SNOWBALL

It was the most fun you could have
There were girls
and video games
and popcorn
and red vines
and music
like I said
It was the most fun you could have
MY favorite video game was Red Baron
or
Maybe Battlezone
Yes
It was definitely Battlezone
Battlezone had a viewfinder you had to look through to control your tank
But more than that
I was mesmerized by the girls
They were like swans on a pond
You had to lace up your boots
and go out there to be near them
You can't imagine their hair
In Lynnwood
It was...ummm majestic
I was intimidated
by these beautiful swirling creatures
So, I worked on my skating skills
Got my wheels under me
Kind of learned to skate
Could go backward a bit
Shoot the Duck was my best trick
But my favorite part of the night
BY FAR
WAS
When all the boys would line up on one side of the rink
and all the girls would line up on the other
and the girls would come out
and choose a boy to skate with
Girls' choice
SNOWBALL
When a girl would reach out and grab my hand
Well, that was an amazing thing
We'd swirl around for a ring or two
They'd blow a whistle
and then off she'd go
It felt like holding hands with a fairy
for just a few brief moments
It felt like magic

McHALE'S

We're sitting in our booth

Waiting for our burgers to arrive

Julia and Catherine recognize the guy sitting in the booth next to us

It's New York

46th and 8th

1997

There is hockey on the tv

The tv is old and dirty
It's dark inside

McHale's
The burgers are huge things

MASSIVE

and they come with delicious Steak fries

"How are these fries so good?" I once asked the bartender

"We fry them twice" he answered

Brilliant

The burgers were off the chain

More food than you could eat

The atmosphere was nostalgic

The seating was outdated

But that made it cool

Cat and Julie spark a conversation with this guy we'd seen in a movie

Next thing you know we are all chatting

Turns out he's a big fan of our show

Couldn't have been more pleasant 

I think a person's character is revealed by how they speak with strangers

Every time I see him in a movie I smile

Cause I'm pretty sure that guy is the real deal

BLOOMFIELD

My next door neighbors to the right were Jim and Rose
An elderly couple
There was a rose bush by their house that Jim planted in 1950
Planted it when they moved in, I was told
It was tall and blossomed a beautiful single flower every year
To the right of Jim and Rose
Lived our mailman Jimmy
A great guy
He had a stutter
But wasn't shy of busting my balls
if I wore socks with flip-flops outside of the house
AND Patty (his wife) who had the loudest voice in the neighborhood
BUT she was friendly as can be
and their son
Jimmy
Who was shy
Quiet
Across the street
Were
James and Kristin
Good people
So yeah
Jim
Jimmy
Jimmy
and James
Were my neighbors
and Rose and Kristin and Patty
and Larry the cool black guy
Seriously he was a super nice with a deep voice
Sometimes we'd hang out
I liked them all
Jim
The elder statesman of the group
grew tomatoes and basil
He was great at it and sometimes I'd come home
to a paper bag tied to my doorknob
With cucumbers, basil and tomatoes
Eventually
Jim passed
Rose lived on
When I would mow my lawn
I would mow the front of her yard as well
and Jimmy the mailman would mow the back
That rose bush on the side of her house
continued to produce a beautiful pink flower
Every year I lived there
I loved this little neighborhood
packed with Jimmys and tomatoes and a Rose and kindness

STAGE RIGHT

We waited together
Stage right
I prefer to prepare for my cue quite early
She did as well
There were a few moments for light conversation
Once I leaned in and whispered
"Just saw Return of the King.Your son was amazing."
"I've heard that," she said
ANNA

Photo credit TheatreMania

INTERJECTIONS!

It was the opening night party
I was feeling awkward
Not unusual
Not so good at opening night parties
"Great job!"
"Wonderful!"
"You looked like you were having fun up there."
These sound nice
Except for the last one
But it usually feels hollow
Compliments can be much harder to accept than one might think
I've been told one should accept a compliment
A simple "Thank you," is my go to response
Sometimes if you KNOW a person is sincere
Like they have a tear in their eyes
It can be moving and uplifting
Encouraging
So this opening night
When a sharply dressed and attractive woman
Said, "That was a really well done show. Congratulations!"
I said, "Thank you."
And looked at her quizzically
"Lynn Ahrens," she said
Holy crap! I thought
She along with Stephen Flaherty had written it
RAGTIME
I thanked her again
She was gracious
Little did I know that she had not only affected my life as a grown man
But she had affected my life as a child
She wrote many of the Schoolhouse Rock songs
I can't say how many hours I spent in front of the TV
Saturdays
Eating Cocoa Puffs
Watching these informative cartoons
Hours
and hours
of Cocoa Puffs and or Lucky Charms
and Schoolhouse Rock
with some Scooby Doo mixed in
I'm glad she took the moment to introduce herself
This woman who had changed my life
from 8
to 36
Even if I didn't know it
WOW!
INTERJECTIONS