My old friend Eliza, who has endured these letters for 16 years, just sent a small collection of them back to me. At my request, I might add. (I am trying to archive.) Boy, I really am Debbie Downer aren’t I? Well not this year, folks. I am ready to announce to one and all that this year, everything is fine. Everything is under control. I know that every end of December, I act like it’s the end of the world as we know it. It’s not. I would really like to avoid that headline this year. Things are A-OK. Let’s all repeat together: Things will be great again-again! Are you with me?
Sorry, I can’t do this. I want to know exactly what the hell is going on anyway….I mean how can it be that after all that effort, power has once again been centralized into one man (I will not use the word leader), whose ego is so overwhelming that all our combined forces of good have been unsuccessful to this point? Are we that far out of balance? Has it come to this? Are the scales of good vs. evil so tilted, so out of alignment, that we must eat our own? Discrediting trusted heroes? Destroying everything that your predecessor(s) had put into place? Leaders falling from grace right and left. Others leaving us in natural ways, granted. But does hope only rest in our rebellious nature, which is totally reviled in the current climate? The loss of our biggest female role model of all time. All our hope placed now in one individual, while those in power take aim at him? It’s bad, folks. Worse than we every thought. I am sorry I couldn’t keep it together this year. And what, of this notion that you have to drain the whole thingy and cast off the old ways? Burn the past? I agree in principal you can’t live in yesterday, but aren’t those selling you this line just trying to seize the power from you? You know what I’m talking about. What is the one thing that brings us all together during the holidays? No matter what your station is in life. No matter who you vote for, or whether you are coal miner, or Harvard professor. We all saw that movie last week. And something must be done about Kylo Ren. It’s bad enough he killed Harrison Ford two years ago — our on and OFF screen hero and pilot — single handedly ruining my cousin Leslie’s birthday on Christmas eve. But now this entitled brat has sapped Luke of all his metaphysical energy too. Is he really worth all this? And with the off-screen death of the Princess, what hope do we really have for Episode IX? Let’s face it…the best of these movies feature the OG, folks. All we have left is Chewy. Do we really see Chewy as being up to it? How can we possibly carry on under these circumstances? I demand a recount at the box office. I am pretty sure it was a complete mistake to snuff out Mark Hamill’s career AGAIN. We just got him back! And we need a hero more than ever. Can I say that again? HERO NOW! As I see it, if we don’t have Hamill, all we have left is Mueller. Let’s just hope he was never patted a fanny in his life cuz we need this SOB.
OK now I have that off my chest….there are a few newsy items I need to bring you up to speed on. First of all, we made it to Santa Fe last week. It’s been 2 years since our family reconnected with the lovely little home I affectionately refer to as the money pit. Well, it’s going to remain on the family balance sheet a while longer. So two years ago, I had the opportunity to reclaim the family piano from cousin Lisa. A beautiful Foster & Co upright that’s about 120 years old. Having nowhere to put it, I hauled it out to NM for $900, got it tuned, and wow it graced our living room. Well last week, Robby the tuner gave it to me straight. Don’t spend another dime he advised. He described it as a future piece of art. “Perhaps a planter.” What a comedian. I’m a little crushed, but at least I got a wonderful video of Sam playing Mia and Sebastian’s from La La Land theme before it falls out of tune.
Christmas Day was spent on the manmade slopes of Santa Fe, and then a little family bonding at Ten Thousand Waves. As you may recall, I was kicked out of there 10 years ago. My children were supposedly disturbing someone’s chi in the lobby near the gift store, and a lady in one of those “kimono”-robes complained. I was asked to get them out quickly. (I was also trying to pay my tab, having just dropped over $200 between the tub and the gift store). When I became indignant, the manager called security. They wanted to “escort” me out, but I decided to return my merchandise and make them wait on me a little more. Oh that rebel nature. Anyway, this year I kept it together. We all did until we got home and were starving.
File this under The Road You Didn’t Take: this past year I directed a small production of “Tongue of a Bird.” Wonderful script and cast; a truly great experience. So many people came to my aid to help and support the production: friends from high school, designers from Encore Theatre days, even my old drama buddy from elementary school lent a creative hand. But especially my family, Nell, in particular, in dramatic role for a change. A lot of the script takes place in the cockpit of a small Cessna. I was on the verge of paying to have my actors fly in a small aircraft as research, when another old friend came out of the woodwork as technical advisor. This was such a stroke of luck, and I can say that creatively it added huge value. But you know things come with a price sometimes. Once upon a time he represented a page or two…a short chapter in my life. So we hadn’t spoken in over 25 years when we got on the phone. He said he’s been great, very happy, not retired yet, keeping busy with the cabin and flying and guns and happy to help with the flight stuff. He took 3 of the cast up in his plane and effectively gave my lead actor a flying lesson. After the show closed, we met for lunch. We talked about his marriage, and he says they keep busy with friends and opera and grandkids and guns. OK already. Still in the same house after all these years; he’s thinking about leaving the state, seeing as how Brown is ruining California (lets just say Brown is a double entendre). Change of subject. Kids are great. The youngest one doesn’t always agree with me, but she does like guns. By now I am chewing a hole in my cheek. Then something something else about that man who nobody had ever even heard of, who wasn’t even born here became president. OK you know what came up; or rather who. Wow, look at the time. Ck, pls.
As much as I love Santa Fe, I remain attached to my life in Mt. Washington too. I saw an owl on my LA street recently. Then again, I also saw a bobcat in the driveway in SF 2 days ago. Both times, we stared at each other for a long moment before it flew/ran away into the twilight. But you know of all places to find some truly straight talk, a little post inauguration pep rally, came a few doors down from me in LA. Some folks on our street had gathered at my neighbor Susie’s house for a city council event, and in walked Kevin DeLeon, president pro-tem of the Calif. State Senate. Apparently he is my neighbor. What a charismatic guy. We were in fact discussing local issues, but the discussion shifted to our nation’s situation pretty quickly. “Don’t look to Washington. They don’t have the numbers. Look right here. California. We have the numbers. We have the power. We are the resistance.” He said it twice. “We are the resistance.” Wow, I felt Carrie Fisher right next to me, I swear.
I spent a lot of time trying to find my way out of CA as an adult. Adopted identity as a New Yorker, a Santa Fean, perhaps a South African. Bucket list has included Paris, Seattle, Cape Cod, San Juan, and anywhere in Hawaii (the list never included Florida, btw). But you know right now I could not be more proud to be a native Californian. We are the damn resistance, and a beacon. Let’s just hope it rains soon.
That said, when I arrived at home in Santa Fe, just before Christmas, I stepped out of the car and shut the door. It was dark and light simultaneously. In the dark, I was enveloped by a blanket of stars. I heard myself. “Whoa!” That damn sky always takes me by surprise.
Big picture, folks.
Love and blessings to you all.
P-Nut gallery notes.... 