THANKSGIVING: A FEW OF MY FAVORITE THINGS

Precipitation on roses.

Vibrissae on young cats.

Shining cookwear suitable for water.

Oversized gloves made of a textile fiber with exceptional thermal qualities.

Gifts wrapped in repurposed grocery sacks and bound together with. . .well, strings.

No these are not a few of my favorite things, which is why I had no problem playing with the wording a bit. Nothing against any of them, they just don't make my list. But there are other things that do.

With Thanksgiving drawing near, there is a usually a push to list the things for which we are thankful. Certainly, our favorite things, the trivial and the meaningful, would fall into that category. So here are seven of my favorite things. They are always important, but they add to the total tapestry of my life. Who knows, you may learn a few things you never knew and find your own things for which to be thankful.

(Quick disclaimer: I deliberately did not list my wife, family, salvation, and so on. While I am truly thankful for all of the above, I believe they are so far above any list that they are in a category of their very own.
And, of course, to add the Lord to a ranking, even if He is number one, sounds odd to me. No one or no thing is even in the same race). 

So without further ado...

Study and research. I love to study. I love to deep dive into a subject and look up stuff I never knew before. Yes, at times, it is difficult, but overall, I find it thrilling.

Writing. Like studying, there are times when writing is plain, hard work, where I spend an hour composing what I feel is a paragraph worthy of Shakespeare, only to find I wrote something along the lines of "See Spot run!" But there are those other times when it feels as though the words just flow from the inner recesses of my brain and I almost cannot write or type fast enough to keep up. 

Access to information. Study and research has changed over the years.  I am old enough to be "pre-internet," which means I did a lot of research at the public library, digging through archives of actual periodicals and thumbing through the massive card catalog made up of (wait for it) typed cards in wooden drawers. Nowadays, I can find nearly anything I need on my laptop computer.

Hobbies and diversions. Yes, amid the study-work and the writing-work and the research-work, I have some hobbies that give me a much-needed mental break. To be honest, some of my study and writing and research is very relaxing, but I also enjoy reading fiction novels or collecting in my "off-time."

Streaming devices. Through this tiny little box attached to my tv, I can access classic and modern television shows, watch great movies, engage in some more research on a variety of topics, and watch news from several sources, not just one. The nice thing is that I can watch programs when I want. 

Music. All kinds: rock, pop, country, classical. My mood determines what I am interested in at a given moment. I think there are maybe five musicals I enjoy; otherwise, it's safe to say I like some of the songs from some of the musicals. I like cover songs, especially if they do a song in a different genre or style (a country song turned into a pop song, or a flowing classical piece turned into a driving rock ballad). It's safe to say my tastes are eclectic when it comes to music.

Quiet and solitude. While I wouldn't want to be cut off from civilization for long periods, there is a benefit to the peace of being in a location alone with my thoughts, able to think, pray, create, and sing without interruption.

So there you have it: these are a few of my favorite things, some things I am thankful to have in my life. They are not the total scope of my life, nor are they necessarily the most important things in my life. But if, after reading this, you feel led to take stock of some of your favorite things, you might find you have more things for which to say, "thank you."

Happy Thanksgiving!

JUST FOR FUN: HIGH SCHOOL THEATER MEMORIES

 Ahhh, theater! The smell of the greasepaint, the roar of the crowd. . . .

Drama Club, as well as Speech and Debate team, comprised the bulk of my extra-curricular life in high school. These two groups helped a shy teenager step outside his box and do something different. So today, just for fun, I offer some quick recollections of some of the "big" productions in which I participated. Keep in mind, these memories are from nrrmhgleftgtr years ago, so if I mess up a detail or two, I'm sure you will understand. 

"Paul Bratter," Barefoot in the Park. This was a Neil Simon comedy about a newlywed couple in New York's Greenwich Village. I played Paul, a conservative, some would say, uptight, lawyer. His wife Corie was  free-spirited and spontaneous. They start their life together in small walk-up apartment, where they deal with an eccentric neighbor and Corie's mother.

Having never been a part of a full length play before, it was a fascinating experience. Of course, as this was a school activity, everyone did everything, from building the set to coordinating wardrobes. It was the proverbial "learning experience," one that I look back on fondly. Plus, it was my first stage kiss.

Point of interesting trivia--to me, anyway--was the fact that the 1967 movie adaptation of Barefoot in the Park starred Robert Redford and Jane Fonda (you may draw comparisons between me and Mr. Redford, if you'd like). Well, Redford and Fonda went on to star in the Netflix movie Our Souls at Night, which happened to be filmed in my home town! Yes, my home town was now hosting the same actors who played in the movie version of the play in which I once appeared in that very town. Will the amazing coincidences never cease!

"G"remio, Shrew. This! This was the bestest, most funnest production of my short career. It was a semi-anachronistic, slapstick musical comedy adaptation of the famous Shakespearean play The Taming of the Shrew (not to be confused with the hit musical Kiss Me, Kate, which was entirely different). The plot is simple: before fair Bianca can be married, someone has to marry her ill-tempered sister, Kate. One of Bianca's suitors was the aged Gremio. That was me. The fact that I would not need the special make-up now kind of tells you how long ago this was.

A lot of neat memories. I participated in an exciting sword fight, which was all too brief on stage, but took hours to rehearse the precise choreography in order to prevent, like, running the other guy through. I also had a solo. Yes, a musical solo (I know, right?). Now, I love music and I love to sing, but those who know me know I am not a singer. Fortunately, this song was performed almost like a speech set to music, and with the crackly old man voice of my character, I was able to pull it off.  

And then there was the night I had a bit of a runny nose. The prosthetic rubber nose I wore had no outlet, so in the course of the evening, it, umm, filled up. Yeah, I know, gross!

"Andy Hobart," Star Spangled Girl. This was another Neil Simon comedy about a small town woman athlete (Sophie) who comes to the big city and meets a pair of struggling, underground newspaper publishers (Andy and Norman). Norman falls in love with Sophie, but Sophie finds she is falling in love with Andy.

I was Andy in the play. There was another stage kiss (what is it with Neil Simon plays?), and I think the hardest part for me was acting the part of a radical subversive newspaper publisher when I had no real background or frame of reference. That is why it's called acting, I guess.

For those of you who are fans of such things, Star Spangled Girl was also made into a movie. It starred Tony Roberts as Andy, Todd Susman as Norman, and Sandy Duncan as "Amy" (renamed from Sophie). The movie did not do well, but the soundtrack included the song "Girl" by the late, great Davey Jones.

Surprise! Yes, the name of the play was Surprise!, but I'm afraid I don't remember much about this one. Maybe it's because my character gets knocked out and hidden away in an ottoman for a good portion of the play. I tried to see if I could find it online, but my initial search attempts to find "play" and "Surprise" gave me a bunch of ads for children's toys.

But like all the plays I was in, I do remember the fun and camaraderie of taking a booklet-sized script and bringing it to life.  I remember long evenings of rehearsals. I also remember the cast parties afterwards. And most of all, I remember stepping out of my shell and doing something I enjoyed.

Here's to the smell of the greasepaint and the roar of the crowds. May it never be the other way around.

9 (JUST FOR FUN) OBSERVATIONS ABOUT NCIS

 

Like many tv viewers, I enjoy the program NCIS. Originally launched as a two-part episode of the series JAG, NCIS chronicles the activity of the Naval Criminal Investigative Service's Major Case Response Team, led by Leroy Jethro Gibbs and his squad of highly skilled agents. 

I spent several months of semi-binge watching the series from the beginning (by "semi-binge watching", I mean one, maybe two episodes a night), as well as full scale binging while recovering from surgeries. So as I watched these shows one after another, I began to notice things. Mostly minor things. Things that made me go, "hmmm." So I'd like to share them with you.

Three quick disclaimers before we start:

• NCIS is a very entertaining show. I enjoy it. So nothing I say in this post should be interpreted as nit-picking or griping or complaining about the show. 
• No major plot points in this list, but if I accidentally say something that you may have preferred to find out on your own, then just put this list in the category of spoilers.
• Super fans of the show have no doubt addressed most, if not all, of these items. Plus some things may have been touched on in an episode. I have avoided the fan boards and chat rooms for that very reason. I'm just a normal guy with a casual enjoyment of NCIS. If you want to weigh in on the comments after you've read the piece, that's fine, but be nice about it. 

And now , without further ado, here are nine observations about the series NCIS.

1.Who are these people? During a typical episode, there are people who are working at other stations, people carrying papers, and people simply walking around. Who are these people and what do they do at NCIS? One episode arc had a female agent whose team was on the other side of a divider. Why don't we hear more about these other teams?

2. Is it connected to the Navy or Marines? Is it just me, or does it seem like the Navy connection for a given case is sometimes a stretch?

• "Got a dead sailor in Norfolk. Grab your gear!"
• "Got a dead Marine in Arlington. Grab your gear!"
• "Got a dead janitor at a Marine Base. Grab your gear!"
• "Got a dead window washer at Quantico . Wait a second. Oh, okay, uncle is a reservist. Grab your gear!"
• "Got a dead body at the park. Ummm, he was wearing a navy blue suit. Close enough. Grab your gear!"

3. Who gets a hall pass? How does someone get admission to the "bull pen" level? At times, we see agents escorting guests (and while we're here, those agents nod, but rarely speak).  But there have been times when people seemingly have come up on their own. In fact, there have been times when "nefarious ne'er-do-wells" have stepped off the elevator, much to the surprise of Gibbs and his team (but not always the other people, who continue to walk around). 

4. Who does what? I used to watch JAG, in which the Navy lawyers would investigate Navy crimes, even going undercover at times to nab the bad guys. So what exactly is the relationship between JAG and NCIS (the fictional series, that is, not the real-life agencies)?

5. Down time? Does Gibbs and his team  work more than one case at a time? What do they do while waiting for the phone to ring or for Gibbs to stride into the room and announce that they found the leg of a biologist whose lab was next door to a Marine recruiting station, so "grab your gear!"?

6. How do you get to the Director's office? Does it not seem unusual for NCIS Director Leon Vance, the head of a major federal law enforcement agency with world wide contacts, to have his office just upstairs from where the agents are working? I'm not saying it's impossible, but isn't that like a local school district superintendent having her office at the elementary school?

7. Is one expert enough? For the amount of cases that NCIS tackles from Gibbs' team and (I assume) from other teams, is just one Forensic Scientist and one Medical Examiner enough? While some episodes have addressed the workload, most of them have Abby (and later Kasie) and Ducky (and Jimmy) perform in-depth analysis and detailed autopsies fast enough to give the results to Gibbs in a timely fashion.  I wish I had that mojo of energy and productivity.

8. The biggest small agency in DC? In early episodes, NCIS was portrayed as an undervalued, little known federal agency. One of the running jokes was when the agents would identify themselves, they would be met with confused stares and questions of "who?" or "what's that?" Since then, at least in the tv universe, NCIS appears to have field offices and major operations in several locations in the U.S. and around the world. It regularly takes the lead role in investigating and stopping global terrorism and high crimes. And its technological brilliance would be the envy of most spy agencies. So just how amazingly awesome is NCIS?

9. How many clicks does it take to get to the center of a file? I'm not a computer expert by any means, but it seems like the agents tap a LOT of keys in order to bring up a picture or document on their monitors. I can usually access a picture with a few clicks of my mouse. Come to think of it, do they even use a mouse? They must use a mouse....I just never paid attention. Or maybe it's the high-tech sophisticated systems they have. Either way, the clickety-clickety-clickety seems excessive to me. 

So that's it: nine fun observations about NCIS. Like I said, I really do like the show, so nothing takes away from the entertainment value. These questions make me think, research, have fun, and draw conclusions based on what I see. I'd love to hear your thoughts and maybe even some of your observations in the comments below. Again, keep it nice and respectful