Megan Gilbert dogged me yesterday. If you don't know Westbury Christian School, let me inform you that Megan Gilbert is our drama/speech teacher. In two years at WCS, she's made a major impact on our fine arts department as our kids have put on wonderful presentations, including Everything I Need To Know I Learned In Kindergarten and Steel Magnolias. I'm not into plays and the like, except as it relates to our students, but I'm fascinated by the process of putting a play together. I know how you go about taking kids and assembling a basketball team but have no clue where to start with a theatrical project. One day, I told Meagan I would like to go through a play from tryouts to first rehearsal to the last performance just to have an inkling of what it's about. Being silly, I even told her that I was going to write a play based on my favorite television show. I even have the title: CSI- The Musical
The story is already familiar to many and I've got the opening number, what else but the Who's "Who Are You?" I would reprise the original role of Gil Grissim, probably with Brad Pitt portraying me. It goes without saying Megan would have to be in it as well. I think her closest resemblance would be a much younger version of Cameron Diaz. I've got the closing song as well, another Who's classic, "Behind Blue Eyes," to match my own. I'd walk off into the sunset having solved another impossible case with superior intellect and the kind and yet mysterious persona the original Grissim displayed. Of course, I know nothing about music or penning some Academy worthy masterpiece and I don't have the time or the inclination to do so if I did. Still, I enjoy giving Megan grief about it because she told me if I wrote it, she would put it on. Which leads me back to her dogging me, the original point of the story.
Yesterday morning, the Harding University chorus performed for our students. At the conclusion, the director asked all alumni to come to the stage and sing "The Lord Bless You And Keep You" with the choir, a decades old tradition. Megan and I are both Harding alums but I had already decided I was staying put. On her way to the front, she tapped me on the shoulder and told me, 'Let's go.' I politely refused- I joined them on stage once years ago and felt I humiliated myself. As our paths crossed in the cafeteria at lunch time, she kindly let me have it. I wish I had written down word-for-word what she said but this is at least 98 percent verbatim.
"Don't tell me you're going to do something if you won't take a risk. You can't doing anything great if you won't put yourself out there."
You know what? She's absolutely right. It's easy for me to say I'm going to do something without following through. And she's preceptive- I'm no risk taker in any aspect of my life. I mean, somebody might tease me if I fail at something. There's a difference between Megan and me. I've spent several weeks twice in China doing mission work- Megan moved there. That's the dividing line between us and that's why I admire her. There are times we need someone to kick us in the backside, whether professionally or socially or spiritually, and I'm no exception. I respect the bungee jumpers in life but I'm the one left standing on the bridge, looking down. Maybe I just need to change the theme song for my never to be written musical. I think The Platters' "The Great Pretender" would work just fine.
Applicable quote of the day:
"To dare is to lose one's footing momentarily. To not dare is to lose oneself." Soren Kierkegaard
God bless,
Steve
Luke 18:1
http://www.hawleybooks.com/
E-mail me at steve@hawleybooks.com
6 comments:
Oh, Steve I think you should jump on in the water and get that musical CSI play written. It sounds like a winner to me and I would be willing to go see and enjoy such a play. Hugs and blessings
yay CSI. They have been playing it all day everyday and have been watching it a lot on my break.
Steve, what a good post! I tend to be all ideas and not much follow-through. Thanks for a bit of push for my writing. Thanks for following, too.
I'll be watching for when that play is put on. :)
Blessings***
So, Steve, what you received from Megan was a "talking to". It's people who care about us that give us "talking tos" and most of the times they are painful.
A "talking to" that was most memorable was one I received from my husband. It involved me sharing with him that I had been asked to chair a large event at our church. I proceed to tell my husband there was no way I could do this, did not know how to do this, had never done this, would have to speak before a large group ... etc.
He told me I would not have been asked to do it if there had not been faith in me that I could do it. After our little "talking to" session, I agreed to head the event. It was a great learning and rewarding experience.
There is a key word I feel is important in these kinds of situations: Faith
I would attend I love CSI!
Let 2011 be a year of jumping for you:)
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