Tiny Trick Or Treaters

"Halloween was confusing.

All my life my parents said, 'Never take candy from strangers.'

and then they dressed me up and said, 'Go beg for it.'" 

-- Rita Rudner

Lego mini Stormtrooper and C-3PO trick or treating 10-31-14

"So when I open the door on Halloween, 

I am confronted by three or four imaginary heroes, 

such as G.I. Joe, Conan the Barbarian and Oliver North,

who would look very terrifying except that they are three feet tall

and facing in random directions.

They stand there silently for several seconds

before an adult voice hisses from the darkness behind them:

'Say Trick or treat!'"

-- Dave Barry

Lego mini Stormtrooper and C-3PO trick or treating 10-31-14

"Trick or Treat isn't just some phrase 

you chant mindlessly like The Lord's Prayer.

It's an oral contract."

-- Bart Simpson

Happy Halloween!

Backyard Fireworks

"Fireworks had for her a direct and magical appeal.

Their attraction was more complex than that of any other form of art ..."

Lego mini figures  "oooh" 7-5-14

"They had pattern and  sequence, colour and sound, brilliance and mobility;

they had suspense, surprise, and a faint hint of danger ... "

Lego mini figures "aaaah" 7-5-14

"...above all, they had the supreme quality of transience, 

which puts the keenest edge on beauty and makes it touch some spring in the heart

which more enduring excellences cannot reach."

-- Jan Struther, Mrs. Miniver

One of my favorite family traditions is "Leo's Annual Fourth of July Big Backyard Home-Rolled Fireworks Extravaganza."

Mackenna and Leo 7-5-14

He's been doing it since he was about 9.

We always invite our 86-year old neighbor Vera, and a few very select friends have joined us over the years for Leo's display of smoke bombs, firecrackers, Roman candles, sparklers and other cool, noisy stuff that shoots fire into the air and goes Crack! Pop! or Boom!

Last night's show lasted nearly 3 hours and was the best yet. We had cookies and coffee. The kids drew shapes in the dark with their sizzling sparklers. I took pictures.

I look forward to Leo's show every year. Vera always asks if we're still having it and stays up way past her usual early bedtime waving sparklers in the air and gleefully slamming Pop Its against the patio cement.

I truly enjoy Leo's backyard fireworks more than the big fancy display that our town will put on tonight. I guess it's because Leo's show is ours and ours alone. And even if both shows happened on the same night, I'd easily choose to stay home with the people I love most rather than follow the crowd.

It's our little way of celebrating independence.

Landing The Role

"Any time you audition and get it, you earned it."

-- Michael Ealy

Lego Shakespeare and Lego actor at an audition 4-8-14

"I don't think actors should ever expect to get a role,

because the disappointment is too great.

You've got to think of things as an opportunity.

An audition's an opportunity to have an audience."

-- Al Pacino

"He picked me, mommy! I'm the new swan queen!"

-- "Nina," Black Swan

So I finally heard back about that audition I went on a couple of weeks ago.

And I got it!

I will be playing the role of "Mrs. Coffman" in William Inge's Come Back, Little Sheba as part of the Oberlin Summer Theater Festival's 2014 season this July and August. 

It's a supporting role. Not huge. Exactly right-sized for my first foray back to the stage after a year-plus-long layoff. 

It's good to be back.