Well, this time Thursday, I will be with all of my brothers (and hopefully my Ellie-sis) in sunny San Antonio! YAY!!! Mandy can’t come, ‘cause’a school stuff (she is SO smart and SUCH a good student, y’all…) but she seems so happy that we are all finally talking and trying to get together. It’s been a bad deal for all of us, parent-wise, past-wise, since day one. Our parents handed us their mixed bag of bizarre personalities, chaotic events and broken dreams, and we – the kids - have all paid the taxes on it. All of our lives. But now we are all ‘officially’ adults, and I think we’ve decided that we have a new chance. I am unbelievable happy about this.
I get so ‘homesick’, well, ‘family-sick’ I guess (there’s really no “home” left anymore), but it’s always been no use. I could pine all I wanted, but everyone in my family is at least as stubborn and bloody-minded and as ridiculously independent and hermitic (and hermetic*) as I am. The past haunts us when we are together even worse than it does when we are far apart. In the past few years, though – after a lot of trials and upsets and yelling and, well, the usual – “the grandkids” (aunt Sissy’s three, uncle Bubba’s (dad) five) have made more of an effort to be just us, a family in our own right, trying to get past the past. The biggest steps of all have been made very recently, and it means the world to me. There is hope. I may have a blood-family yet.
Not to discount my “non-blood” family here, though. I will be seeing even MORE of them in the coming months, as faire season is starting, and this is a good thing, too. A very good thing.
Yesterday was the “kick off”. Our annual Improv Workshop. Lisa, Hamilton and I are the entertainment committee (at least, I think that’s what we’re called… I dunno.) We are responsible for the storyline, casting, character development, the stage combat stuff (thank GOD for Bruffy!), writing and directing the chessboard, etc. I am reallyreallyreally lucky to be on a team with Hamilton and Lisa (Hamilton was my acting partner first-year, and Lisa’s the girl I went to New Orleans with in Oct.) I like them, they seem to like me, and we work well together. In fact, thanks to them, Andi and Buffy, I didn’t completely panic over finding out that in one week, due to the sudden surprise dropout of the ONLY !@#$ trained actor on this particular team, I was going to have to come up with and present a four hour improv workshop. AUGH!!!
No fear, though, it went GREAT! We had such a good time. Lots of people (about FIFTY!) showed up, many new ones, and before the day was over, our scenes were as funny and sympathetic and tight as people who’d been at a summer-long acting camp. It was AMAZING! I was – and am – really proud of us, and I have big hopes for the faire this year. There were some folks who came who’d had YEARS of good experience, and there were folks there who’d never done anything like this before (like myself, two years ago…) and there was some really impressive talent among all of them Our Stewart among them! He was brave, and he ACTED and really made us laugh! Chris (‘X?’**, who has been acting and involved in theatre, music and film production since he was NINE) came along too, and he was such a big help and encouragement to the ‘newbies’. He’s a good comedian, too. Moo. Afterwards he told me what a very good time he had, and that’s really what’s important.
YAY, US!
Two weeks from yesterday will be the next phase – AUDITIONS!
Wish us luck. And wish that I have a good flight Thurs./Sun. ‘cause I’m telling you, I am hating it more and more every time.***
Much love, bun-buns.
Still tired, but looking forward,
-Miss Sam, Tribal Elder.


*Encarta: Hard to understand. Obscure and difficult for outsiders to understand.
**fyi, those of you who’ve been asking about why my beau remains such a mystery, sorry. ‘Not trying to be mysterious. ‘X?’ is my written nickname for him because his name is ‘Chris Riddle’ – X – as in ‘Xmas’, ? – as in ‘Riddle’. Get it? :) I gave him a beautiful flask for xmas this year with ‘x?’ engraved upon.
*** !@#$ O’!@#$ Hare! Not to mention the !@#$ JET-ACCIDENT I was in several years ago. Augh!