Just discovered there is a Xanga app for my Droid phone. So now I might be more likely to update this page. However, I just found out that if a call comes in on my phone while I’m typing this, I lose everything Ive typed. YAY!!!

After yet another horrifying incident yesterday, when do we actually talk about this?  All those who believe that everyone should be able to have and carry any weapon or firearm at any time says, “Now is not the time to talk about this.”  Well, when is??  What better time to talk about 20 young children dead??  WHEN????  I’m NOT talking about a BAN here.  I’m not talking about taking away your rights for those of you who fear enough to believe you must have your guns.  I’m talking about SENSIBLE gun control.

Because we should ALL be carrying Glock 9s like the shooter used yesterday, especially 5-year-olds. All 5-year-olds should be carrying Glock 9s. After all, they shoot 5 bullets per second.  And you never know when you might need to go hunting to feed your family and you don’t want the deer or bunny rabbit to have a fighting chance, do you? Blow them away at 5 bullets per second, it’ll save you having to tenderize the meat later.  That way, if everyone down to the toddlers is carrying, we’ll have a much safer country.

GUNS DON’T KILL PEOPLE, but people with unnecessary assault weapons kill 27 people in practically the blink of an eye.  Whereas, yesterday in China, a man went crazy with a knife in a school there, and although many were injured, not one person died.

We need to learn the difference between sensible gun control and an outright ban. We also need to learn more about our history and what the term a “well-armed militia” actually means (and it does NOT mean everyone should be carrying). We also need to remember that back when our country was founded that firing and re-loading a musket – usually used to actually feed one’s family – is completely different than a Glock 9.

When you compound that with the only industrialized nation where we glorify violence as something magnificent to behold and abhor anything sexual, we end up with a psychologically damaged people.  Then you add to that the fact that the political party who is most likely to glorify violence and our gun rights is the same party that fights access to health care and belittles mental health problems as “people who just can’t get their act together”, and it magnifies exponentially.  I’ll give you a good example of what I mean by a country that “glorifies” violence: When I went to see the first “Iron Man” movie, two women who each had their son with them sat in front of me.  Their sons were about 8 years old and sat directly in front of me with a respective mom to the outside.  The first 15 minutes of that movie were horribly violent war scenes with blood and body parts flying everywhere.  The moms and the boys kept munching away on their popcorn and slurping their drinks.  10 minutes later, Robert Downey Jr’s character is making out with a female reporter character.  They are well-covered by bedsheets and rolling around, but the implication is that they are naked and having sex - and the two mothers IMMEDIATELY BOTH put their hands up to cover their boys‘ eyes and giggled and said, “Oh no – you shouldn’t be watching this!!!“  I’m sure these same boys will probably go home and play the goriest, bloodiest possible video games in their spare time without a second thought from their parents. 

I laughed until no sound was coming out and tears were streaming down my face!  This is the video e-card I made for my brother for his birthday.  He’s starring as Katy Perry, followed by my sister Jeanie, my sister Lisa and his wife Heather.  Enjoy!

I’ve had no time to write anything, mainly because my computer is still doing the thing where it locks up and then I have to power it off and wait a little bit and then let it boot up again.  Sometimes I have to do it two or three times before it finally stops and works right and by then there’s no time to write anything and I have to leave for work.

I think I posted a few photos of Fazio here.  I should probably post more.  It’s just that it’s so much easier to post things to Facebook and Twitter when it comes to automatically posting photos.  (Mumsie – wish you’d join Facebook or Twitter – with Twitter, at least, you can still keep a lot of anonymity if you want!)  I am @BigRedEO on Twitter – same user name as here and Facebook.

Steve Shields is the gentleman who owned the River Street Theatre in Chagrin Falls.  It is a building practically next door to Chagrin Valley Little Theatre (which is the 2^ndoldest operating community theatre in the country) at the end of River Street.  The theatre itself takes up maybe ¼ of the building itself.  The rest has been used as costume and prop storage for years.

Steve passed away just last year at the age of 89.  Steve willed the building to CVLT after his passing. 

He was involved with CVLT almost from the day he came to town decades ago.  Once he decided to stay in Chagrin Falls, he bought the building at the end of the street with hopes of helping the theatre. His involvement was almost always helping out in the background – he was only once onstage and said that was enough for him. 

One of the ways he began to really help out was to allow shows to use the dance studio in the middle of the River Street Theatre as a rehearsal space.  He always put out cookies (usually Oreos) for these groups almost every night.  Later, Steve started The Shields Players,which was a troupe for teens in the area, who mostly put on Shakespeare plays,but not exclusively.

About 20 years ago, CVLT got permission from Steve to start using his theatre to put on shows in a “black box” style – bare-bones elements set-wise and edgier, more unusual shows. It also became a “training ground” for directors.  If people who have been involved at CVLT want to try their hand at directing, they can petition to put on a show at River Street and if they do well, they can apply to direct at the CVLT mainstage.  Nobody is paid for shows at River Street, but at the CVLT mainstage, the director, stage manager and producer are all paid.

I wanted to try my hand at directing and after having ordered a couple of two-person plays from Samuel French, including the classic “The Gin Game”, I decided to ask my friends Linda and Steve (not to be confused with the Steve Shields who owned River Street) if they would be interested in doing the show at River Street, letting me direct.  They said yes, so I submitted a “proposal” for the show to the CVLT Board.  I got approved last year.  I asked my friend Kourtney to be the stage manager.

We started rehearsals about 6 weeks ago.  Kourtney has been going from work directly to the theatre because it’s closer than home is. So she has been sitting in the theatre by herself for many nights before we got there.  And she has been hearing someone walk across the dance studio floor several times when she’s there by herself, locked in the building.  The first time, it freaked her out.  But I told her, “I wouldn’t worry – it’s probably just Steve S putting out Oreos for rehearsal!”

I kept wanting a ghostly encounter of my own.  I do believe that there are ghosts.  I believe that energies can stay behind.

Steve was ALWAYS at River Street in his later years.  All day and night long.  He had an office where he would usually be,watching TV.  In the back area was a large space where various furniture pieces were kept and where he had a large desk along with tons of memorabilia from his WWII years.  He wrote letters at this desk.  He was the type of man who still believed in“snail mail” letter writing.  He had pictures and articles from over the years, especially his time in the Army during WWII.  He had also been writing a book of his experiences in the war.  And he kept a radio back there –sort of an older box type of radio.  It was always tuned to WKHR, which is the radio station where I’ve occasionally deejayed over the past year or so.  The station plays music from “The Great American Songbook” – all the great songs mostly of the Big Band era – the 30s, 40s and 50s mostly.  Steve’s radio was ALWAYS on when we were there – whether we were there to see a show or there rehearsing a show, if you went to the back room to use the restrooms, you walked past his desk where the radio was playing tunes from that era.

The last time I’d heard that music playing was when we rehearsed for “The 39 Steps” back in September. Most of our rehearsals were held there until we moved to the mainstage.  And every time I used the restroom, I heard WKHR playing on the radio.

Well, this past Friday night, “The Gin Game” officially opened at The River Street Theatre.  All this time during rehearsals, if I was ever in the building alone for any reason, I would turn my head with an eager look, trying to tune in my ears to find out whether I could hear anything like Kourtney had been hearing many times while sitting there waiting for us – footsteps across the floor somewhere in the back of the building. Nothing.

Then Friday night – which was our Opening Night – the show had gone well and people were packing up to leave.  We were headed out for drinks and I decided to run to the restroom before we left.  As I was about to leave the restroom, I thought, “I’d better turn out the light since probably no one else will be using it tonight.”  There was a fan going with the light and when I turned it off, standing there with the door opened, I heard Steve’s radio going right in front of me as usual.  I thought nothing of it until two seconds later when I realized I SHOULDN’T be hearing it and the music immediately stopped.  The music had been coming from the same place where Steve’s radio used to be… only CVLT has been cleaning out the building. 

Steve’s family came first to take out things of his they wanted, including his radio.  CVLT staff have been clearing the building of a LOT of junk, keeping only things that might be useful for shows,so there was a LOT more space back there than there used to be.

I walked towards where Steve’s radio used to be, not knowing that it had already been taken.  I found NOTHING there that could have been turned to the station.  No one else was back there.  I was alone in that back room, but I most DEFINITELY heard his radio playing for all of two seconds, right after I turned out the light/fan in the bathroom.  And it stopped as soon as my brain registered that I should NOT be hearing it.

No, I didn’t see an apparition.  But I had my very first true encounter with what I believe to be energy that was left behind.

Trippy.

Italy may get postponed for a year.  Don’t know for sure yet.  Two couples may have to drop out.  That allows me another year to save, but the problem is, I was planning next year on going to Disney World for my 50th birthday.  I’ve only been to Disney World once and that was on my 40th birthday, so I wanted to do the same on my 50th.  And I’ve invited anyone who wants to come along to go with me.  Which means if we don’t go to Italy this year, I have to try and hold on to the money for Italy AND save for WDW for next year, too.

I dream of being independently wealthy.  I don’t care how, just as long as it’s legal and not blood money. 

I dream of owning this house in Hunting Valley that’s currently on the market and just gorgeous and my kind of house – http://6030deerrun.howardhanna.com.   I dream of adding on a fitness/workout room and a recording studio.

I dream of having a personal masseur and getting a massage EVERY day, like Bob Hope and George Burns did (and they both lived to be100.  Hmmm)

I dream of having a cook to put together wonderful, very healthy meals that will help me lose weight AND lower my cholesterol.

I dream of having the time to really pursue exercise with a personal trainer who will get my body into shape.  In that vein, I dream of owning one of these – http://www.streetstrider.com/

I dream of a little plastic surgery – want to get rid of the baggy/puffy eyes and the wrinkled turkey neck, as well as have some dermabrasion done.  Just once in my life I’d love to have smooth skin. 

I dream of getting a gorgeous Osmond-style smile to go with my new looks.

I dream of owning my own theatre.  I dream of buying the Spillway – http://www.cfspillway.com/ – which I helped support and helped get out the vote to re-zone it so that the project might happen.  But then the recession hit and the owners couldn’t get enough investors to make the project happen.  I dream of owning it and turning it into a dinner theatre where the people are served buffet style and the actors in the shows get to wait on the people – having to only serve them their drinks and desserts, yet get all the tips.

I dream of getting my secret project off the ground, the one I conceived last Summer and got a bunch of people to agree to, only to get asked to be in other plays/musicals, and not finding the time to work on the secret project.

I dream of writing several books and a musical I’ve had in mind for a while – and because I’m independently wealthy, I have the time to do such things and not worry about whether they give me a huge return.

I dream of having my own British television series – a series that makes me a star and gives the show a cult following a la Torchwood or Doctor Who. 

I dream of becoming a hit singer/songwriter, even at my age,and collaborating with Gaga, Annie Lennox, Barry Gibb, Pink and Janet Jackson.

I dream of renting one of these private train cars – http://www.railcharter.com/pvtrail/usacan/index.html – for a trip around the country, waited on by an attendant and chef. 

I dream of adopting three young orphaned sisters, from some Eastern European countries – three sisters who had no chance of being adopted together – and raising them in my dream home, with Fazio as their first pet whom they grow to love as quickly as I have. I dream of having the money to send them to a nearby private school,giving them the chance to become something they might never thought of being.

I dream of taking my girls to see “Wicked” on Broadway and getting them very involved and excited about doing theatre.

I dream of seeing England, much of Europe, Iceland, Alaska,New Zealand, Australia, Hawaii, Bora Bora, Capetown, the Maldives.  I dream of taking various trains first class all around the world. 

I dream of visiting every single Disney park around the world.

I dream of simply lying in a hammock on a beach somewhere –a nearly deserted beach (or one with several VERY good looking men walking by).  I dream of being on a lounger on a deck overlooking a mountain lake on a warm Summer day.

I dream of my girls getting to meet their grandmother and all their uncles and aunties and cousins. 

I dream of sharing all this with a really great guy who loves me just the way I am.

Yet I fear that none of these things will ever happen.  And yet still I dream.

Easter weekend ended up longer than planned.  Went to a cast party Saturday night at Mike and Helen’s.  Brought Fazio with me (Helen said to bring him because he’s meet their dog Misty before and they got along all right).  Another dog was there – Bear – who is a labra-doodle about twice the size of Fazio and although Bear is a nice dog, he is a big bull in the china shop kind of dog.  And Fazio was instantly afraid of him.  Bear then took advantage of it by trying to mount Fazio, which did NOT make me happy.  Had to separate Bear from the other two dogs and try to get Fazio to calm down.  By the time Fazio had calmed down, all the pizza was gone and I didn’t get any.  Had a single Glenlivet – on an empty stomach.  Then started having a bunch of munchies – veggies and tortilla chips to calm down my stomach.  Had a second whiskey – Jameson.  Stayed and played two rounds of 31 with the remaining guys – there were five us and we each put in $5.  I won the first round (yay!), but was first one out in the second round.  Funny thing was, in the 2nd round, I was the only one without a strike and then suddenly lost three hands in a row.  Didn’t get home until about 3:30 in the morning.  Woke up Sunday morning with one of the worst migraines I’ve had in years.  Usually my migraines start at that surgery point down at the right back base of the skull.  This migraine ran from the top of my scalp down the back of my head down both sides to my shoulder.  It was horrible.  Could barely move.  Fazio was trying to get me up and finally I managed to get up and barely move down the hall to take him outside.  He started to realize that I was not well after that and was very gentle (thank God). 

Sorry I haven’t written in a while, but I’m having PC problems and I’m quite positive now that it needs a new fan.