Don't go away, I am just waiting for Hoosier Herb to see if winter will be six more weeks or spring will come early. It is still a little dark and snowy here, but soon I will put on the boots and go on out to check. Don't worry, I will take my video camera! Can't wait to see what will happen! Thanks for being patient!
Taking a walk down town, one will find our circle of commerce. It really is a small town and the circle includes our courthouse, newspaper office, small clothing shops, a pizza parlor (family owned), a couple of coffee shops (family owned), and two movie theaters (also family owned).
A couple of nights ago I took a walk down (with a little help from my umbrella) and attended "Life of Pi." I really did love the movie even though I wasn't sure I wanted to see it. My book club read the book a couple of years ago, and I love the book. However, the movie was just wonderful, so well done and the story came off strong. Good luck at the Oscars!
Both of these theaters were built in 1932. If you look carefully you can see a little of the Brokaw behind the Strand. These are, of course, my movie theaters of choice. At the Strand, Dana takes tickets, sells popcorn and then shows the movie. He is at the door when you leave as well. I took a video of Dana last summer. Here is a review of that video!
It is so important for all of us to support our local businesses, our mama/papa businesses.
As always, my camera was tucked inside and under the umbrella.
Enjoy, thanks for reading. I would love to hear about your town!
I wake in the night to the rain. It is loud, steady and with a few rumbles of thunder.
My curtains are thin and I pull them back to see the beads of water on my doors leading out to the balcony. These raindrop are illuminated with my Christmas lights which still drape over the balcony. I really should take them down, but my neighbor says they are cheery in these dark days of Winter.
These are the days that keep poets and writers inside libraries and studios. These are the days to finish books or clean out the spice cupboard...but then again we must pull away to do our daily tasks to make the world a better place.
With that in mind, I will bike off to school (yes, I will bike to school) and give my writing students a bit of knowledge, and a great deal of passion as we study Burns, build blogs, and look inside ourselves. "Excuse me, class, please turn off all cell phones and chat with your neighbor."
The day started with fog and ice which quickly turned to gray skies of continuous rain.
It is also Monday morning and the studio calls to me for attention. I organize, file, get ready for new projects while listening to the "Phantom of the Opera" and the rain beating out my window. I do not know how many years I have loved the show. During the end of my marriage we took the train to Toronto for the weekend to see the show. It was our last chance for survival. I thought we would make it as we had the best time, but it just didn't work. I remember those last moments with my heart in my throat wanting the marriage to work, wanting it to end. There are things women know.
Now years later I listen to the music. I saw the show many more times after that, but alone. It is the 25th birthday of this great masterpiece by Andrew Lloyd Webber. How can we thank him for the brilliance of his work?
Happy 200th Birthday "Pride and Prejudice"
What young girl did not read Jane Austen? Even grown ups want to wear the dresses, and live a life we can only read about. So, Happy Birthday "Pride and Prejudice." Thank you Jane Austen for giving us grown up fairy tales.
The rain continues to fall and I come across a scrapbook my dad kept of my letters home, report cards and various other mementos. How I miss him on this day. He taught me to love art, music, Broadway, literature....I would like to call him and tell him about all the anniversaries. We would talk literature. He would call me Holly Go-Lightly and I would hang up the phone laughing.
And I can't stop there for it is also the birthdays of Mozart and Poe and Burns. Happy Birthday to all of you as well.
So it seems the images of my life...the endings, the beginnings have come to me through music and art and literature.
Here is a glimpse into my studio, at least one of the shelves! Also a link to this week's column toasting Poe and the Bard!
Thank you for coming into my world for a rainy Monday. Maybe you have memories or stories such as mine. Please share.
This week found me stashed away in my studio (when I wasn't teaching) working on new shows and reviewing old shows.
What is it that causes us to find the passion and hold on to it? I read, write, study and lunch passes and I forget as I read poetry by Burns, rehearse my "Gathering Coal for the Lord" show and put two new shows onto the back burner ready to begin simmering.
I ask my kids at school about their passions. The answers are varied as they have never been asked that question. I want them to think. I get answers...jobs, making money, golf. But then I get a few others that are deeper that causes them to go inside themselves where the world is a little scary.
I found this photo early this morning. It is a spectacular view of Castle Howard. This was one of our favorite visits when Philip and I were in England. My mom and Dick took us there for the day to let us hike, roam around, and enjoy the beauty. We had tea and lunch there as well. Of course, Philip was thrilled and thought he should be Lord. Does that make me the Lady?
It sounds a bit like a John Denver song.
Alas we are back doing what we do in Ocracoke and in Indiana, but what a nice surprise to see this photo with all the snow!
