After the Midpoint Monday Musings

Emily Beck performing as Amy in Flying Dragon's production of  Little Women.

After what seems like an eternity, tax season has finally reached it's half way point.  There is now slightly less time left than we have gone through.  I should be relieved, but it still seems like an incredible distance to go.

I got out to Little Women on its last performance.  I need to start going to community theater performances in their first weekend, so I can have a better chance to promote them.  I was trying to get a performance that the all three of us (Alison, Benjamin and myself) could go to, and it never worked out.

Little Women was an important performance for Flying Dragon.  It was a Drama Workshop and involved a wide variety of children to theatre and performing,  Some of them are already for larger community theatre stages, including Emily Beck shown in the picture above.  Sarah Setzer and her brother, Giuseppe Pitingaro, are also in this category, with an innate ability to connect with the audience. Some were very enjoyable to watch because you could see that they were improving and getting better - that is one of the true great joys of watching a children's theater over many productions - you can see children grow from being shy and tentative onstage, and grow in confidence and ability over time. Hannah Hayes and Marin Jeffords were impressive in their continuing improvement and growth.  Some were relative newcomers, and it was great to see them get their first experience.

Flying Dragon Arts Center is a tremendous community resource, serving an important role in developing children's confidence and artistic abilities.  It is not funded with government money, thriving solely on private donations.  It is a 501c3 and contributions are tax deductible.  I'll put it as simply as I can - 

Flying Dragon only survives with your help.  Without YOU, it can't exist.  See a show.  Help young ones you know participate.  Donate DOLLARS.

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Alison and I finally got out on our Valentine's date this weekend.  We saw the movie Winter's Tale, which has been savaged by critics and ignored by the public.  So, of course, we liked it and though it was a pretty good movie.  Certainly not the massive bomb others are saying.  It wasn't a masterpiece, but it was a melodramatic romantic fantasy.  The very epitome of a Rippling Good Yarn.

We ate at Cavagnaro's, which has Italian food on the menu.  We had the grilled steak salad, which they do very well - a huge, filling salad. We ordered a calzone to bring back to Benjamin.  Their calzones are so far above anything Olive Garden has to offer, I'm almost ashamed to draw a comparison.

The Winter Olympics are now over.  I am glad they were conducted safely.  I love the Winter Olympics, but even I got burned out towards the end.  I was ready to return to regular television.  Such as The Walking Dead, which is still the best show Alison and I watch together.  Last night's episode was particularly harrowing, and Alison could barely breathe through most of it.  And the mystery of whether Kennedy Brice's character Molly is still in the show, or whether her character has met her demise continues.  There was not a super clear death scene for her and the other child, Luke, just some vague indications that Beth may have seen a boot form one of them, on a body too far gone to identify.  I tend to believe her run on the show is over, but we will see.

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There are some things that are easy to say, but hard to put into practice,  Love you neighbor, for one.  Another is that you should not live your life in accordance with the expectations of others.  Easy to say and agree with.  So very, very hard to put into practice.

But the ticking clock is slamming me out of here.  More on that later.

Until next time,

T. M. Strait