I got to visit camp
It was strange being there in the winter
I think of camp as verdant green
With trees full of foliage
But it’s the end of winter and
The trees were bare
And all the colors were muted
Even the evergreens were dull

But oh how wonderful it was
To be on that hallowed ground
Sharing what camp is all about
With new families
Our tour group was a little hesitant at first, but
By the end, the kids were asking questions
A little glint in their eye
Thoughts of projects and doing as they please
All summer

It was hard to leave
Despite the grey, the mosses were still glowing
Fairy magic at play
It felt mean to only stay a few hours
And have to drive back to Jersey

Tomorrow is 100 days until staff arrive
I can’t wait.

​Today I had time to write
And dig into the archives
And to go down unexpected paths
And I even had time for a little admin
And taking the floof to the park (it was cold!)
And I took some time to read a book for fun
(The Telling Room, it’s about cheese
And northern Spain
It’s delicious)
And I went to bed feeling
Content.

A cold and rainy Friday afternoon
Is perfect for
Hot chocolate
And time with your love.

What a treat it is
To interview writers and composers
On the podcast
To learn their stories
And share their work.

You’ve seen RENT dozens of times
Can’t even count the number of times you’ve listened the cast recording on repeat
It’s been a while between visits
You go to see a high school production
To support one of your camp kidlets
And walking down the hallway to the auditorium
You’re moved by the messages scrawled in black sharpie
On the white plastic drapes adorning the walls
No day but today!
Today 4 You
ACT UP!
And the production itself is astonishing
A bare bones set
With a giant rectangular platform in the middle of the stage that with some ensemble muscle
Becomes a revolve
The vocals blow you away
You almost forget these are high schoolers
And then you catch a glint of silvery braces
And even though you can still recite every lyric from memory
They make you see the show in a whole new way
With their original line deliveries
And subtle contemporary hints
Like La Vie Boheme with Cups choreography
The girl playing Maureen (who already has a Broadway credit to her name)
Delivers the most epic Over the Moon you’ve ever seen
The energy of it
The vocal gymnastics of it
The comedic timing of it
The way the audience got to participate
Like we were in the lot
MOOOO!
And although you love their energy
And the spirit they bring to the show
It’s funny to side with Benny now
“A state of the art, digital, virtual interactive studio
I'll forego your rent
And on paper guarantee
That you can stay here for free”
Excuse me
Did Benny just offer these bohemian artists a rent free loft apartment in the Village with studio space for making art and high tech equipment?!
Sorry Maureen. The protest is off.
At the end of the show, the audience leapt to its feet
In the lobby, the buzzy energy of kids on a post-performance high
Proud parents and older siblings carrying bouquets of flowers
You hug your camper and tell her proud you are
What a joy it is to see her shine
And you head home
With a lightness in your step.

You wake up to discover
It has snowed! 

You are on the upper west side
You walk past the second hand book store
And glance at the $1 trolleys and crates
Sitting on the sidewalk
A book with a yellow and red cover
Draws you in
The Telling Room
It is about cheese
The Wall Street Journal — according to the blurb on the back --
Says it is “a must read for all who think of Spain as magical, who consider cheese as the ultimate gift of love, who love stories of betrayal, despair, revenge and redemption.”
Yes please!

You go inside the store to pay
You're waiting for the customer in front of me to finish their purchase
You look out the window and
There is a real life fairy browsing the books!
Right there is broad daylight!
On Broadway and 81st!
She is wearing a tall, pointy felted hat
With a red rim and a thick strand of purple felt dangling from the top of the pointy tip
A rainbow colored ribbon tied in a giant bow under her chin
Secures the hat
And frames her wizened face
Her coat is also felted, red and orange stripes
And flecks of dark purple
The coat is lined with the same deep dark purple
Visible from her rolled up cuffs
The coat buttons are crocheted
She is smiling while she peruses the books

The cashier is ready
You look up and see
An old friend from camp
And his mom
His sister, her daughter,
Was one of my first campers
When you were a guidance counselor
A thousand million years ago
Before COVID, cancer, FoCo, London, Aaron,
Before Kris ended the engagement, before the camino, and
During your very first overseas adventure
Now that sister/daughter/camper
Is a Mumma of her own to a mischievous baby boy
We catch up on the sidewalk

Then it is chorus rehearsal
You're told you didn’t see actually see a fairy — it's Purim! 
You still choose to believe you saw a fairy
You sing in Hebrew
The music is challenging and complex
And beautiful
As you're leaving rehearsal
Your friend passes you a homemade
Hamantaschen filled with apricot 

Even though it is cold out
You feel warm
All the way home.

First I watched
Life Jacket by Caridad Svich
The magic you can create
With a few wooden boxes
And a piece of rope
Focused lighting
And a few sound effects
The devastation of the text
Poetry in action

And in the evening I watched
Kiss by Guillermo Calderón
The heightened melodrama of the first act
The astonishing gestures of the
Physicalized subtext
The second act “talkback”
Talk back
Assert
Provide context
A “kiss” is not a kiss when --
The heightened realism of the third act
The way the set fell away
The way the furniture floated

When you see a play
That touches your soul and
Makes you see the world
In a different light
In a new way
With more compassion
More understanding
How it lights your soul on fire.

When new opportunities arise
And allow you to see new possibilities
A different path

​Mr Frost said he took the road less traveled
And that it made all the difference

What if…

​What a joy it is
To learn
To acquire new knowledge and
Make new connections
In the synapses of your brain
Especially when the new
Helps you see the old and
The everyday
In a new light.