Letters to the Moon....

So many things happen these days that we often don’t take the time to notice the little things. Little things people do for one another. Picking up something and handing it to the person that dropped it. Leaving the door open for a person when you’re going out of a store. Stopping to ask if a person is alright after a fall. These actions are often termed “Random Acts of Kindness”. These acts of kindness are a recurring theme in the United States these days. There has been so much gun violence in the last year in this country, so much needless carnage, that people are taking time to stop, notice the little things around them, and to be grateful for their blessings. In December of last year, there was a mass shooting at an elementary school in the state of Connecticut here in the United States. 26 people were killed in the massacre. 20 of the dead were children. As part of the aftermath of the shooting, people around the US were encouraging people to perform 26 random acts of...

I spoke to an online friend last week; this person is a performer and a  writer. I asked how he had been, he said he had been fine. I asked him how his theater festival had gone in the past month, he said it went very well. I then asked him if he had written anything recently. He replied, “No, inspiration hasn’t come yet.” I totally understand that sensation. You can’t write about something when you’re not inspired. In the past, I have known writers who can sit down and write for 8 hours a day. I don’t work that way.  I am like my friend, I have to write when inspiration comes. I told my friend, “Inspiration is like love. You can’t look for it, it will find you.” I then began to think about inspiration, and about writing. It then occurred to me that, with some exceptions, every piece of music we have ever heard was written. Every piece of dialogue we witness in a play was written. Every nuance of movement on stage has been written. If these things weren’t written, they...

Today in the United States we celebrate the life and work of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. This is always a day to sit back and reflect on his life, his work. The country is now a dramatically different place. That is greatly thanks to him. He is proof that one person can make a difference.  Today is also significant for another reason-President Barack Obama is having his second inauguration. On the national day of recognizing Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. This is an amazing day in my country. During Obama’s first inauguration, I was deeply moved. For the first time in my life, I was proud to be an American. We as a nation had elected the best person for the job. For the first time ever, the person we elected president was a person of color. I was filled with pride as an American. It seemed that Dr. King’s words, vision, had come true... “I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of t...