And…We're Back!

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51 today, and here I am again.  OK, I said from the start that this “retirement” might be a “Brett Favre retirement”, but actually, it wasn’t; I actually did take an entire year off (unlike Favre, who hopefully now at long last has thrown his last NFL pass).  Maybe it was more of a “George Foreman retirement” or a “Richard Nixon retirement”, but definitely shorter than a “Tiki Barber retirement”, though Tiki seems to be having a difficult time un-retiring these days, unlike me, who can do it just by…doing it!

So, what’s new with me?  My 51st year of life (remember, when you turn 50, you begin your 51st year) was a pretty good one.  I’ve worked at Chick-fil-A now for 16 months or so, and recently had some adjustment to my job description that has been a great change (no need to go into details; suffice to say that everybody concerned is happy about it).  I took dance lessons two nights a week for a month, with the goal not so much being to become a great dancer, or even to do it with any regularity, but rather to be more comfortable with the idea should my acting career call for it.

Speaking of my acting career, I was in three productions this past year.  Last fall, I played William Henry Blore in Agatha Christie’s And Then There Were None; we had a tremendous cast and it was a real blast, my favorite role of the year.  Next, I was in Hello, Dolly, playing a cameo role as well as a waiter and townsperson; after having had the lead in The Music Man the spring before, I was faced with a harder role: second fiddle!  It was fun, though in talking with the male lead, a guy who’s become a good friend, we both agreed that he had the easier role than all the choreography that my role called for!  Lastly, I was in a world premiere play entitled Flippin’ thru the Rolodex, a spoof about four old geezers who get their dates on Friday night by…you guessed it.  For the record, I did not play an old geezer!  Had a small part in that as well; it’s all I wanted. Beyond this, I have gotten paid for a few acting-related gigs.  Below is one of the two internet commercials for which I was modestly compensated:

No Debt Increase com   Our Kids Pay the Bills    YouTube

Continuing in the performing vein, I added a new experience to my…experiences collection.  I’m now a member of the iThink Improv Troupe, based in Woodstock, GA.  We’ve done several performances; below is an excerpt from one such performance:

Whose Line.wmv

‘Nuf of that.  I was trained this past year in Walk Thru the Bible’s New Testament Experience, so now I”m qualified to teach both Old and New Testaments.  Karen and I joined Grace Community Church of Marietta, a fine church that is proving to be a good home church for us in this season of our lives.  Pastors John Harris and Randy Kirby have become good friends; I’ve had four opportunities to deliver the Sunday morning message in the past year (in addition to teaching Walk Thru the Old Testament).

OK, so what’ll be different about my blog henceforth?  In some ways, very little; I will probably still pass on the stuff that interests me, whether it be about the church/being a follower of Christ, politics, sports, or just life in general.  One thing I want to add—a new category—will be to try to ask, from time to time, A Good Question.  Sometimes we learn more from asking questions than from pontificating as to answers.  There will still probably be spurts of inspiration—when I’ll write several posts—followed by dry spells when I won’t have much to say for a week or two.  Sure, that’s not the ideal way to build a blog, but it suits me at this juncture of life.  Just glad you’re reading this, meaning you’ve stuck around to read whatever else comes to mind.  Let’s have some fun.

 

3 Comments

  1. Matt Mitchell on September 9, 2011 at 2:14 pm

    It’s like an Arnold retirement.

    He’s baaaaaaaaack!

  2. Laura on September 9, 2011 at 4:38 pm

    Glad you’re back…I’ve missed the blog

  3. Sherry on September 16, 2011 at 11:52 pm

    YOU’RE BACK!!! you’re back, you’re back,….you’rebackyou’rebackyou’reback w00t!!!! XD XD

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