Speaker. Storyteller. Coach.
I’m blessed for many reasons, and one of them is having my older brother Jimmy to whom I’m very close. And for almost as long as I have had Jimmy (aka Chopper), I have had his large pack of friends who have stood guard as my non-DNA brothers. This group includes Ricky, Dougie, Twomey, Charlie and until last week, at the too-young age of 56, Eddie.
I’m back home in Tampa for my nephew’s graduation, where I popped into a nail salon for a pedicure. The entire time I was thinking of Anjelah Johnson’s stand-up routine, “Nail Salon,” the video that went viral and brought her the attention she deserves, paving the way for the fabulous Bon Qui Qui. Nearly 31 million have viewed the video but it’s always worth a second (or third or fourth or twentieth) look. Enjoy!
Please help me build my online audience!
I know only one way to drive to NYC — I-91 to exit 17 in Connecticut to Route 15. I stay on Route 15 for about 2 hours until I get to Manhattan and then I take a left. If that route’s not available, I’m in trouble. When driving to NYC last week, traffic stopped at Exit 23, with a blinking highway sign saying exits 17 and 18 were closed. Clearly, I had a problem, not the least of which was an important meeting at 2 p.m. that I was now in danger of missing.
Writing madly trying to meet a deadline so thought I’d do a blog rewind this week — enjoy and I’ll see you next week!
This past summer, The Moth asked me to perform at a Mainstage in St. Paul on Nov 10. I was thrilled. Then in early fall, after reviewing my story, The Moth’s directors decided the piece needed more work and pulled me from the line up. I was less then thrilled. Now, these directors are the best of the best; I know they have my back and their decision was the right one. Still, I was really disappointed. Until two weeks ago.
I’m in Nashville at my 30th Vanderbilt Reunion, doing a reading of my one-woman show How to Draw a Nekkid Man (formerly I Will Be Good). The audience is filled with college friends, including the Grammy Award-winning singer Amy Grant, who I hadn’t seen in 15 years. During the question and answer session, I thank the Vanderbilt community for their support, including those who hosted my performance in their homes while the show was in development.
Literally feeling audience support
After the reading, Amy asks me if I still perform in people’s homes. I say, “not much, but sometimes.” She asks if I could perform in her home. I say “yes.” She asks if I’m available on Nov. 11, the weekend when I was originally scheduled to be in St. Paul. I say “I’m wide open.”
Challenge Aspen at work
Amy and her husband, Country Music Hall-of-Famer Vince Gill, are huge supporters of Challenge Aspen, an organization that turns “no into yes” for people with disabilities, especially disabled vets. At a recent Challenge Aspen gala, Amy and Vince auctioned off three days in Nashville and six generous (and hysterically funny) Dallas ladies purchased the trip. My show was part of their entertainment package.
The evening was a storyteller’s dream. In addition to the six Dallas ladies, the audience was filled with more than 25 artists – songwriters, musicians, and writers. The amount of creativity in the room was astonishing.
After my show, with sound crew Vince Gill and Amy Grant
During rehearsal, I realized I needed someone to run the sound for the show, which meant occasionally pushing a button and making sure the volume was correctly adjusted. Amy set the volume and Vince pushed the buttons. This didn’t seem like the best use of their skill sets, but they were game and I was grateful.
I know I can tell a great story but I’m not much of a singer (although I yearn to be one). That said, I still sing in an important part of How to Draw a Nekkid Man. On Sunday night, standing in front of Music City’s top talent and flanked by shelves holding nearly 30 Grammy Awards, I thought, “if you’re going to do it, then do it big.”
Throughout the evening the real singers shared their gifts — Rodney Crowell, Jenny Gill,Natalie Hemby, Marshall Altman, Vince, and Amy, whose new album comes out in April. It doesn’t get much better than that.
So what seemed like a cruddy no, made way for a huge yes. I reconnected with a dear friend and participated in a magical evening. I’ll be returning to Nashville next in October 2013 to perform my show at an event Amy’s hosting (more details to come). And The Moth asks me to perform a new story next summer. A dear friend once told me that our lives are like looking at the underside of a tapestry. All we can see are the loose threads hanging in a jumbled mess, but God sees the beautiful tapestry being woven from above.
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Please help me build my online audience!
On a Tuesday three weeks ago, I was in a very dark place. My writing was not going well. The demons were dancing in my head. I sat at my computer screen, mentally listing all my perceived creative failures — one in particular that had stalled last summer and I naturally assumed was my fault — convincing myself I was never going to finish the book and if I did it would be subpar. You get the picture.