Blog Break

Dear all...

Sorry to have been away. Times are crazy (in the best of ways). At any rate, because everything in the next two weeks is about the backers reading of Sylvia So Far on June 25th, I can't promise I'll be spending any time at the blog. Things may go swimmingly and I'll have all the time in the world to write you, or they may be disastrous and I'll need the blog to vent.

But anticipate that I'll not be back for a bit. Thanks for reading.

As a treat, I found a wonderful picture of Sylvia and Marsha all dolled up in the rain at a protest. You go girls!

I saw my girls last night!

The weekend was pretty swamped so I had to wait five whole days to check in with Carrie, Charlotte, Samantha and Miranda.

Yes, last night 300 hundred sceaming single women, 4 gay men and 2 rather abashed husbands experienced Sex and the City together. The moment Carrie blazed across the screen, wearing a tiny dress and a huge fabric flower, the theatre went insane. And it just got better. The women of SATC are my friends, both imaginatively and realistically. When the show aired, beginning in 1998 and continuing for about 5 years, my buddies and I were amazed at how the passions and trevails and triumphs of four single or sometimes single women on the prowl in Manhattan rather exactly mirrored our own. Of course, the show was created by a gay man and has forever been criticized as being much more reflective of the New York Gay Boy experience than the New York Single Chick reality. I say "what-eh-vuh".

My buds and I, before my tragically doomed relationship, checked in weekly on the love developments of la Bradshaw and crew. We argued who we were. Of course, everyone thought they were Carrie, open and questioning and searching. I remember a dinner once when I told a group I felt I was Charlotte: kind and optimistic and traditional. Frank Cruz roared with laughter and said, "Oh honey, you're no Charlotte. You're just a Samantha in Charlotte's clothing!". I did have the reputation of being the, shall I say, popular one of my friends. I never connected with Miranda, whom I observed from a wary distance with a degree of mild contempt. Wow! In the movie that mild contempt developed into something more like unbridled loathing. Not to spoil any plot twists, though.

But the great thing was, everybody (at least single women and gay men --- 98.2% of the people who populate my life) relates keenly to SATC. And the movie is a natural, hilarious, heartbreaking, enraging extension of lives I feel I know well. What is the guy's name? John Patrick King I think. Well done. You have peeked into the days and weeks of my friends and me and helped us make some sense of our wonderful, impossible, horny lives. Thank you. Have a cosmo on me.

The Sylvia Hits

Hey, I just checked in on the Sylvia So Far MySpace page --- we've had 900 hits!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Abigail launched it some time in the fall of 2007 and since then it's been visited 900 times, Peter's "When You Loved Me" has been listened to 393 times, Abby's "Lullaby" 258 times, and the oh-so-vulgar "Pay It No Mind" has offended folks 183 times.

Who are you people??? I am delighted and tickled. There's a rumor going 'round that a good 200 or so of the hits are Abby's Dad, but they can't all be him.

If you haven't checked it out, you can find it at http://www.myspace.com/sylviasofar.

Breakfast with Colleen

I woke up early and famished today. Who knows why? Most days it doesn't even occur to me to eat. Not so June 2, 2008. I mean, I was ravenous. So I arose, showered and walked down to Tom's Diner, the spot on the Columbia campus that was featured so prominently in Seinfeld.

I was at the end of my 2 eggs, over easy with sausage, potatoes and toast, when my friend Colleen appeared tableside. So she sat, ordered her 2 eggs and we did what you so seldom get to do --- we just chatted over coffee. We talked about church. We talked about the bell choir (Colleen conducts the bell choir). We talked about the state of New York City High Schools. We talked about Rachel's gymnastics. We talked about the talent show. Kids we love. Teaching piano (which she does, not me).

And then I had to move on to the office. But what a nice, unexpected way to start a Monday. Don't you love New York?

The lovely Sheri Proctor

The College Board's online webzine, "Connect", featured an article on their new mentoring program today. Ms. Sheri Proctor, wife of the Peter Proctor, is honored for her work. She's the beauty in the middle of the picture. Sheri is simply one of the brightest, most accomplished people I know.

But it's a pity we can't see her shoes.

"Miracle Time"

I've had several requests since Friday night for "Miracle Time". I don't have an MP3 of it yet. It's part of the roster for the June recording sessions (which begin in two weeks! Hurray!!!!). In the meantime, here are the words.

This song has taken an interesting journey. It was written for the 2007 American Idol songwriting competition and wasn't chosen. Then I started opening my club act with it and people really started responding to it. Recently I began tinkering with a new two-person musical called Gobsmacked and I've incorporated it into that. Anyway, here it is:

"Miracle Time"

NOT IN A MILLION
YEARS DID I DREAM
THAT WE’D BE HERE TONIGHT,
AND THOUGH THINGS AREN’T ALWAYS
QUITE WHAT THEY SEEM, I GUESS
SOMETHING’S FEELING RIGHT.
BUT GIVE ME A MOMENT,
SPARE ME A BREATH,
ONE SECOND SMALL AND SUBLIME.
I HAVE LIVED
WAITING FOR MIRACLE TIME.

NOT IN A THOUSAND
WORDS COULD I SING
THE SONG THAT’S IN MY SOUL.
SUDDENLY LOST IS A
LONG AGO THING
AND SUDDENLY I’M WHOLE.
MUSIC IS POUNDING A
BEAT IN MY HEART.
SOMEWHERE A BELL STARTS TO CHIME.
IS THIS REAL?
IS THIS MY
MIRACLE TIME?

SUDDENLY PARADISE,
SUDDENLY GRACE
SHINING LIKE HEAVEN
ALL OVER YOUR FACE.
THIS THING HAS TAKEN ME
ALL BY SURPRISE.
I FOUND MY MIRACLE
THERE IN YOUR EYES…

AND NOW I’M
LESS THAN A HUNDRED
HEARTBEATS AWAY FROM
ALL I DREAMED I’D DO,
AND OF ALL OF THE LOVELY
WONDERS TODAY, THE
BEST IS LOVING YOU.
SO JOIN AS I SING THE
SONG OF MY LIFE,
AND KNOW AS THE NOTES START CLIMB,
IN MY LIFE IT’S FINALLY
MIRACLE TIME.
IN MY LIFE IT’S FINALLY
MIRACLE TIME!

A Favorite Friday

There are times in your life that you know are special even as you live them. Friday night the children of West End Collegiate Church gathered with a purpose. They were going to sing and dance and tell a joke in order to raise the money to pay their way to New Orleans in August. We are going, you see, to build a home as part of the Collegiate Churches' collective commitment to ministering to a devastated community.

Associate Pastor Jim Sterner, my boss, says the words "Let's put on a talent show" don't exist in his vocabulary. But that seemed the most natural route for me and put on a talent show we did. And it was beautiful and overwhelmed with spirit. The kids were so aware that they were doing this not just for the fun of it, but for the God of it. They were celebrating themselves and the gifts God has endowed upon them, building community and connection and memory.

Devon played emcee for the evening and was brilliant, articulate, funny... the kid's a genius. Emily sang "Love Song" accompanied by William (who learned the song by ear - a guy after my own heart). She was fantastic and looked like a blond Audrey Hepburn. John David, who sang so splendidly a few weeks ago, was just as splendid at the piano. Samantha threw me a huge curve by choosing "The Wizard and I", a particularly challenging song from Wicked. I promise you, she sang far more wonderfully than I played it! Matthew told an impromptu story about Dorothy, done with Oz, making a side trip to Narnia. Sam told dinosaur jokes and took the most impressively professional bow of the night. Many wonderful musicians: Christian did his awesome flute thing, Alexander his world-class piano playing, Terence aceing his piano piece too. Derek provided two acts, playing piano and singing from Oliver! Greta sang the song I blogged about last week, "Beautiful Disaster", and she totally scored. Ayo and a friend from Middle Collegiate did a routine called "How Not to do Ballet". After many tears, Elizabeth sang the theme song from I Carly and gave me the biggest hug I got all night (and I got some big hugs!). Alexandra and Zane competely charmed everyone by making an ice cream sundae onstage and auctioning it off. As for adults, John from Middle did a gorgeous "Seasons of Love" and I did a pretty wonderful rendition of my own "Miracle Time".

We were standing room only but the room seemed to get bigger and bigger all night as I felt more and more spirit rejoicing and growing. Yesterday at church, of course, the kids and their folks needed to relive it in minute detail. We made a memory together.

And that's not all we made. We were hoping to get donations to equal $450, the cost of sending one kid. As of yesterday we made just upwards of $4,000!

I am still buzzing with joy.