It was May of 2016 and I was about to head off for a three week tour in Europe with Touchstone Theatre (Bhudoo performed in Budapest and at the FLIPT Theatre festival in Italy). My husband and I were having dinner with our neighbors, a delightful couple we’ve come to call friends. Hans: Where are … What a Wonderful (and small) World
Years ago, as I was moving away from one city with my husband and new born daughter into an uncertain future, a friend gave me a Christmas present. It was a little porcelain statue of Joseph leading a donkey with Mary and the infant Jesus on its back…that part of the Christmas story we so … Jesus was a refugee
This morning I am headed off to worship in a foreign language. In Allentown, PA, there are a group of refugees from Burma who are all of the Chin ethnic group. I met with their Elder, Timothy Van Nei and his brothers back in the Fall and heard part of their story. Today I’ll experience … Sunday morning meditation
As I prepare for a performance tomorrow night on the theme of “IMPROV(e)” I have gotten to thinking about how most of life is a complete improv. We fool ourselves into thinking we somehow are in charge when really all of us are making it up as we go along. That led me to thinking … MacGyvering Life
A very dear friend has a stuffed Eeyore sitting on a bookshelf as a sort of mascot. I love Eeyore. I always have. But I also realized that if I confine myself to Eeyore’s myopic world view, I miss a lot of things. I recently saw a term that was new to me. A.D.D. … Winnie the Pooh and ADD
After a long hard slog through winter it is a relief to have signs of spring in view. The snow-drops peaked out from the receding snowbanks a week ago. The crocuses are up, their purple petals just starting to unfurl. The rain is softly falling outside. I sit at the dining room table, lights blazing in … All Necessary Precautions.
On this frigid night in early January, I am blessed to sit by a roaring fire, encased in a warm blanket, nestled near my husband. As I sit gazing into the coals that are building up I am reminded of my childhood. Believe it or not, when I lived in the southern most section of … O the weather outside…
Last night we had company for dinner. Not just company…colleagues of my husband. Both highly trained and highly educated. Often when upon first introduction colleagues of my husband ask me, being polite, what it is that I do? it goes like this: Mary: I’m a storyteller and a theatre artist. Them: Oh. Really? That’s interesting. … Chaos and creativity
Yesterday someone asked me, “Mary, what would you do if you weren’t afraid?” What would I do? I was reminded of a conversation that I had with my Grandma Farnum the year before she died. That was about 18 years ago. I was worried about a lot of things in my life back then. Not … Who’s afraid?
