A Middle

I found this story in the middle of my photos on my phone. I vaguely remember writing it while watching a man sitting on a park bench.

Felix sat on a bench right outside an entrance to the park near his home. The day was overcast and cooler than a typical day in August. He reached into his tote bag and pulled out a sandwich along with the New York Times. Despite kids yelling from the nearby playground and cars whizzing past, Felix opened the paper and began reading as if he was sitting in the privacy of his apartment. Once he had scanned the front page, he moved on, skimming the Politics section and then turning to his favorite part of the paper, The Arts portion. The featured cover story was about a little play that made it’s way from the East Village Kraine Theater (max. seating 99 people) all the way to Broadway. It was like the little engine that could and just kept gaining momentum. The Times held the review of the darling little play titled, The Ripple Effect. The play told the story of a young girl who didn’t think her life was very special, but she was kind to people. Her kindness affected people. Some people made decisions as a direct result of a kind encounter with her. Those decisions led to new jobs, ending unhealthy relationships, paying it forward in other ways…and those are only a couple examples of the ripples she caused. And she never knew.
I won’t spoil the ending, but as Felix read on, his eyes began to water. The reviews were tremendous. The play a success and finally the last sentence read: “Playwright Felix Tomson has created his own ripple effect that will continue on for generations.” He did it. Felix dreamed of having a Broadway hit play ever since he was little. He’s 74 years old.
”What a life,” Felix said to himself, on that bench, right outside the park.

Reading this now makes me a little homesick for New York, particularly the energy that’s constantly reverberating in the air. At the same time, it’s another reminder of how writing has been a part of who I am for a long time. I like that. I’m typing this in the middle of the night because I can’t sleep. But now a storm is rolling in and the rain is lulling my eyes downward. I must go. And by the way, thank you for reading all these middles.

The Upper West Side, Manhattan

A Beginning

It feels like I’m in the beginning of something. I don’t know how to explain it other than I feel a little aimless AND purposed, somehow. I’ve been in Atlanta almost exactly a year and a half. Acting has been my focus for at least a decade. My definition of creativity, and how I was going to pursue that, has been defined one way for a long time. I’m discovering how I fit in Atlanta and how my puzzle piece fits in an ever expanding image, with new pieces yet to be seen. When asked the question, If you could see into your future, would you? My answer is always, No. While the unknown is daunting (stress-inducing) and sometimes the cause of a psoriasis flare-up, I still prefer not knowing. Not out of fear, but out of possibility.

So that’s where I am right now - Walking through a dense fog and yet still keeping my eyes open for the clearing. The beginning of something. Stay tuned my friend - the funny part is thinking about beginnings and endings in the middle [of life]. I apologize for the delay on this post. I got distracted watching While You Were Sleeping. Can you blame me though? 🌥️

Something to Listen to

I recently watched the new movie Spirited on Apple TV+. My face was stuck in smile position the entire time. It’s silly, fun, heartfelt and hope-filled. It’s a redemption story. And even though are a bajillion trillion interpretations of Dickens’ A Christmas Carol, there always seems to be room for one more. I’ve been listening to the soundtrack, especially the song Do A Little Good. Here are a few lyrics:

But even if you lost your way
You don't have to stay a lost cause
So can we do a little good?

There’s so much I could write about in those lyrics and the movie. The words seem simple and yet, changing how you live and think is a huge deal. It’s a big change. One concept in the movie is that there are some people on the earth who decidedly cannot and will not change - they’re referred to as Unredeemables - never to put others before themselves. It’s something to wonder about - the people in our lives that we see as unchangeable. Is that true? Have we stopped trying? When do you stop trying?

At the same time, some people who get tagged as good may have lived, at some point, in a way that would label them the opposite. This is a glimpse into the stream of consciousness that lives in my head a lot of the time. What I hope though, is that I always try to be the type of person who believes that it’s never too late for somebody to change; And to remember that none of us are all good or all bad. This movie isn’t complicated or trying to be something artsy, it’s just fun and i’m grateful for that.

🎩 Listen to the song here: https://youtu.be/HmnVT1ELokw