Off Broadway

I couldn't resist.  I cannot be this close to NYC and stay away from Broadway.  So this afternoon, after checking into my hotel in Newark, NJ, I jumped in the car and headed toward Manhattan.  (For why I was so close, check out my previous blog post.)

As a side note, I would rather have been in Tallahassee, where my good friend Steve's new Chick-fil-A location was being dedicated.  But work had me here, and "here" is tantalizingly close to one of my favorite places in the world.  So there I went.

I wasn't sure what if anything I might be able to see.  It's Monday night, which for years has traditionally been "dark" on Broadway.  I was prepared to just have a nice dinner in "the city".  But it seems that now some shows are going dark on a different night so that Monday can be active, so when I got to the discount ticket booth in Times Square (pictured below), there were some choices.

Just a few choices, but there were some.  There was Phantom, which I've seen almost as many times as I've seen Wicked.  There was Mamma Mia, which I've seen in Atlanta...nah, not in the mood for ABBA.      There was Rock of Ages, a musical with tons of great 80s music....very tempting, and I almost bought the ticket.  But then I noticed that The Fantasticks was playing Off Broadway.  It originally ran on Broadway for 32 years, making it the longest running show on Broadway.  It's a script I've always liked (based on a couple of college performances I had seen), and I had never seen an Off-Broadway production of anything.  So that's the way I went.

It was, well, a fantastic evening.  (Sorry, couldn't resist.)  It was very interesting to be in NY and see a show in a small theatre on the third floor of a building -- it probably held about 150 people.  I was on the front row, and it was so intimate that many times the actor was looking me directly in the eyes while speaking.  It was an atmosphere that I had only experienced in college theatre or the Octagon at ASF.  To experience that environment with highly professional actors (and singers) was a treat.  Thanks to Edward Watts (El Gallo), Erik Altemus (Matt), Juliette Trafton (Luisa) and the rest of the cast for a wonderful evening.

I started this post intending to spend some time on how the show's script moved me.  About how it paints a picture of life with some points that parallel some truths of Scripture.  The fact that Ms. Trafton listed a Bible verse (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18) in her bio makes it even more tempting.  I may do that too in another post, but it can wait.  For now, I just wanted to share that I didn't need the large house, lavish orchestration, and large sets with moving parts to enjoy a night of musical theatre.  Good acting and music along with a funny but deep script were enough.

I love Broadway...hope I get back here soon.  Now I know that the choices for good entertainment are even wider than I thought.  Off-Broadway ain't bad.

Now...back to work in the morning.

On the go...

Sometimes I have the craziest schedule.  I love to travel....love to hang out with family and friends...love to just be doing something.  Last spring I was in Europe for a work assignment when...well, you remember the whole volcanic ash thing?  Yeah, that got me.  But instead of fretting, I loved the adventure.  I will have to tell that story later.

Yeah, I go and go and go every chance I get, and I have been blessed with a career where some of that is due to work.  So...here is what my next few 5 days looks like:

• I am writing this from my hotel room in Baron Rouge.  I'm here with my sister and two nieces, and we are stoked for the Bama-LSU game tomorrow.
• Game tomorrow, and then we head back to the gump Sunday...5 hour drive.
• Then it gets interesting.  I jump on a plane Sunday night and will check into a hotel in Washington, DC around midnight.  This is so I can...
• Be in attendance to support one of my employees who is officially receiving her professional designation as an actuary.
• Then I jump on a train to New Jersey.  I'll be there Monday night and Tuesday, where I will...
• Meet up with several other company staff for a presentation we have to make Wednesday morning.
• Then...finally....I fly home Wednesday night.

Whew!  This should be interesting.  It starts with a little business for the Tide to take care of.

Roll Tide!

NO left turn

It was early Sunday afternoon, and we were headed to lunch.  I was in Tallahassee visiting my good friend Steve and his family, and we had just left an awesome worship service at their church.  As we circled the building searching for a parking place, I saw the following sign:

Now I've seen plenty of "no left turn" signs.  But this one is a little different.  Did you notice it?  It has the word NO in huge letters.  We all know what this means: the sign is shouting at us.  "NO left turn!"  Dummy!

Now I don't know the story behind the sign.  I imagine that some previous, normal version of the sign had been ignored over and over.  For some reason, the city felt the need to emphasize that they really, really meant it.

We have all sorts of language tools to tell people that we really mean something.  We promise.  We swear.  We swear by things.  Jesus saw this and he had something to say about it:

Again, you have heard that it was said to the people long ago, "Do not break your oath, but fulfill to the Lord the vows you have made."  But I tell you, do not swear an oath at all: either by heaven, for it is God’s throne; or by the earth, for it is his footstool; or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the Great King.  And do not swear by your head, for you cannot make even one hair white or black.  All you need to say is simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’; anything beyond this comes from the evil one. (Matthew 5:33-37)

It's easy to focus on the specific admonishments in this quote.  Don't do this, don't do that.  Don't break your oath, don't swear at all.  But the key to the whole passage is the last sentence: let your yes be yes and let your no be no.  What is Jesus saying?  It's pretty simple really.  Be a person of your word.  Always tell the truth.  Always do what you say you're going to do.  Have integrity.  If you do that, then you won't need to say "I swear".  Or "I promise."  Or "I mean it."  Or "This time I really mean it!"  Or "Not just no but....(you know the rest)."

NO left turn!  We mean it -- you stinkin' better not turn left here!  We mean it!

That's what the sign was saying.  It's my prayer that I would be the kind of person that you believe what I say without me having to convince you.  If we all did that, how cool would that be?

Month of thankfulness

Hey all!  My friend Tommy came up with an awesome idea that I want to share with my friends. He is encouraging everyone who is on Twitter to have a daily tweet during the month of November, listing something that you're thankful for. And then to use the hashtag #monthofthankfulness so that a chain can be created for us all to follow.

What a great way to lead up to Thanksgiving!  I know I can benefit from a tool that makes me focus a little more on my blassings.  In fact, I think I'm also going to use my facebook status for this (although the hashtag part won't apply).

I started today, appropriately, with an All Saints Day tribute to my mom, sister Kim, and niece Holly who have gone to be with the Lord.  I'm so thankful for all they taught me and the blessing of knowing them, and that I will see them again one day.

So...try it!  It should be fun.