Your wit is aging well. Thank you for sharing your gift. Although I have been to several live performances and never nodded off, I would be interested to hear more stories you thought you could not tell your audience for fear of violating expectations. I would write more here, but it is off to the salt mines and I am rather dull -- semi-retired and so looking forward to being a full time loafer, that and Medicare eligibility. ; )
Today's "750 words" reminded me of the monologue about Susan B. Anthony's running off with George Eastman that you gave during a performance in Rochester NY many years ago. I've often wished there were a recording of it somewhere. And your accompanist played pieces that were linked to each stop on the journey. It was great!
You've managed to encapsulate your entire show in this one piece. Entire audiences are induced into a somnambulistic haze, albeit with smiles on their faces, resulting in a weird form of addiction, which has been shown to have nothing but beneficial effects. I've been wanting to use the word "somnambulistic" in a sentence, and now I have.
This was a very very (not sure if two adverbs in row is ok, so sorry) good and fun post. Thanks. No politics or controversy just thoughtful fun. Thanks.
Your 15-minute monologues are genus. I would imagine they're derived for actual memories but then adulterated with satire and comedy of everyday living. Bravo. The characters of your stories are the most intriguing and coming from the mid-west a lot of how they are described and their dialog rings so true. What a wonderful ear for the conversation you have. God bless you and sleep easy.
Thanks for writing about what might be a "Fundamental" problem for many children who grew up in Fundamentalist sects.
When I retired and moved in with my father, I began going to a Fundamentalist Ukrainian church. Basically they seemed to need an American who knew Russian and could help them navigate in their new surroundings. "Need help preparing for US Citizenship? Get Sister Susanna to tutor you." "Need help with the town zoning officer? Send Sister Susanna over to represent you." So I'd coach folks on Legislative, Executive and Judicial - and they were 30 for 30 in passing the exams in Buffalo. Remodeling the one-time restaurant into a church building? "Plant an evergreen tree, it's in the zoning code." Done.
I had a new group of people for to be a part of. They had an American who would sometimes speak out in Saturday night meetings. I was vocal about how the women in our church felt, and that worked out reasonably well.
But then there were the sermons. Our deacons took turns with our minister in speaking from the pulpit. One deacon in particular was of the old-fashioned "Hell-Fire-And-Damnation!" variety. I wouldn't be surprised if at least half the kids I knew in that congregation grew up with very similar sleep disorders to your own!
What was the purpose of all those scare tactics? God was generally presented as a Loving Father. Why should He suddenly become someone like Teddy Roosevelt: " Walk Softly and Carry a Big Stick?" It seems to me that, far from being a monolithic structure, "Christianity" has at least as many shades as the rainbow! And some of those shades are far harder to deal with than others!
Your wit is aging well. Thank you for sharing your gift. Although I have been to several live performances and never nodded off, I would be interested to hear more stories you thought you could not tell your audience for fear of violating expectations. I would write more here, but it is off to the salt mines and I am rather dull -- semi-retired and so looking forward to being a full time loafer, that and Medicare eligibility. ; )
Today's "750 words" reminded me of the monologue about Susan B. Anthony's running off with George Eastman that you gave during a performance in Rochester NY many years ago. I've often wished there were a recording of it somewhere. And your accompanist played pieces that were linked to each stop on the journey. It was great!
This made me laugh out loud! Thanks for making my day!
You've managed to encapsulate your entire show in this one piece. Entire audiences are induced into a somnambulistic haze, albeit with smiles on their faces, resulting in a weird form of addiction, which has been shown to have nothing but beneficial effects. I've been wanting to use the word "somnambulistic" in a sentence, and now I have.
This was a very very (not sure if two adverbs in row is ok, so sorry) good and fun post. Thanks. No politics or controversy just thoughtful fun. Thanks.
Your 15-minute monologues are genus. I would imagine they're derived for actual memories but then adulterated with satire and comedy of everyday living. Bravo. The characters of your stories are the most intriguing and coming from the mid-west a lot of how they are described and their dialog rings so true. What a wonderful ear for the conversation you have. God bless you and sleep easy.
Thanks for writing about what might be a "Fundamental" problem for many children who grew up in Fundamentalist sects.
When I retired and moved in with my father, I began going to a Fundamentalist Ukrainian church. Basically they seemed to need an American who knew Russian and could help them navigate in their new surroundings. "Need help preparing for US Citizenship? Get Sister Susanna to tutor you." "Need help with the town zoning officer? Send Sister Susanna over to represent you." So I'd coach folks on Legislative, Executive and Judicial - and they were 30 for 30 in passing the exams in Buffalo. Remodeling the one-time restaurant into a church building? "Plant an evergreen tree, it's in the zoning code." Done.
I had a new group of people for to be a part of. They had an American who would sometimes speak out in Saturday night meetings. I was vocal about how the women in our church felt, and that worked out reasonably well.
But then there were the sermons. Our deacons took turns with our minister in speaking from the pulpit. One deacon in particular was of the old-fashioned "Hell-Fire-And-Damnation!" variety. I wouldn't be surprised if at least half the kids I knew in that congregation grew up with very similar sleep disorders to your own!
What was the purpose of all those scare tactics? God was generally presented as a Loving Father. Why should He suddenly become someone like Teddy Roosevelt: " Walk Softly and Carry a Big Stick?" It seems to me that, far from being a monolithic structure, "Christianity" has at least as many shades as the rainbow! And some of those shades are far harder to deal with than others!
Your limerick is better than perfect … it’s brilliant!