Here's to everyone, I hope you had the best holiday ever.....

Merry Christmas to all!!

Yes, it's been just a year, but how it went so fast.  I write this today as a testimony of our love for each other about what a year it's been.

It was just a dream when we met, I just knew that I had to get to know you someday and yet be responsible as  parent's ourselves.  Funny how things would work out, and we need to continue to do so, for as you've often said, "we must make everyday golden."

Our lives met backstage, but it's been the best that we're out in front on life's stage now.  Our wedding was very memorable because of your artistic touch, because without it, I don't think we could've had a better time.  People came from all over the mid-west and those who couldn't came in spirit and we're glad they stayed.  It was a wondrous day...

now let's make it a beautiful night.

Happy Anniversary, Baby!

  Happy 4th of July Everyone!

I've often thought of this whole life aspect of being friendly to others in order to have them as friends.  More times than not, our friends of childhood slip away from us and that saddens us dearly as time goes by.  We can't recall as to when did things go bad and we just didn't bother to keep in touch?  I truly feel that friendships are like life.  We have different friends at different stages of our lives, based on what we have in common at the time.  Right now Marge and I have friends in our local theatre projects here locally, but it just gets harder to keep them as close as when we were children, because now we're adults. 

Do you remember when it was so easy to go around your neighborhood and ask if this or that person can come out to play.  Sadly, due to the kidnapping of children in the news for the last couple of decades, you don't see children going door to door to ask if anyone can come out to play.  Now we can email each other or Instant Message our playmates from school, church, even our neighborhood.  I love getting out with some close friends of ours on the spur of the moment and run to Des Moines to go shopping or having lunch.  Granted we didn't throw around a football like we used to in our backyard park, now we have shopping Mall parking lots for that.  Of course I'm kidding, I don't feel I could even catch a football, let alone throw one.   Snow balls maybe, I always enjoy throwing one at a moving target, then running like hell.  Ah, those were the good old days.

Recently Marge found some pictures from a party that I turned 19 at, and I'm surrounded by my friends.  I hardly see, let alone visit with any of these people anymore.  That got me to thinking, just how do we learn to keep friends?

It may be chemical?  LOL.

Seriously, I was recently made aware that it will take 21 days of doing something different in order for our

brains to adjust to a new way of thinking chemically.  Thus, why New Years resolutions seem to never work.

If you've always done as you've always did, you'll only get what you've always got.

Were we all  sane with our insanity mind set?

It is a comfortable road isn't it, and you thought you were alone on this road?

Don't look behind you, you're about to get run over.

Have you ever wondered, that the very real reason that we're all here is to work through these very thought processes?

Of course you have, I would've thought you would've thought nothing less. :P

"The unexamined life, is not worth living."  Is it. 

God, I'm glad Signa's writing again.

        Merry Christmas!!

              ...and may God Bless us everyone!!!1

At a local Funeral Home your allowed to convey your condolences on their obituary website by leaving a comment about a friend or friends who've recently passed away.  This year we've lost a couple of good friends of our local stage, one who helped start ours and one who was allowed to assistant direct a play that I was in "The Good Doctor."  I wrote the following condolences to both as follows:

I remember meeting Sandy at his Home Furniture Downtown store in the mid '70's. At that time we talked endlessly about the look of contemporary furniture design. Some time went by and we didn't get to meet each other much until I became a stage construction volunteer at MCT. Later, during the '85-'86 season he interested me in going out in front of the "flats" as it were, I spoke then of my dreams of doing so and never regretted it. He always had such wisdom and wit beyond his years in my mind. My performances were always better with his insight to do something differently with this or that while doing a play, his suggestions were spot on. My one regret is that I never tried out for any play that Sandy was directing. However, it mattered not what play we were doing he'd always crack us all up every opening night with his infamous stoic line, "Don't embarrass me." I'll take those words with me as I always have, everytime I step on the stage, of his dreams.
Sent:  12/22/2007

Just this last Friday we lost another wonderful patron of the Arts and Theatre, her name was Hilary Helms.  I've had many a conversation with her in whatever Art Gallery she was working at, she'd make the place sparkle.  Here's what I wrote on her obituary condolence site:

I met Hilary in 1990 in the front lobby of Marshalltown Community Theatre, for the auditions of "The Good Doctor." Hilary was assisting her brother Doug with the most professional setting for auditions I've ever attended. In true British form I was welcomed with the question, "can I get you a spot of tea?" Her voice was so wonderful to listen to, so genuine. From that moment on I knew we could be friends. I've always enjoyed all of our conversations, even our latest one earlier this month. You will be sorely missed Hilary. To those of you who loved her, you have our condolences at this time of loss.
Sent:  12/22/2007

Marge & Steve.

A dear friend of our local community theatre died this month.  He and his daughters had a small graveside funeral service over his cremated remains.  Poured some champagne, read something from Shakespeare no less, gave a toast to our fallen thespian.  Then befittingly and slowly poured out a drink over Sandy's site, and that was that.  So it was, the funeral that will become an event of legend.

We're all interesting humans, are we not?  I was in awe of our friend Sandy's funeral arrangements.  Funeral's after all are for the living.  We all want to gather and decompress after someone we loved dearly is gone from us, but you know his funeral might be the way of the future.  Families are getting farther and farther apart these days and if some one dies in a storm, it makes for an impossible set of events for everyone to get to the funeral.  Then there's the ceremony, graveside services which most may not be even able to get too, due to down power lines, tree branches, etc.  Afterwards, the family asks everyone to come join them for a luncheon back at the church, it's an Iowa thing after all.  Maybe not, just Iowa, but I can dream.  When you get right down to it, it is basically a family event and that is as it should be.  Having said that, there have been funerals that we've all witnessed too from around the world that were anything but the immediate family. 

Princess Diana's funeral for instance.

Marge and I have talked at length about this and for me I wouldn't mind the cremation way.  Then being packed into a multiple dozen pyrotechnics and set off in a fireworks display that would rival anything at the Veteran's home.  Why not go out with a bang, after all I believe I cried when I was born.  There's an old Indian saying that goes something like this; When you were born you cried, so live your life so that when you die, the world cries."  That in and of itself is the main reason we have funerals, we have this innate human desire to see the person one last time before their body is interned.  We've got to know that this really happened.  With our dear friend Sandy's passing, it will never sink in that he's truly gone and not just on a trip to see his daughter in NY.  Do I feel somehow robbed of the crying in grief that I usually do?  No.  So I do see the upside to his funeral, yes, I can now always remember him fondly.  

There's no remorse in that, he lived like he wanted and died like he wished. 

Wouldn't we all want nothing less? 

Quote of the Month

And then I was dying to retire.

And now, I am dying…and suddenly realize I forgot to live."

~Anonymous

"Do not waste your time bothering whether you ‘love’ your neighbor; act as if you did.  As soon as we do this we find one of the great secrets. When you are behaving as if you loved someone, you will presently come to love him.”

~ C. S. Lewis

 I love this one. We should all have this somewhere so we never forget.  

One day, the father of a very wealthy family took his son on a trip to
the country with the express purpose of showing him how poor people live.

They spent a couple of days and nights on the farm of what would be
considered a very poor family.  On their return from their trip, the father asked his son, "How was
the trip?"

"It was great, Dad."

"Did you see how poor people live?" the father asked.  "Oh yeah," said the son.

"So, tell me, what did you learn from the trip?" asked the father.

The son answered, "I saw that we have one dog and they had four.
We have a pool that reaches to the middle of our garden and they have
a creek that has no end.

We have imported lanterns in our garden and they have the stars at
night.

Our patio reaches to the front yard and they have the whole horizon.

We have a small piece of land to live on and they have fields that go
beyond our sight.

We have servants who serve us, but they serve others.

We buy our food, but they grow theirs.

We have walls around our property to protect us, they have friends to
protect them."

The boy's father was speechless.

Then his son added, "Thanks Dad for showing me how poor we are."

Isn't perspective a wonderful thing? Makes you wonder what would
happen if we all gave thanks for everything we have, instead of  
worrying about what we don't have.

Appreciate every single thing you have, especially your friends!

Pass this on to friends and acquaintances and help them refresh their
perspective and appreciation.

"Life is too short and friends are too few."

Thanks to Glen & Sue for this reminder.

Quote of the Month

"It’s good to have money and the things that money can buy; but it’s good, too, to check up once in a while and make sure that you haven’t lost the things that money can’t buy.”

~George Horace Lorimer

When you wonder if we should just keep fighting over religious differences, look at what you'll lose from outer space.  Do you see any borders?

Visit our little blue boat below:

http://home.att.net/~hideaway_fun/442/planet.htm

Note: Just scroll down the pictures while listening to the music.  Highly effective.