Connections

Photo by Paul Csogi on Unsplash

When he had led them out to the vicinity of Bethany, he lifted up his hands and blessed them. While he was blessing them, he left them and was taken up into heaven.

Luke 24:50-51

Today is Ascension Day, commemorating the day Christ ascended into heaven.

It’s been a week of connections.

Not to bore you with details. But I made a conscious attempt to reach out to people this week.

Friends, near and far, that I’ve not spoken with in a while. We connected by Messenger, by text, and by phone.

It was a good thing.

Theater contacts. While I’m not as one friend suggested “itching to get back on stage,” I’d like to be involved again. Perhaps not at the same level of commitment as before. But I do miss the theater.

And, since this blog is almost all about vanity anyway, I might as well tell you that my production resume is quite impressive. Hit me up.

I made some contacts in the Santa world. Possible gigs. Learning more about what it means to wear the red

Mug Shots
(click the pic)

suit.

And I connected with a lot of folks through The 100 Day Project. That’s finished now, even with my miscounting a day here and there. There’s more to come with that. #staytuned.

In a week like this that’s almost more than we can bear, it’s important to be connected to others.

We need each other, and sometimes it takes work to make those connections.

But, it’s worth it.

Send that email. Send that text. Pick up that phone. Write that note.

Get connected, or re-connected.

 


THINGS YOU SHOULD READ

Texas
Sean of the South
Mrs. Welch parked and stared at the brick building in the distance where she’s been teaching for 14 years. She tried to imagine what teachers in Uvalde, Texas, must have been feeling when their sanctuary was invaded by a lone gunman yesterday. A gunman who killed 19 students and two teachers. Read More.

A look at the biggest box office winners of all time
The Roanoke Times
Stacker compiled a list of the 50 biggest box office winners of all time, using data from Box Office Mojo (last updated May 2022). Rankings rely purely on domestic box office gross, with earnings adjusted for ticket price inflation. While the list is predictably chock-full of musicals, historical epics, comic book adaptations, and franchises, it also features the occasional heart-wrenching drama, classic comedy, or head-spinning horror. Here are the biggest box office winners of all time. Read More.

BORN ON THIS DAY

1886 – Al Jolson, American singer and actor (d. 1950)
1907 – John Wayne, American actor, director, and producer (d. 1979)
1913 – Peter Cushing, English actor (d. 1994)
1920 – Peggy Lee, American singer-songwriter and actress (d. 2002)
1923 – James Arness, American actor (d. 2011)
1926 – Miles Davis, American trumpet player, composer, and bandleader (d. 1991)
1948 – Stevie Nicks, American singer-songwriter
1949 – Philip Michael Thomas, American actor
1951 – Sally Ride, American physicist and astronaut, founded Sally Ride Science (d. 2012)
1966 – Helena Bonham Carter, English actress

BENEDICTION

The Lord will keep you from all harm—
he will watch over your life;
the Lord will watch over your coming and going
both now and forevermore.

Psalm 121:7–8

Words Mean Things

So also the tongue is a small member, yet it boasts of great things. How great a forest is set ablaze by such a small fire!

James 3:5

“ I know you think you understand what you thought I said but I’m not sure you realize that what you heard is not what I meant”

Alan Greenspan

It falls under the heading of “How many times do I have to explain this?”

The context doesn’t matter, but it looked like this:

What I said: “I’m sorry for the confusion.”

What I wanted to say: “If you had a reading comprehension above a third grade level.”

And, as of this morning, it still ain’t over.

I’m a writer. I work with words.

I’ll be the first to admit that sometimes I toss out obscure references. But when I’m explaining something, I try to offer a complete explanation.

Let’s just say that, at one point, I considered looking up how many calories you can burn with an eye roll…or several.

Granted, email and social media are not the best means of communication. It’s better to pick up the phone,

Available at
The Write Side Shop
(click the pic)

or in the day before our forty-seven year banishment from public spaces, walk down the hall and have a conversation.

But, honestly, I re-read the whole thread. I’m not seeing a contradiction.

And I’m afraid any further attempt at clarifying what I said will only make matters worse.

That describes so much of what happens on social media.

Trust me, in the early days of the web I spent a lot of time as a keyboard warrior.

It was pointless.

Apparently just like trying to explain my point to this person.

Interestingly, I was watching a webinar last night when the person told us she used Twitter for the news stream. She said, and I paraphrase…

“People say that Twitter is a cesspool. It’s not if you don’t talk to anyone.”

She has a point.

Maybe even one a third grader could comprehend.

 

I think I’ll just try to spend more time talking to one who understands.


THINGS YOU SHOULD READ

Uvalde, Texas
Sean of the South
Over the next few days, writers, journalists and newscasters will be playing one-string fiddles, bringing updates about the school shooting in Uvalde, Texas. But it will all just be white noise. Their talk will merely be commentary. Because there are no words. Not for this. Read More.

BORN ON THIS DAY

1803 – Ralph Waldo Emerson, American poet and philosopher (d. 1882)
1878 – Bill Robinson, American actor and dancer (d. 1949)
1921 – Hal David, American songwriter and composer (d. 2012)
1926 – Claude Akins, American actor (d. 1994)
1929 – Beverly Sills, American soprano and actress (d. 2007)
1935 – W. P. Kinsella, Canadian novelist and short story writer (d. 2016)
1939 – Ian McKellen, English actor
1943 – Leslie Uggams, American actress and singer
1944 – Frank Oz, English-born American puppeteer, filmmaker, and actor
1947 – Karen Valentine, American actress
1970 – Octavia Spencer, American actress and author

BENEDICTION

The Lord will keep you from all harm—
he will watch over your life;
the Lord will watch over your coming and going
both now and forevermore.

Psalm 121:7–8