is that I fully expect you not to remember a single thing I say during this speech.

I know I don’t remember who spoke at my High School or College graduation, or what they said.

Everyone here wants to just get on with it, get his or her diplomas, and go home to either nap, or celebrate. Perfectly understandable.

-------------------------------------------------------------

But I have been asked to impart some kind of wisdom or life guidelines.

So here it goes…

Be smart! It really is that simple, just be smart.

So, how dare I say that! What do I mean by that? Am I saying, you're not smart?

No.

I mean that life gives you endless opportunities to do amazing things, and you are only as limited as you choose to be.

You should strive to learn as much as you can, while you are still in school. Because you will never again be given this rare opportunity to concentrate solely on  making yourself as smart as you possibly can.

For example, right after my college graduation for my B.A., my mom told me... "Why don't you continue college and get your masters? You can still live at home until you finish school?"

And I told her... "Nah, I've had enough..."

Not very smart. It's one of the very few things I now wish I had done.

And  learning isn't easy. Just wait until you hit physics.

There's gonna be lots of distractions too. Friends, a boyfriend or girlfriend, sports, cars, clothes, fitting in…

Let me tell you this, fitting in is over rated. I’m not saying that you need to be antisocial. You have to get along with others.

But no one who is, or was, simply a follower has ever amounted to anything special.

Through out history, if you look back, you will see that it was the people who stood outside the pack, who did great things. Martin Luther King, Gandhi, Thomas Edison, Walt Disney, and many, many more, learned everything they could about what they wanted to do, and then did it.

And they all had failures. Walt Disney, started the “Laugh-O-Gram Studio”, which went bankrupt. He then created Oswald the Lucky Rabbit. (Anyone remember Oswald?) It was stolen by Charles Mintz and Universal studios.

And it wasn’t until that happened, that Walt was driven to create Mickey Mouse, and eventually build Disneyland. If you want to know more about it, you can look it up in a book or online.

You will have failures in your life. Some big, and some small. But as  Sir James M. Barrie, the creator of “Peter Pan” once said “We are all Failures – At least, all the best of us are.”

You can’t be afraid of failure. Be afraid of giving up.

We’re not perfect. You can’t be. You can get pretty close… if you continue to learn, and don’t shut yourself off. But you will never be perfect.

You can’t. It's already too late. If you’ve made one mistake in your life… Told even one lie… I have news for you. You’re not perfect.

Nor will you ever be one hundred percent right. No one is … ever… Some of you, out there, may think you are… But you’re not. There are no absolutes…

Let me prove it to you.  (Do Magic Trick)

Do you know why you can't be one hundred percent right, regarding this magic trick? Because in this case, I've studied magic. I know how it works, and you don't. And every time you think you know what the answer is, I can change it.

Also, before you ask me how this magic trick is done, let me tell you, I’m not going to tell you.

I will tell you, that if you pay attention in your High School Science and Physics classes, you might be able to figure it out.

Now, I know what a few of you students are thinking...

“HAH! I can’t wait until I get home and can tell my parents that they are not a hundred percent RIGHT!”

First off –  That’s not smart.

Second - Do so at your own peril!

Third - your parents are older than you. They have learned more, just by being around longer than you.

You might be smarter whenever you reach their age, but guess what, they still be older and still know more, because of their age.

Plus, as long as they’re footing the bill… Feeding you, buying your clothes, housing you, it’s not a bright thing to anger the source of where your money comes from.

Basically, as it says in the bible… I promised I’d get at least one bible verse in…

Deuteronomy 5:16

“Honor your mother and father as the LORD, your God, has commanded you,

so that you may live long,

and that it may go well with you

in the land the LORD, your God, is giving you.”

So, in other words…

Be smart…

As Walt Disney is quoted saying to his staff shortly after the opening of Disneyland in 1955, "It's just been sort of a dress rehearsal, and we're just getting started. So if any of you start resting on your laurels, I mean just forget it, because... we are just getting started."

Thank you for listening.

There will be a pop quiz in about five years.

Still, it was fun, interesting and a bit of an honor and if any of you out there get a chance to do it, I highly recommend it.

Ray:

Ray Bradbury died... And it's been a long time since I've been this depressed.

Kinda hard to take when an actual hero of yours passes.

I've only felt this way when three others went.

Walt Disney

Harry Chapin

And Charles Schulz...

I'd never met the other three, but my heart hurt, none the less.

Mr. Bradbury and I crossed paths in this city all the time. You can read about the best one here... http://www.hotvalleywriters.com/Hot_Valley_Writers/Driving_with_Ray.html

Anyway, this is the first time I've ever written a poem for a man... But Ray loved poetry. I'm not saying he would, or would not like this piece... But here it is... It's a first draft, so treat it like a work in progress...

Ray:

A gentle man of courage

Died today

The bravest I've personally known.

Fearless in thought, deed,

and word.

We knew each other briefly,

Crossing paths

Once or twice a year.

He always knew my face,

I could never forget his name.

He was my link to a grander time,

A gentler time.

He shook the hands

Of heroes I could only meet

In dreams

And flights of fancy.

Passed to me

Infinitesimally

Through words

And touch

And smiles.

As I drive through

The streets

Of the city he loved.

Purple Jacaranda blossoms

Falling like tears

From the trees

I know I will think of him

Every time I see them.

The man who built his wings

Before he ever left this Earth.

06/06/12

Rest in peace Mr. Bradbury - Know you touched the hearts of millions. 

Hey, he got me to write something new!

Last one for May...

You don't have to read this one, I'm just going to complain here for a few minutes... I have to keep adding to this blog, now and again, some how. 

I have felt very strange all day. Like a low level hum has been vibrating my body. I can't identify it. I can't get rid of it. And I'm tired... Very, very tired.

I have wanted to go swimming for a few weeks.

I have wanted to go to Disneyland.

I have wanted to do so many things... But I am not all that financially secure right now. Don't get me wrong. I'm covering my bills, my rent, my gas... All the crap you have to, but I got very little, to nothing, left over to play with.

A friend of mine gave me two tickets to go to Universal if I want, but it's entering their busy season, and I don't want to wait 3 hours to ride "Transformers" - I hear it's a killer ride, but I don't do those kinda lines any more. 

It almost broke me last year when I and a bunch of eight graders I was chaperoning waited two and a half hours for Star Tours when it reopened. Never again.

I will be going to Disneyland next month with a new batch of eights graders - So I get my Disneyland fix, but I have to behave like an adult. It has caused me to come to the conclusion that adults are, in general, no fun.

In other words, I need a vacation! And not to Fresno. I love my parents and my friends that still live there - But I need to do something new. Go somewhere at least a little different.

I have been trying for the last three to four years to put together an excursion to Chicago, Il., but that pesky money thing has gotten in the way. I have several friend who have moved there, and will put me up for a few days, but if I can't get out and do things, why go?
I've needed to write something, but I am always too tired to do that as well. I used to get all over a friend of mine, when he gave me that excuse, but now it seems like I have fallen into that trap myself. Motivation is lacking. Disappeared when my ex kicked me out.

Funny thing, it seems to have spurred her into high gear. Or at least she was until she got sick recently.

I digress...

Ultimately, I need to get out there and play! I have to figure something out and do it. And I will... Soon...

Thanks for listening.

Artists...

 WARNING!!! Partial male nudity ahead! Don't read this one if easily offended!!!

(Don't worry - It's not me...)

I've been thinking... I know, that's just asking for trouble. Both from other people's smart remarks, and my not so smart thought processes lately.

What does it mean to be an artist?

What is art? (I tend to go with the old school thought that "Art" takes a little "Talent" or "Skill" - Not putting cold feces on a plate in the middle of a hall... Many of my artistic friends would beg to differ on that point.)

Just before I went into semi-isolation for the last show I did, I had the good fortune to be invited to an artists gathering out at one of my favorite places in the city.

The Brewery just off the I-5 about 23 minutes from my current homestead...

These are from an earlier trip to The Brewery, and all I had on hand for the blog as I was writing...

ANYWAY!

I met an artist who lives there and he was holding some seminars on different facets of being an artist. It was a really interesting and informative get together and he makes the best soup that I have had in a long time.

Afterward there was going to be a birthday party for one of the attendees, and Cake was going to be served, so I decided to hang around and mingle.

(On the left is the speaker/artist - In the middle his artwork  - On the left the attendee...)

There were two Birthday cakes that particular evening.

1) A sitting cake:

And...

2) An eating cake...

Now you may ask, "What is a sitting cake?"

Well, it seems that this particular attendee (A fellow artist) had started a tradition five or six years ago that on his birthday he would celebrate with a sitting cake...

I thought it was really very funny, but as I was watching I couldn't help but think, "this is what the mid-west thinks artist's do".  Granted I have seen this kind of thing often enough, at college parties and the like, but I look at it as more of a release, not so much art in itself.

So, again, what is art?

I believe it is pretty much designated to each person's taste...

Who am I to judge?

But I gotta tell ya, I'd never hang that cake on my wall...

Well, It's Over...

The play is finally done. We've had our run and as far as I am concerned it was a success. We might not have made as much money as the last show, but pretty much everyone who saw it, talked us up to their friends and our last few performances were well attended.

Right now, the fate of the theatre company is still in question, but I plan on fighting for this as best as I can...

What am I going to do with my time off right now? Well, for the last three weeks I've shot photos for several plays. Last week I shot a show called "Aftershocks"

And Madam Butterfly...

And this week I got to shoot "Nuts" by Tom Toper...

Have I done ANY writing? Aside of this blog, not yet. A bit of reading... Finished one book and started another I would love to get the rights to and turn into a play, but no writing.

I'm going to have to putter around on this blog a little more often, I think, to get the writing muscle restarted...

Ah, such is life.

We'll see where this all leads eventually. Hopefully I won't have bored the pants of any of you who might be reading this this initial mish-mash of thoughts, by then.

Why Can't Theatre...

...just be fun?!

It's amazing how much politics goes into keeping a theatre company alive. And as anyone who knows me is well aware of, when the feces strikes the oscillating wind machine I tend to call things what they are...

Oh, look... It's a spade...

I love the theatre! I really like the current theatre company I'm currently involved in. But because it is not bringing in as much or more money than the last show, talk has turned to limiting it even more than it already is, which is two shows a year, or killing it all together, again.

What needs to be done here is figure out what some of the problems are... Such as putting a show up the week after Easter. (We are housed in a church.)

What the current problems are with how we promote it and some thoughts on how to fix that.

And...

Where do we want to go from here? Do we need an artistic director? What kind of shows should we do? What kind of shows are we going to be allowed to do at the church and how do we keep the costs down, but the quality up?

Worst part of the problem is that we are not the only theatre in town who is going through this, in this economy.

There are no easy answers. The current show we are doing is really good - We have two more weeks to go and I don't see the answers coming to us before the show is over... 

Maybe we need more prayer...

Hmm...

Ramblings...

Well, this was one heck of a weekend! I opened a new show, my father went into the hospital twice, and I managed to fit in one day at the LA Times Book Festival!

I was on pins and needles waiting to hear from my family regarding what was happening to my father. He's getting up there in age and this is the first time I actually got a call from a family member to tell me he was headed into the emergency room. Normally, someone thinks to let me know a day or two after. So, getting a call as was happening kinda shook me a bit.

Immediately, I called my director and let him know I would be in for that night's performance, but that he should consider getting ready to go on in my stead. I might be leaving town quickly. It never came to that. I got a call from my sister that night letting me know that dad was out of the hospital and feeling better. The next day, he went back in because he was vomiting profusely. I asked if I needed to come home, and was told they didn't think so. Later they left me a message that he had diverticulitis. Bad, but not necessarily fatal... Of course at my dad's age...

Things seemed to iron themselves out a bit, so Saturday mourning I went to the LA Times Festival of Books - My Mecca! I managed to get out of there with only going over my budget by about fifty dollars... I got off cheap! I literally could have spent thousands. But by the end of the day, the over sized backpack I was carrying was weighing forty-two pounds! I know this, because when I got home, I weighed the sucked, before taking anything out of it. Pretty much what I carried around for the last two hours I was there, and up two... Yes, count them, two sets of five lights of stairs. I parked on the fifth floor, and forgot what parking structure I was in... Ow...

Still all, in all I had fun.

Here are a few faces from the Festival...

An Author I knew.

 An New Author I met.

And A Dinosaur...

Trust me though, if I hadn't had a hadn't had a matinee the next day I would have scurried back and blown a ton more of my hard earned money...

I wish I had a few more pictures to put up from the festival, but most of them didn't turn out - Still tinkering with a new used lens I just got.

Well, that's about it. I haven't really decided what this blog is ultimately going to be about, but I'm going to try a put something here every few days until I figure it out.  It's probably going to ramble a bit until them, so sorry about that.

I will figure it out eventually...

Cheers!

Getting Started

I have always claimed to be a writer, pretty much from high school on, but lately I have derelict in my creative duties on this front ever since my divorce about six years ago. Don't get me wrong, I've been busy being creative a hundred other ways, but writing has not been one of them.

I've been acting a lot lately.

Importance Of Being Earnest

Vaudeville

A Christmas Carol

As well as photographing a ton of shows myself...

The Misanthrope

For Colored Girls Who Considered Suicide When The Rainbow Is Enuf

Feedback

Been taking classes, Volunteering, everything EXCEPT WRITING!

This Blog is an attempt to restart that poor shriveled creative muscle I have neglected for so long. So please stay tuned for musings, ideas, poetry, possibly short stories and scenes from scripts, even...

Right after opening my new show this weekend and going to "The LA Times Book Fair"  this weekend...

Nothing gets in the way of my going to the book fair...