Knob Creek Evening

So, I'm partial to bourbon around the holidays. I enjoy red wine, but a good cocktail is a good cocktail. So Tom. Dear, sweet Tom Chalmers brought a bottle of Knob Creek with him. He's a good elf. (Tom's show of "The Santaland Diaries" sold out! Tonight there were 20 seats left for the 8pm show. Come to the 10pm show! We'll be there!) I digress....

Almost everyone came. Some were MIA and their loss...The gumbo was a hit! We had an awfully good time. A late party with the guests not going home 'til 2am. Nothing too debauched (I don't count the Tab cocktail napkin incident) The house did look lovely and the dogs were well-behaved. What else could you want?

Thanks Jane Sobie for my wonderful wine bottle stuffed with Christmas lights. Who knew?

No more parties for awhile. Yours truly is ready for his long winter's nap.

The Weather Outside is Frightful

This is the top of Mt. Mitchell. Mostly ice and fog and oh, dreariness!

Here on the ground in Asheville it was a disgusting morning. An ice storm! Such a nasty thing. A glaze on everything. I hate glazes. Even on desserts. Enough with glazing things. As if everything is being daintily brushed with frozen water. You couldn't really even call it ice. Such a cowardly display of nature. And very distructive. A sucker punch in the back! Give me anything, but the wet, cold, frozen mud and muck!

O.K. I'm done and go back to work and then home to ready myself for the party. Tomorrow night. I'm excited and stressed. Having a good party requires some work. More on that later.

Hunt is here and is making gumbo! We'll have NOLA refugee gumbo at the party. A great treat! I'll let you know how it goes.

SANTALAND IS OPENING!

Tom Chalmers is the embittered Macy's elf in David Sedaris' "The Santaland Diaries"!

Asheville Community Theatre

Thursday-Saturday
December 15-17
Thursday and Friday at 8pm
Two Shows on Saturday 8 and 10pm

Countdown to Christmas

So I'm completely fried with Christmas. Cards have been sent out, trips to Michael's done and Christmas decor is a decor as it's going to be. I CAN'T GO TO TARGET ONE MORE TIME!! Serious overload. I stood in the middle of the groovy ornament section and wanted to go lie down in bikes. There's too much color, too much music...too, too much. But what if your nephew wants a certain book...you have to go to Target. It's either that or Barnes and Noble and...I'm completely over them. And the internet? Well, they don't get anything there on time. Not the book people..unless you pay the amount of shipping that COSTS MORE THAN THE BOOK!

Oh, and I'm having a party Friday night. My first party in Asheville. A Christmas party. Couldn't I have started with a cookout. Jenny and Scott (alphabetical order) give these world famous parties. (Anyone remember "The Old Whore" party or "Wolfest 2005"? How to live up to the legend? Well, I've brought in Hunt Scarritt to make his world famous gumbo. (Gettin out the big guns). Also, I'm concentrating on a good mix of Christmas and dance music.

Tonight is baking night. I have to fix cookies and pre-stuff, so I'm not caught Thursday night buying the nasty bakery items at the grocery store. (Forgive me, they have the best coconut cake) Wish me luck that I don't completely poop out. Oh, and Merry Christmas.

I'm up and running...again!

So Kristen wanted me to get back to my blog. So...here I am. I'm a new blogger, so I wasn't aware that if you didn't do it everyday, people wouldn't read any longer. For shame.

I am now the Site Supervisor for the Eastern National for the Folk Art Center in the Blue Ridge Parkway National Park. Basically I run an information desk/bookstore. I'm quite happy with the job so far. It combines the retail experience that I have with nature and non-profit. A better gig than the mall!

Alphie, Jeff and Sawyer have gone off to Puerto Rico, so I'm renting their house. A good gig for me. I'm finally unpacked and have gotten Christmas up and running. I have to say, I'm proud of the job we've all done getting it together.

O.K....So Kristen, this entry's for you. Kristen just got back from Chile. Biking! Good show Kristen!

Oh! I just recently closed a show at Asheville Community Theatre. I played John Curtis in the world premiere of Dearly Beloved. Coming to a theratre near you. That means I was the first one to play him. Look for my name in the Dramtist's edition coming soon. This is me with Michael Pruitt playing Dub Dubberly. Yes!

So now I've updated you a bit. Hunt's on his way to spend the holidays with me. You remember him. He was the one that was in Hurricane Katrina. Anyway, he's coming north and we should see him in a few days.

Hunt saved from the clutches of Katrina

Hunt Scarritt is alive and well and staying with me in Asheville. Hunt, star of Stormswept (psycho killer) and the recent Elvis mini-series on CBS(Eddie Bond), has surfaced safely here while getting his head back on.

Hunt, like many others, had evacuated New Orleans and is now without home. So he has been couch surfing for a couple of weeks.

He is alive and well, though. I couldn't be more pleased as to offer up my couch to him.

"Moon Over Buffalo" opens at the Asheville Community Theatre!

I open in "Moon Over Buffalo" on July 8th

"Moon Over Buffalo" is opening at the Asheville Community Theatre...and I'm in it. Come out and see. Click here for info.

I'm playing George Hay and we're having a grand time trying to get the girl open. Come out and see us!

I've been bad

Dear Blog,

I'm sorry to not have written for awhile. It's not that I don't love you. I do, Blog. I do. Only I've been in the mire of new job and other life things. I've been doing some other writing. No. I still love you, but I had to write on a couple of plays.

You are very dear to me, Blog. You let me be myself and ramble a bit. I appreciate it.

I'm back!

Grace Metalious' grave in Gilmanton, NH. She wrote "Peyton Place".

Well! Its been awhile. I've been to Boston and New Hampshire and Vermont and back home again. Was nice seeing a different landscape for awhile. The lakes were still icy and there was still about six inches of snow on the ground in some places. Didn't get to hike Mt. Washington as it rained and blew ice most of that Saturday.

Went to Squam Lake where they filmed "On Golden Pond". There's really nothing there but houses on the lake, so I drove around it. A very beautiful lake with very little commercialization. Quiet little houses. A crust of ice with the sun shining on it.

I did miss a moose trapsin' through the backyard at Bonnie and Wally's . We were out to dinner and I guess the moose was just having his. Anyway, we missed my first moose. I was close, however, and was told that the tracks were still visible when I left.

OH! I saw my first shaker village. I also saw Peyton Place: Gilmanton, NH. Drove around trying to find Grace Metalious' grave , but to no avail. I don't think some people know that they're living in Peyton Place. Not too many people knew what I was talking about.

I did get some good reading time in. Saw Vermont for the first time. Ate lunch in Woodstock. The Yankee Book Shop had Joshilyn Jackson's book: Gods in Alabama. I was very excited and have been reading it. A great read and I'm so truly proud of her. Pick up the book!

Anyhoo...I'm back and good to be home in my bed. I'm now going to bed!

Vacation--Where are you?

Tonight is the last night of "A Few Good Men" at ACT. We have one more matinee tomorrow. I sit at the box office and sip a Diet Coke.

A stressful day. I'm over my job and am ready for a vacation. Boston and New Hampshire here I come! I'm ready to see a little civilization: men in ties, insensitive people, the appetizer before the entree. Can't wait! I'm officially burnt out and don't know which end is up. I'm sure I'll have fun trying to find out.

Off to Boston to take in the city for a couple of days and then...drum roll...New Hampshire! We're hiking to Tuckerman's Ravine on Mt. Washington. Lovely Mt. Washington is in the White Mountains. There may be snow. We don't know. Cross your fingers for lovely weather. Then back to Bonnie and Wally's for a party. I will be gone March 30-April 5th.

Happy St. Patrick's Day

We got a couple of inches of snow. Daffodils have started to bloom; something is sweet about the snow and the daffodils. Almost a promise that spring is truly coming. We are optimists--taking this snow to be our last. Well, Jeff has declared it spring. It's official.

The groundhogs are out like cats. Isn't that a sign?

St. Patrick's Day is a non-event for us non-drinkers. I've spent the day re-organizing things at work. Anything not to think about the Guinness and the Irish Whiskey. I can hear the whooping every once-in-a-while: drunks coming home. I've gotten through it and off to bed now. Good night.

Two days at the theatre

Have had not one, but two nights of culture. Yesterday afternoon, the St. Petersburgh Ballet and tonight "Crazy for You". Meg and Alphie and I spent out Sunday afternoon watching these amazing athletes rush through the air! I was really into the Scheherezade (sp?) and the "italian" masque part. They make it all look so easy. Alphie thought a part in the Scheherezade was too long and wondered about one of the leads wearing a flesh netting over her middrift...(doesn't she know Britney's made it OK to go middle-less?) A little toy poodle of a lady in back of me criticized me and my neighbor for being too tall. I told her to get bring a phone book next time.

"Crazy for You" was good, too. The chorus was wonderful and thrilling. The lead was fine, but the cast was way too young. Loved the music and it was a truly "bus and truck" experience. The Thomas Wolfe theatre is a cavern and the accoustics stink beyond measure. Oh...the lighting was uneven and the sound was muddled. I had a good time, anyway. I root people on through the mess of live theatre. There is still nothing like it.

I sat there by myself. Usually, I go to the theatre by myself. My chance to be alone and drift off into the plays. I can truly listen when I'm not too wrapped up in my neighbor. Also, I can see the audience and I like to see how they're affected by the performances. I used to feel nervous for the performances. Not anymore. Now, I get excited for them. What an opportunity to be on stage. You have this shot and you can do anything. Anything!

Kristen has a beautiful new Novara bike! Kristen rides to Kent from Seattle to work at REI HQuarters. Watch out for her out there on the street!

" A Few Good Men" has opened!

"A Few Good Men" has opened at ACT

http://www.ashevilletheatre.org/index.html

Click this link to check out "A Few Good Men" at ACT. Tickets are on sale now!

This is the stuff I'm talkin' about.

Ballroom Dancing, Midori Coladas and moments

As I was sitting watching couples glide around the floor today, (Ballroom dancing finals at the Grove Park Inn) http://www.theheritageclassic.com/I thought how bizarre my life is. Here I am sitting watching couples ballroom dance!

I've climbed a mountain and learned to ski. I've worked as a waiter, a retail manager, I've sold oriental rugs. I've ridden my bike to a spring and drank margaritas after in the same bar the Bush girls were busted in. I've had Kathy Bates lean on my arm and tell me about working with Mike Nichols. I've sipped medori coladas at the Delano hotel in South Beach, Florida. I have sat on a movie set in Hammond, Louisiana and watched my friend Hunt film a scene. Then I thought how this moment: this one moment in time with the sparkling gowns and the tango playing. I thought, " Have this moment. This beautiful moment. Sink into it."

How beautiful life can be. Suddenly. With a rush of light and color. The illusion of it. The moments of sheer beauty. For life can be this. When the dance that we all participate in becomes art. More than the steps. Beyond the technicalities. When you sink and lean in a little, life begins to flow.

Lazy Day

There's been snow on and off today. Quite a white out this morning with about an inch made whiter by the sun coming out and melting it all away. Wind is blowing cold and the inside becomes warmer and warmer. I don't want to leave the house, but I did for a time: volunteer box office work at ACT, then off for paper towels and a burrito at Mamacitas. Yum!

Alphie has been called for jury selection. We wait to see if she's been chosen. I'm afraid they don't know with whom they are dealing with. She'll be jury foreman before we know it. She tells me the judge has compared prejudice to mayonnaise. "I might not like mayonnaise, but I can't stop other people likin' it." Amen!

Back to work tomorrow. An early rise followed by a positive work attitude. Sure.

Happy March 1st. It's come in like a lion.