It's Time for a Rant!

Seceding from the union? Really? What the hell? If you do not know this already, there have been petitions started in states to secede from the United States of America. You may think, 1, 2, surely no more than 5. NO! There has been a petition filed from all 50 states to secede from the union and start their own government. When I hear something like that, it makes me wonder if I am in a real life Twilight Zone. Have we become a country so obsessed with ME and what I want that if we don't get our way, we take our toys and go home? This is a democracy! We vote for our elected officials. We have an election, and, God knows candidates campaign before we vote as evidenced by the fortune spent on this year's presidential campaign, over 2 BILLION dollars. I could probably live for years on the amount of money spent on direct mail alone judging by the 3 or more postcards I received in my mailbox daily the last two weeks of the election. The point is, we had an election, just like we do every 4 years, and we had the right to vote for the candidate we preferred. Some people were happy on November 7th and some were not, but to actually consider seceding from the union is ludicrous! When I was a junior in high school, I ran for Senior Class president. I ran a tough campaign. I did, what I thought, were some innovative things to get my name out there. I thought I was the most qualified for the job. I gave a great speech, and I had great ideas for the class. I was smart, and relatively good looking, and I really thought I would be the class' choice. I was not. I LOST, and guess what! I did not switch schools. I did not drop out, I did not spend every waking moment trying to see how I could make the person elected look bad or fail at what he was trying to do for the class to the best of his ability. I might have groused a little when I lost, made a few statements that I knew I could have done a better job, but in the end, I showed up for school in the fall and participated in all the activities for the Senior Class because I was part of the senior class. Now, I know that my senior class and the United States of America are very different, and I'm not trying to trivialize anything here. I can't remember when a presidential campaign has ever had such passionate opposing views, but, people, do you really think you're helping by quitting, just throwing in the towel? The basic point here is that we have to work TOGETHER!!! A very revered statesman of this nation, Patrick Henry, once said, "United we stand, divided we fall. Let us not split into factions which must destroy that union upon which our existence hangs." If you don't care for Patrick Henry. What about Jesus? "And if a kingdom be divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand, and if a house be divided against itself, that house cannot stand." ~ Mark 3:24 & 25 ~ KJV Let's say you're granted your wish. You are allowed to secede from the Union and govern yourselves. Please be prepared in case anything negative should befall you. Remember the police force that protects you is provided by the very government you are opposing, so while you are training your brand new police force, I hope that no one is in need of the old police force's services, and the roads that you travel on or the PUBLIC transportation you take, I hope that you can afford to lose several days of work if you must rely on those while you are rebuilding YOUR roads under YOUR government and buying several buses or commuter trains, or subways, because the ones you rely on now are provided by the EVIL government you want to leave. And let's hope that no natural disaster takes your home and you must rely on government funds to get you through or God forbid you are attacked by some terrorist and need the aid of the UNITED STATES MILITARY to protect and defend you. Because if you succeed in seceding, did you like that little play on words?, the rest of the world will see this country as weakened and primed for another attack.  My basic message here is this! GROW UP! WORK TOGETHER! That's how we became what we are today. Is the government flawed? Absolutely! but do you think that this is really a solution? Follow the example of the two men who fought so bitterly for the Presidency. If they are willing to work together, why aren't you?

A Storyteller's Job

Last night I had the pleasure, if you can call it that, of seeing "The Pillowman" by Martin McDonagh, produced by Cadence Theater Company. Occasionally, one has the great fortune of seeing a play that moves them, or provokes thought, or even changes them in some way. This play does all 3. I did not know what to expect. I had never read the play, but I knew from Facebook status updates that it was dark. The play was in a small stadium seat theater, very intimate, which I believe aided in drawing the audience member into the playwright's world totally. Most of the play takes place in two interrogation rooms. Last night's set was dark and dank as you would expect rooms like this to be. A writer, Katurian, is being questioned by two detectives about the macabre nature of his short stories, most of which end with the harming, and even murder of children. From Katurian's reactions to the interrogation, he obviously has no idea why he has been brought to the station. He has no inkling of any crime that the detectives obviously think he has committed. As Katurian discovers just why he has been brought in for questioning and how soon his world will become as dark as his stories, so do we. The first act was almost 2 hours long, and I was riveted every second. The detectives, played by David Bridgewater and Tony Foley, had the good cop/bad cop routine down perfectly. I have only seen Tony in one other role as Paul in "Barefoot in the Park". Last night's turn was quite a departure, and it was nice to see him in such a serious role. I have seen David Bridgewater in many things. I have always had great respect and admiration for him as an actor. What I love about David is that he is so natural on stage, and I believe every word he is saying as if I have been invited to watch his life. This role was no exception. I had never seen Jonathan Conyers, the actor who played Katurian, in anything before. All I can say is after seeing last night's performance, I hope I get to see him in many more roles! There were some small roles to portray some of Katurian's stories for a mother, father, and children, and I was especially impressed by the performance of the younger members of the cast with the way they handled such heavy material. But the performance that really blew me away was David Janeski's portrayal of Michal, Katurian's older, but brain-damaged childlike brother. I was mesmerized by David's consistency and commitment to the role emotionally and physically. What made this performance so wonderful was the fact that even though the words that were coming out the character's mouth would have made most people almost ill, I found myself feeling great empathy for him, and at times wanting to rush the stage and cradle him in my arms and say, "Everything's going to be all right!" The chemistry between David Janeski and Jonathan Conyers is sweet and very real. I wiped away tears more than once. The play is masterfully directed by Steve Perigard using the small stage to every advantage, sometimes bringing the actors to the very edge and almost into the audience to draw us in. I left the theater almost numb with what I had just seen, but also, strangely uplifted at the way all was wrapped up. I felt as if I watched an evolution of all these characters over the course of the last 3 hours, and as the characters gained insight into themselves and their lives, so I did as well into my own life, and isn't that the storyteller's job? Only two more performances. Go see it! You will not be disappointed!