A Risk Worth Taking

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I don't know if most will consider this a risk, but I'm extremely glad that I took the plunge and signed up for a blog on Word Press. I have been writing faithfully everyday, I'm a member of postaday2011, and I'm going to participate in National November Novel Writing Month. I've written about personal things which for me is a risk but I'm happy to say that all this writing has served me really well.

TV SoundOff: Sunday Talking Heads

Jason, please don’t apologize. You are sacrificin­g yourself for our benefit, we are thankful. Remember, 15 minutes of listening and decipherin­g Governor Perry would tax any rational man early in the morning. Perry can’t deny the fact that when governing, your actions often belie your campaign rhetoric. His choices on immigratio­n were shaped by the geography of his state.Ther­e is a big difference in the reality of Texas versus that of Massachuse­tts. As governor you are required to balance your states budget, if you have to make the real tough decision of accepting federal funds to plug the hole then you do so for the good of your state. If you don’t have the courage to stand up and say that it was a real politik decision for your state, then that is your problem and you don’t have the intestinal fortitude to be President of the United States.
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

Do you think that Shakespeare existed?

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postaday2011

My first encounter with Shakespeare was when I was about 13 or so, I was home alone searching for something new to read to pass the time. My parents had a beautiful bookcase that housed all their books. I went through all those books until the only book left unread was the Complete Works of Shakespeare. I picked The Tempest as my first reading, I didn’t get very far but it did interest me enough to push me to continue reading on my own and then I took Shakespeare as my English elective in Senior year.

My professor was great, the first order of business was teaching us the Shakespearean language. Once I mastered the language, I was even a bigger fan. My professor taught us that Shakespeare was the everyman of the time period, that he had a great sense of humor and was committed to addressing the common people as well as the nobles of the time. There wasn’t even a question of his existence.

When I was at N.Y.U, I took advantage of the study abroad program during the summer of my sophomore year to go to the University of London where I took British Art and Shakespeare. I was so fortunate to have had the privilege of seeing Jeremy Irons as Richard the Second, Derek Jacobi in the Merchant of Venice, which he performed at the Shakespearean theater at Stratford upon Avon and Anthony Hopkins as Anthony in Anthony and Cleopatra. I must add that I also was lucky enough to have seen A Midsummer’s Night Dream performed under the stars in Regent’s Park.

With all these experiences with Shakespeare, I believe in his existence. Shakespeare could have been a woman, I don’t care. All that counts in my book is that the material exists, it is wonderful to listen to, wonderful to behold on stage, wonderful to think about and write about. It has stood up to the test of time, something that trumps the question of whether or not Shakespeare really existed.

In the end, I believe that the question is just another part of the legacy, something else to add to the conversation. As long as it doesn’t detract from the brilliance of the material and it being performed for future audiences, what is the harm in speculating? I don’t have to worry because as I have said, I believe in Shakespeare.

How do you know when it’s time to go?

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postaday2011

Nowadays, I know it is time to go when I’m yawning or my brain starts disengaging from the conversation and all I can think about is going home to lay down. Gone are the days when there wasn’t a time to go, when time didn’t really have any meaning. All that mattered was the here and now, a great conversation between friends or someone just met. When personal chemistry was a powerful component in relationships. Those days have been replaced by a husband of many years, two children who occupy my thoughts and heart, pets who need my attention as much as the children do. I am not saying that personal chemistry isn’t important any more, it has just been tempered by a new appreciation for rest and sleep in order to replenish these older bones and brain cells.

I remember the weekends during college when, even though there was work the next day on Sunday at Conran’s-Habitat, my friends and I weren’t worried, we were having too good of a time talking and laughing. By 6:00 in the morning, it was time for breakfast, coffee than shower, get ready for work and off to the store to sell furniture to customers in the village right at Astor Place. A good conversation outweighed the need for sleep in those days. Nowadays, with age comes awareness of my limitations. It isn’t that a good conversation has diminished in value, I just need to have these conversations during the daytime so that I can be awake for them and appreciate them.

Isn’t it amazing what a change two decades makes, physically, emotionally and mentally? Does anyone ever correctly predict how their future will turn out? All the choices, risks and paths taken and somehow you end up where you are, it could be good or it could be disappointing. The question is, were the times spent in putting off leaving the party worth it? I say yes, because without those experiences, good or bad, they make up the who you are now. It is always better to be here than nowhere. As long as you are here, than there is always the possibility of something, anything, be it more of the same or something new. It is up to us to decide, to stay or leave or just be.