Love and Support

Chris, Bill and Kathy, Myla, Rebecca, Maryann and Fran, Michael, Mallorie, Ken, Gary and Pat...

...thank you for spending some time at Kressmont's Five and Dime. I am, once again and in as few weeks, honored.

Touring The Folly

Twice a year I volunteer to be a tour guide for FS Ed and take 3rd graders through Korner's Folly. I wasn't able to participate in April, so I was really looking forward to the past two days of tours.

Each 3rd grader is assigned a role. They play Joseph, Jule, Alice, Gilmer, Dore, Aunt Dealy or one of Gilmer's classmates. Some memorize their particular script, but we have cards just in case they get a little nervous. We also have a costume item (vest, shawl, hat) or prop (doll, walking stick) to help them create their specific character. Watching them acting these roles is my favorite part of the tours.

I take them through each of the 22 rooms, and we count each of the 15 fireplaces in the Folly. We toss pennies in the Witch's Corner to distract the ghosts and goblins. I tell them about the Necessary. We compare life today to that of the late 1800's. I try to make it a fun, but educationally, filled hour.

For the most part, I love the kids. They are so excited to be on the field trip and most enjoy the Folly. Yesterday's and today's classes were a bit overly energetic and I kept having to call them down. I also got "that kid" in both of my groups. You know "that kid", don't you? The one who is loud, all knowing, has to be first and just won't listen.

Still, one little girl made both days totally worth it. She told me how pretty I was and gave me a big hug. She reminded me why I look forward to these tours.

On the way home from the show last night I had a little chat with God. He knows I've been struggling with two specific issues, and I implored His guidance.

Indeed He works in mysterious ways.

Late this afternoon I received a series of phone calls, each regarding the same problem. The first was from a co-worker, the second from an elected official reminding me he was "just a volunteer", and the third from a very concerned parent. The latter call left me crying at my desk. It wasn't that the parent was rude or nasty; she was simply disappointed. Hearing the disappointment in her voice and learning of additional failures is what made me realize that it is useless trying to plug the holes in this sinking Titanic. Her phone call provided me the answer I sought last night.

And so I am seeking an available lifeboat.

Love and Support

Thank you Chris, Ken, April, Nanette, Allan, Cade, Barbara and Allan, Stephen, and Claire for coming to see the show. It was such fun bringing Ellie to life for you!

Jimmy Dean Publicity Photos

Magic Hour

Mid-October, when the trees were dressed in tangerine leaves and danced in the chilly, rain-scented breeze, and the sun was a brilliant shade of gold that illuminated everything.

Here's Cade's latest story!

Lending My Voice To Regula

Last week I was hired to do some voice-over work for Regula Systems. They are participating in an Expo in Las Vegas and needed some narration for their PowerPoint presentation. I went to their office today to do the recording.

According to the script, I was promoting their Electronic Welding Regulator or EWR. This product is designed to save money on use of shielding gas in MIG and TIG welding. The terminology was certainly a mouth full and I definitely had to rely on some acting skills. I had to sound like I knew exactly what I was talking about. I ran through the script once, recorded once, and within 20 minutes I was done.

Not too bad for a full day's paycheck, and have to say that I was quite impressed with the EWR. If you know anyone interested in reducing carbon emissions by about 400 kilograms per year in a one shift operation, the EWR is the perfect solution!

Life in the 80's

When I was a kid, adults used to bore me to tears with their tedious diatribes about how hard things were when they were growing up. And I remember promising myself that when I grew up, there was no way I was going to lay a bunch of crap like that on my kids, about how hard I had it and how easy they've got it!

But now that I'm over the ripe old age of forty, I can't help but look around and notice the youth of today. You've got it so easy! I mean, compared to my childhood, you live in Utopia! And I hate to say it, but you kids today, you don't know how good you've got it!

1) I mean, when I was a kid we didn't have the Internet. If we wanted to know something, we had to go to the library and look it up ourselves, in the card catalog!!

2) There was no email. We had to actually write somebody a letter - with a pen! Then you had to walk all the way across the street and put it in the mailbox, and it would take like a week to get there!

3) Child Protective Services didn't care if our parents beat us. As a matter of fact, the parents of all my friends also had permission to kick our ass! Nowhere was safe!

4) There were no MP3's or Napsters or iTunes! If you wanted to music, you had to beg a ride to the record store.

5) Or you had to wait around all day to tape it off the radio. The DJ would usually talk over the beginning and @#*% it all up! There were no CD players! We had tape decks in our car. We'd play our favorite tape and "eject" it when side one was finished, flip it over and insert for side two. We had to be careful or the tape would come undone rendering it useless.

6) We didn't have Call Waiting. If you were on the phone and somebody else called, they got a busy signal.

7) There weren't any cell phones either. If you left the house, you just didn't make a call or receive one. You actually had to be out of touch with your "friends".

8) And we didn't have Caller ID either. When the phone rang, you had no idea who it was! It could be your school, your parents, your boss, the collection agent... you just didn't know!!! You had to pick it up and take your chances!

9) We didn't have any fancy PlayStation, Xbox, or Wii video games with high-resolution 3-D graphics! We had the Atari 2600! With games like 'Space Invaders' and 'Asteroids'. Your screen guy was a little square! And there were no multiple levels or screens, it was just one screen...Forever! And you could never win. The game just kept getting harder and harder and faster and faster until you died! Just like LIFE!

10) You had to use a little book called a TV Guide to find out what was on. And you had to get up and walk over to the TV to change the channel! NO REMOTES!!!

11) There was no Cartoon Network either! You could only get cartoons on Saturday Morning. We had to wait ALL WEEK for cartoons!

12) And we didn't have microwaves. If we wanted to heat something up, we had to use the stove!

13) And our parents told us to stay outside and play... all day long. And if you came back inside... you were doing chores!

14) And car seats - oh, please! Mom threw you in the back seat and you hung on. If you were lucky, you got the "safety arm" across the chest at the last moment if she had to stop suddenly.

Kids today have got it too easy.

Cade has a "Bones" test today. Let's hope this skeleton he put together (under Mallorie's supervision) will help him pass.

A Note From The Divas

We’ve enjoyed our time with each of you --
(Even when you missed your cue)
Not that we want to point your mistakes out,
But make us look bad, and we’ll start to pout.

Tech week is here and the show must go on,
So we want to say thanks for all the fun!
Break a leg, and don’t block our light,
Or else we may drop a line for spite.

Have a great run!
Cheryl Ann, Myla & Rebecca

Made My Day