Inspiration from My Dad

-
Every so often, my Dad emails my sister and me with an article, a quote, or some infographic that really hits home with its "realness" and life lessons.

Yesterday was one of those days.

From my dad*

For reasons too convoluted to describe, I was looking at some of the dialogue from A Thousand Clowns, in which I performed in 1965  as Nick.  The story is around an uncle bringing up his 12-year-old nephew (Nick) and the social workers want to take Nick away.  Murray, a wise soul, protests as follows:

Murray Burns: I just want him to stay with me until I can be sure he won't turn into Norman Nothing. I want to be sure he'll know when he's chickening out on himself. I want him to get to know exactly the special thing he is or else he won't notice it when it starts to go. I want him to stay awake and know who the phonies are, I want him to know how to holler and put up an argument, I want a little guts to show before I can let him go. I want to be sure he sees all the wild possibilities. I want him to know it's worth all the trouble just to give the world a little goosing when you get the chance. And I want him to know the subtle, sneaky, important reason why he was born a human being and not a chair.


Thanks, Dad!  Every day I try and see all the wild possibilities.


*He's the best dad I've ever had...

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

3. A Taco Tour (in Three Parts)

-
The much anticipated PART THREE. Los Tacos No. 1 The energy at LTNO is great. You order at the cashier and then stand at the counter waiting for them to call your name and having the opportunity to personalize your taco with toppings. The line move relatively quickly and the staff is friendly. We ordered the chicken tacos and tacos al pastor (the al pastor does not appear on the menu but it is available!). Shortly after ordering, our tacos were presented and I bit into the chicken taco. I chewed. I waited. Was I dreaming? Had I actually put food in my mouth? The chicken was flavorless. I could not distinguish between meat and tortilla and toppings. It was empty calories. With very little spice or flavor of any sort, I tried to doctor up my taco with salsa and lime and then I realized I was eating salsa and lime wrapped in a semi-spongy tortilla. I was disappointed. Thinking maybe I ordered incorrectly, I moved on to the Al Pastor taco feeling nervous and exciting for this “off...
Read more

2. A Taco Tour (in Three Parts)

-
Image
Part Two. Otto’s Tacos As we entered Otto’s Tacos, I quickly realized that our extremely scientific taco taste test methodology was flawed. We did not agree on a standardized taco flavor to try at every spot therefore committing to comparing apples to oranges to chorizo to pollo. Also, the type of taco (sit down restaurant vs fast casual) was also mis-matched. However, I bit my tongue and pushed onwards still excited for the plethora of tacos I had in my future. At Otto’s we were greeted by Maggie, the cheerful woman behind the counter, who was busy entering take out and delivery orders, much to her chagrin, and by the time she was ready for our order was flustered but appeasing. We wanted to take advantage of the taco + a beer deal, but rather than order a beer, I wanted a horchata. She said she couldn’t do the official swap, but could throw in the Horchata if we tipped her. So #winning. Maggie! We ordered the special of the day - a crispy short rib taco and th...
Read more

1. A Taco Tour (in Three Parts)

-
Image
Part One. I have recently returned to life in the USA after a two year stint living in London. I loved London. Life felt more manageable there compared to the hectic hubbub of New York City and I had all of  Europe in my backyard. I took advantage of this...and more than just Europe. In two years, I set foot in 23 different countries, many more cities and made sure to eat my way through all these new lands. One thing I missed the most about the States, about NY...and about some of my favorite American cities, LA and Austin and San Francisco, was TACOS. Apparently Mexican cuisine exists in London. I had my fare share of “Mexican style” food, but I missed the true true warm-tortilla-sizzling-meat-oil-and-toppings-dripping-out-the-back-end-of-the tortilla-all-over-my-hands tacos that I have come to adore in my taco eating adventures. So once happily back in the Big Apple, my friend, Harry, suggested that we catch up over tacos and tequila. Music to my ears. Plus, we were b...
Read more