I wrote a second day's worth. It's not poetry, really, but here it is. We could do this sort of thing everyday, and never run out of counting. Just thankful. Especially for this beautiful bunch. Not together this year for Thanksgiving, but they'll always be with me, whichever holiday table finds …
THE BATTING CAGE: One Story, Two Perspectives
Here's an interesting thing, a chance to get the same father-son story from the perspective of two writers. Daniel, my son, had an interesting (not exactly tragic, but close) baseball experience when he was little, and later that night, after it happened, I sat and wrote the whole thing down, so I wouldn't forget. …
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Marriage and Aesthetic Unity
When I typed the title of this post, I had to reconsider. Really? Marriage and aesthetic unity? What I mean by aesthetic unity as in what emerges from a strong work of art or a successful theatre production, an attribute of a production's ruling idea, metaphor, or concept, so that all the choices being …
Gratitude as Spiritual Practice
Gratitude as spiritual practice can be tricky. It's a bit like trying to help actors understand the difference in thinking about doing something or pretending to do something, and actually doing something. What are we truly grateful for? For me, gratitude is extremely powerful when you come to the place of awareness where your eyes …
On the Occasion of a Son Turning 21
He's always been a surprise. Not that the expectation for something special wasn't there, but who this young boy I played catch with would become just wasn't on my radar. The music piece, in a generic sense, didn't surprise me; we've got singers in the family--some good ones (My uncle, closer in age to a …
The Ten Great Blessings
On New Year's Eve, I glanced over an email from Bill Hybels, the Senior Pastor at Willow Creek Community Church, in which he encouraged everyone to take time to count their blessings. He told the story of his own family, of their New Year's Eve tradition (if I'm getting this right) of sharing ten great …
“Places”
Each night I stand backstage pacing back and forth, running a small ritual that has become important to me as a preparation for a coming night of emotional journeying. The role of Eric Weiss in Brooklyn Boy is a challenging one, one that I relate to all too well. And then, inevitably, my friend Carla …
