“Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
and never brought to mind ?
Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
and auld lang syne?” ~ Robert Burns
So. As the festivities of another holiday season begin to fade into the past I find myself wondering at the little quirks of life and time. Some years pass with a sort of routine amount of business and activity - some highlights, some low moments - and then other years seem packed with one interesting, exciting, challenging or pivotal moment after another.
2011 was an eventful year.
In 2011 no fewer than five people in my family (including Cristina and myself) lost their jobs. Some due to the odd swings of our current economy. Others due to the seeming callousness and carelessness of our political leaders. Either way, it caused many of us to re-think our directions in life.
Cristina found a job that she likes very much at the newly opened Legoland - with help from the state of Florida I might add. I myself took advantage of my forced job change to do the work I was trained to do decades ago and perhaps should have been doing all along and became a faculty member at Polk State College, teaching Theatre and Humanities. It has been a rough transition in many ways, but the work is good.
2011 blessed us with great theatre opportunities. In the winter I played Captain von Trapp in The Sound of Music and in the summer Juan Peron in Evita. Both plays were extremely well received and The Sound of Music was so popular that several performances were added. Cristina had fun helping the cast do The Full Monty in the fall. At Christmas time I had the pleasure to direct a fantastic cast and crew in a challenging production of It’s a Wonderful Life. The show was huge for a non-musical with over 65 cast and crew who pulled together to create a beautiful piece of theatre and present it to sold out houses. I couldn’t have been more proud of the people who made It’s a Wonderful Life happen. These shows were all performed at one of the finest theatres of any kind, any where - Theatre Winter Haven.
In 2011 I got a bit older. Lost some weight. Gained some of it back. Made some great new friends and grew closer to some old ones. And said good-bye - or at least “see you later” - to a few. I watched some of my children grow into adults, one grow taller by the day and one of them grow from a baby into a little boy who reminds me every day how precious and wonderful life and time really are. And I grew to love them all even more. Especially my wife, Cristina.
I’m not a regular blogger. I wish I was. But the procrastinator in me always finds a way to spoil those wishes. So, instead I seem to find time and inclination to write about specific events or occasions. On the occasion of this change of year I just wanted to remind myself once again, that somehow Faith and Love, and in my case a little theatre, do make a wonderful life.
“For auld lang syne, my dear,
for auld lang syne,
we’ll take a cup o’ kindness yet,
for auld lang syne.”
and never brought to mind ?
Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
and auld lang syne?” ~ Robert Burns
So. As the festivities of another holiday season begin to fade into the past I find myself wondering at the little quirks of life and time. Some years pass with a sort of routine amount of business and activity - some highlights, some low moments - and then other years seem packed with one interesting, exciting, challenging or pivotal moment after another.
2011 was an eventful year.
In 2011 no fewer than five people in my family (including Cristina and myself) lost their jobs. Some due to the odd swings of our current economy. Others due to the seeming callousness and carelessness of our political leaders. Either way, it caused many of us to re-think our directions in life.
Cristina found a job that she likes very much at the newly opened Legoland - with help from the state of Florida I might add. I myself took advantage of my forced job change to do the work I was trained to do decades ago and perhaps should have been doing all along and became a faculty member at Polk State College, teaching Theatre and Humanities. It has been a rough transition in many ways, but the work is good.
2011 blessed us with great theatre opportunities. In the winter I played Captain von Trapp in The Sound of Music and in the summer Juan Peron in Evita. Both plays were extremely well received and The Sound of Music was so popular that several performances were added. Cristina had fun helping the cast do The Full Monty in the fall. At Christmas time I had the pleasure to direct a fantastic cast and crew in a challenging production of It’s a Wonderful Life. The show was huge for a non-musical with over 65 cast and crew who pulled together to create a beautiful piece of theatre and present it to sold out houses. I couldn’t have been more proud of the people who made It’s a Wonderful Life happen. These shows were all performed at one of the finest theatres of any kind, any where - Theatre Winter Haven.
In 2011 I got a bit older. Lost some weight. Gained some of it back. Made some great new friends and grew closer to some old ones. And said good-bye - or at least “see you later” - to a few. I watched some of my children grow into adults, one grow taller by the day and one of them grow from a baby into a little boy who reminds me every day how precious and wonderful life and time really are. And I grew to love them all even more. Especially my wife, Cristina.
I’m not a regular blogger. I wish I was. But the procrastinator in me always finds a way to spoil those wishes. So, instead I seem to find time and inclination to write about specific events or occasions. On the occasion of this change of year I just wanted to remind myself once again, that somehow Faith and Love, and in my case a little theatre, do make a wonderful life.
“For auld lang syne, my dear,
for auld lang syne,
we’ll take a cup o’ kindness yet,
for auld lang syne.”
