All the world's a stage...

I should have been an actor.

Particularly a stage actor. I had forgotten until I spoke to the Halls Women's League last night how wonderful it is to bask in the warmth of an audience. I don't know how good I would be at it. But, I know I would love it.

It's funny. I remember watching Damon Patterson and a girl who's name is lost to time -- Allie something, maybe -- do a scene after dinner at a high school awards banquet. I was quite taken by it. I also remember a friend leaning over and saying, "I can see you doing that."

Couldn't stay asleep tonight (that seems to happen nearly every night anymore), so I finally quit tossing and turning and finished Alan Alda's book. He talks about the ups and downs of performing. His theory is that an actor has to reach a point in which you "care without caring." I think that makes a lot of sense and can be useful in many walks of life.

(I told you yesterday how much I always admired Alda. I used to want to be just like him. Funny, isn't it? Whatever late hour I get off work tonight, I'm going to light a fire and watch him and Ellen Burstyn in "Same Time, Next Year" if I can stay awake. I always watch that movie the night before Thanksgiving. Go figure. I'm nuts.)

What finally steered me away from any serious thoughts of thespianism (other than fears about earning a paycheck) was anxiety over learning lines. But, I was so taken by Damon's performance that I took a couple of years of drama in high school.

I love the play we did my sophomore year ("The Foreigner"). I didn't so much like the play we did my junior year. By my senior year, I'd fallen in love with journalism and dropped out of Denise Pennington's drama class to work on the school paper an extra semester. Don't have any regrets. As it turned out, I've made newspapers my life's work.

But I've never lost my love for live performance. One of my fondest memories is seeing Tom Selleck in a revival of "A Thousand Clowns" 10 days before 9/11 in New York. One of my goals for 2009 is to take time to catch as many local plays as possible.

And maybe, just maybe, I'll seek out more invitations like talking to the Women's League. The ham in me loves the applause, sure, but it's really more than that. Sometimes the performer connects -- really connects -- with the folks sitting out there in the crowd. You share a common moment and it makes you realize that one of the most important things in life happens when human beings relate to one another.

Kind of puts the best spin on Shakespeare's declaration that all the world's a stage.

A novel idea...

Been awhile since I've had a migraine. Almost two years. Here's hoping I don't get another one until the 12th of never. Cause, you know, that's a long, long time.

OK, now that's out of the way, let's get back to livin'.

So, here's a novel idea for you.

I'm going to take the plunge. Finally getting serious about it. Yes, I'm going to sit down and write the novel. The story. The idea that's been bouncing in my head for years.

It's started out as a gift for a dear friend. But, it's just the inspiration I've needed.

The idea came to me after watching "Lost in Translation" back in '03. I'm starting there, and mixing in a little bit of Bernard Slade's "Same Time, Next Year" along with my own high school reunion, a little bit of Larry McMurtry and whatever else comes pouring out of my screwed up brain.

It may end up being a short story. It could be a novella. I'm hoping it will turn out to be the Great American Novel. Whatever the case, I can use the experience. It's one thing to whip out the 500-word column each week. It's quite another to go for the big one.

My goal is to get up, work out and then write for at least one hour each morning. That's doable, right?

As long as the headache stays away, I plan to start this weekend.

Wish me luck. I'll need it.