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Showing posts from February 17, 2010

Magical Moment 19, "My Grandpa's Smile"

Last night, I had a dream. I pulled a bright red, dusty old car into a gravel driveway next to a tiny white house in the middle of miles and miles of long, blowing grass. I got out and looked around. The sun had cast an orange, hazy light on each green blade. Every speck of dust was illuminated as they lazily floated in and out of the streams of sunlight. I started walking down a hill. It was the same hill that my friends and I played on years ago at reccess. We would roll down it and make our secret hide-outs. We played t-ball in that grass on Wednesday nights and ate popsicles. Then, in my dream, I started to run. When I got to the bottom, Duchess ran up and and jumped on me. She was on a leash, and my grandpa was holding the other end of it. He was wearing his work uniform even though he had been retired for years. It was a blue, button-up collared shirt with matching slacks. The same one he wore when he was an extra in the movie "Terms of Endearment." I was always so pr

Magical Moment 18, "If I Could Choose"

I prefer wide grassland with subtle rolling hills stretched out to the horizon over the beautiful slopes and cliffs of a mountain. I would rather hear a melody from the beautiful, clear tone of a piano than the orchestrated genius of a symphony. I favor a night in with a rented movie, delivered pizza, and loved ones over a night out, dressed up in a crowd. I wish I had the money to see my sisters for a week more than I want to vacation in the Bahamas. I would choose my ipod full of treasured music over a big screen with HBO. I want to meet my great-grandparents more than I want to meet a celebrity. I hope I keep the things of true value a priority in my heart rather than making it a priority to get valued things.

Magical Moment 17, "Life's a Long Hard Ride"

I strained my brain for something to do on my husband’s birthday. While Franklin, NC is a beautiful town (where he’s attending a 3 month course), it’s not a very busy town. We had done just about everything in the area; dinner, movie, tree aboretum, folk art museum, even karaoke where Eddie sang his favorite of all time hit, “North to Alaska” by Johnny Horton. I sang Patsy Cline and we even went for a Loretta and Conway duet, which I think somehow I ended up singing Conway’s part and Eddie ended up singing Loretta’s. Anyway. The one thing left to do was horse back riding. We loaded ourselves in the car with our flannel, plaid shirts and worst pair of shoes and drove to the Nantahala National Forest. You may think that a Nebraska girl would be a little more outdoor savvy. I’m not. The last time I was on a horse was probably 20 years ago at the Lincoln Children’s Zoo. I made sure our guide gave a very specific lesson of the most basic how to’s – go, stop, and turn. I carefully mounted

Magical Moment 16, "Revelation in the Smoky's"

I made the trip down to NC to see my husband, feeling a bit dejected. I often write about my success and failures as a struggling musician in New York City, but lately it seems I have experienced more failures than anything else. And while I was happy at the thought of being with my husband for a few days, I had a 14 hour trip to stew about my career, what I would do when I returned, and the ever weighing question on my mind, what if I never get anywhere with this? After a few days in the Smoky Mountains, I couldn't face the prospect of going back home so soon. I extended my trip and decided to focus on my husband while I was here. I swore off my normal routine of scouring the internet hours at a time looking for jobs and another several hours a day perfecting recordings and practicing. I also wouldn’t miss the day to day journey in and out of the city – the bus ride at rush hour, the dirty, crowded subways, walking for blocks in the freezing cold, or constantly getting lost, con

Magical Moment 15, "She Loves Me"

Some people in this world just have talent oozing out their ears. Everything they do turns to gold and people can’t get enough of them. I can’t get enough of Dolly Parton. Since I was a little girl, I knew she was special and recognized her voice on the radio. I could probably pick her voice out of an entire choir. Now for those of you, who are quick to judge, take a second to think about all she has accomplished. She’s been in the spotlight for decades, runs her own theme park, plays every instrument under the sun (with 3 inch long nails no less), sings, writes, records, arranges, acts, and can give a live performance that will knock you over. I don’t think there is anything about Dolly that I don’t admire. I love the fact that when she was a little girl, she saw the town tramp and thought she was the most beautiful woman ever, so when she grew up she imitated that beauty. While some people condemn Dolly for her looks, they don’t consider that most women in the world do the same thi

Magical Moment 14, "Friendiversary"

I sat in a Port Authority Bus Station coffee shop waiting for my bus to arrive. Returning from an audition, I had a half hour to wait for the next bus to take me back to New Jersey. As I sipped my coffee, 2 older ladies took their seat at the table next to me. They were maybe in their 60s, talkative, excited, and very cheerful. I didn’t hear much of their conversation until 2 more ladies joined them and their reunion caused such a joyous spectacle, I couldn’t help but listen. It was obvious these ladies were close friends and went way back. Two lived in NJ and took the bus in, the other two lived in the city, and today was their first meeting in quite some time. I heard them talk about their families, joke about their wrinkles, and reminisce over shared memories. Then they pulled from their bags a library of brochures and maps and one lady asked, “So what should we do today?” Another replied, “Maybe we should go to the Met. Or maybe we should go to the Empire State Building. Or mayb

Magical Moment 13, "My Bum"

Would I be correct in saying that there is a certain sweet, magical satisfaction that comes with being right? Especially between a husband and wife? There is gratifying validation when the confirming moment occurs and one person is right and the other person has to admit defeat! This happened the other day. You see, my husband was different when he was active duty Army. His hair was never a millimeter longer than allowed. I’m talking, fresh hair cut every Sunday afternoon for seven years. Clean shaven with a sharp blade every morning. Polished, ironed, pressed, creased, and tucked in 24/7. Well, things have changed in the last few months. He now ventures out into public in t-shirts and jeans taken from a wadded up pile on the floor. His face is overgrown with untamed, thick whiskers. His hair is long, uncombed, un-gelled, and usually unwashed. As his wife, I generally feel it is my responsibility to see that he is presentable when we go out. I can usually coax him into getting a ha