what am I reaching for? It doesn't happen often. Abundant noise can fragment signal. Meaning is hard to see when every screen is yelling out one more disturbing detail, another enticing sensation, and distractions built upon a haphazard foundation of what came before. But every once in a while, the sounds become a chord and the words penetrate. No more noise, no more wondering if I'm doing too much or not enough. Just a connection where I disappear and we exist together. The air crystalizes...
13 days ago • 1 min read
what is a reflection worth? A trick of the light, a shadow, a memory. It isn’t real. It’s distorted and backwards…a mystery. Why look at ghosts? Why look back when the future lies ahead? Good question. Perhaps finding truth requires more than a single perspective? I can’t see myself without a mirror. I can’t understand someone else without hearing thir stories, questioning their actions, and imagining myself in their place like a mirror. A reflection isn’t perfect but it does reveal....
19 days ago • 1 min read
back to the beginning… My family left Philadelphia to live in Alaska in 1970. Today I’m visiting Philly and for the moment sitting under a birch tree to admire it’s latest green outfit. Childhood memories painted this downtown in black and white, thick with grime, larger than a monster movie, darker than a noir crime story. But childhood memories didn’t include this quiet corner of downtown under a tree. Nature lives here. And urban decay happens even in Alaska. It’s up to us, wherever we...
21 days ago • 1 min read
reading...out loud A book is a pleasure to hold, fun to turn its pages, a satisfaction to close when finished. But reading out loud is a particular joy for me. When I read to friends willing to listen, my heart, mind, and voice become the author's instrument. My only concern is to find whatever music lies on the page and sing it to the best of my ability. I disappear and the story takes hold of our shared experience. Would you like me to read "Chasing Lights" aloud? A few friends have invited...
26 days ago • 1 min read
I noticed cracks in the sidewalk... Twenty-five years ago, I attended a business meeting in Paris. Not the 19th Century Central Paris that lives in our dreams with grand boulevards crossing cozy neighborhoods, but in the business district, La Défense, a mid-20th century fantasy of steel towers and glass façades surrounded by smooth concrete plazas. Approaching midnight, I walked alone through plazas lit only by high-pressure sodium and metal halide street lights. No color. No signs of life....
about 1 month ago • 1 min read
do we need this? When I'm told to "mind the gap" in train stations, I wonder how necessary the warning might be. Maybe some people forget to notice the hole between where they are and where they want to be. The warning might prevent a terrible accident. But gaps are obvious. Difference demands attention, it interrupts the order of things, it challenges expectations. I have no choice but to mind it. I usually forget constant sounds like traffic noise, birds singing in a forest, or even the...
about 1 month ago • 1 min read
an early review... Back when I was an actor, reading reviews was a fraught activity. I won't forget what it felt like to wait at Sardi's to read the early reviews of my first (and only) Off-Broadway appearance. To protect myself from criticism and appear like some sort of misunderstood artist, I might say something along the lines of, "I don't care about reviews." But of course I cared...very much so. I am grateful for the positive feedback from friends about "Chasing Lights". If you liked...
about 1 month ago • 2 min read
have you read it yet? A few friends have called me to tell me they finished it. What a thrill! And now that the book is finally in print, I get to hear stories about your Chasing Lights stories. Keep them coming, I love them all. I am starting to schedule readings and talks about the book in various cities. Let me know if you would like to have a reading/signing/Chasing Lights event in your neighborhood. I'm not sure if this story ever ends. But answers about the future can sometimes be found...
about 1 month ago • 1 min read
what's that smell? A tree next to my house found a crack in the drain pipes. It grew its thirsty roots deep inside until it was completely blocked. That's when I saw gallons of sewage pour out of a toilet and on to my floor. It smelled awful. The plumber told me "That is the smell of money." I laughed. Then realized how true it was. This is how a plumber makes a living, by taking care of the necessary unpleasant. Money stinks, but we all need it. Just as money feeds me and my family, the...
about 1 month ago • 1 min read
