... it's been kinda busy since I've been back. Which is good from a "me" point of view, but it's affected my ability and/or incentive in keeping everyone up-to-date. No forgiveness asked, nor is any expected.
I tend to live my life in eight to ten year chunks, and I'm in one of those transition periods right now. I've been casting about, trying to decide where next to focus my energies. Touring - at least in North America - is pretty much done. It's been fun, and gratifying. I've done lots of which I'm proud, and had a good time doing it, and whattya know? Made some decent money along the way. But ... time for a change.
I figured politics might be a promising road. It plays to my skill set (as I see my skill set - that's always open to interpretation, of course). But then I got my ass kicked in the first part of the process, and as it turned out, that was a bullet dodged, as the party for which I was seeking the nomination for got its own ass kicked during the general election. Some really good people - people who should have been shoo-ins - got crushed along the way, and I would have been minced up royally. So ... politics? Not so much.
But I'd put a lot of eggs in that particular basket, so when it got tipped over and the eggs thoroughly stomped on, I was once again at a bit of a loss.
What do I want to be when I grow up?
Even at 50-something, I'm not as alarmed as perhaps I should be that I don't quite know the answer to that question. I figure the answers will be revealed in the fullness of time. (I can tell you, my sanguine attitude is not universally shared)
In the meantime, the whole matter of paying bills slipped to the forefront, and was a bit of a concern when I was out west enjoying myself. Sure, I was coming back with a decent check for the show I was doing, but .. then what? Bills are relentless ...
And then, in the last weekend I was away, I got two emails, both offering me what I would call - because I am a skilled negotiator - "fair" contracts.
The first was to adapt a children's book, "The Summer of the Marco Polo", into a 30-minute play. It's a true story from Prince Edward Island history.
In 1883, what had once been the fastest sailing ship in the world, the Marco Polo, met with a huge storm and was wrecked on the shores in our Island, at Cavendish, PEI.
On the beach that day was a young girl, who recounted the excitement of the shipwreck - how the crew was rescued and offered shelter by people in the community. Her grandfather, with whom she lived, was the Postmaster, and they welcomed the Captain of the Marco Polo into their home. She later turned her stories - including the story of her friendship with the old sea captain - into an essay, which won for her a National essay competition and convinced this young girl she could be a writer. And in later years, Lucy Maud Montgomery wrote Anne of Green Gables and many other classic works of literature.
I'll be writing the adaptation and performing in the play this summer. I'm working to an inhumanly tight schedule, but I think it will come out just fine.
I also got a call to be the narrator for a 13 part series that will play on The History Channel. I'm excited about it, but I'm reluctant to provide many details until T's are dotted and I's are crossed on the contract.
So anyway, a lot of pressure was relieved. A lot was added, too. But it's the kind of pressure upon which I thrive.
So there's my update. More to come, soon enough ...
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