"Act" up

Come on, don't be shy. We'll keep this between you and me; for now. You know that you have always wanted to be on stage. You have been an actor all your life, remember; in front of parents and family at the summer picnic when you were a kid; at the company holiday party after you had a few to get loosened up; and don't forget all those times playing Pictionary; and whether you actually wrote it into your bucket list or not, you know it's there. So what are you waiting for? To RetireInSanDiego, that's what.

I'll never forget that fateful day walking around Clairemont Family Days, an annual event in the Clairemont neighborhood of San Diego. Jean and Catherine nonchalantly mentioned as Lauren and I walked by that we looked like we were born actors and as luck would have it, the following week were auditions for a play, written and produced by "Clairemont Act One." After enduring a brief history of the theatre group, Lauren and I made our get-away from these obviously "touched" ladies.

Later that evening we reviewed the day and the conversation we had with Jean and Catherine. Were we doing anything next Wednesday evening? It might be a hoot to drop by, sit in the back and watch the actors audition for the various parts.

This is a picture taken at an audition but not the audition I described below. 

We showed up at the community hall where the auditions were to be held, walked over to the room where several people were sitting behind a row of tables and still more sitting in chairs further back. I quite innocently asked "is this where auditions were being held?" Another woman that I had not seen before said, "Yes! You have a part." Lauren and I looked at each other and weren't sure if we should run or follow through with our plans to "watch" the auditions. Later I would learn that Paula was the lady that called out to us. Paula and Sally wrote the play "Clued In" which both Lauren and I performed in several weeks later. Our first on stage performance.

Lauren and I are in the 2nd row on the left. Jean is in the 2nd row right. Catherine is front, left.

The lovely, talented people that we have met over the years in Clairemont Act One have turned into family. Lauren and I have been involved with several plays; as performers, technical, makeup, working back stage, Lauren as a co-director and house managers, greeters of theater goers at the door while selling tickets. We even sang a few songs at a fund raiser one January a few years ago. I won't lie, opening night just before our first performance I was so nervous I was physically ill. But I love it and can't wait for the next performance, which, by the way is in just a couple weeks. Check it out at: http://clairemontactone.org/. You'll be glad you did.

Stretch yourself. Get out of your comfort zone. Try acting. You know you want to and when you do, I hope to see you when you RetireInSanDiego and make your stage debut.

Please share this post with all your friends and neighbors in San Diego. We are always looking for ways to expand our audience. Are you not in can San Diego, yet? Come down for a visit and catch a performance. There is a seat waiting just for you.

"ART" in Imperial Beach

ART. Many of us like to think we are artists; those of us that attempt to be artists are rarely commercially successful; and almost all of us that actually get our hands dirty doing it reap rewards that stick with us the rest of our lives. Our refrigerators are covered with the art of our children and grandchildren. Our scrapbooks are filled with these treasured gifts that inspire us, make us smile and bring back to mind irreplaceable memories in our hearts and minds that we would not trade for all the gold in Fort Knox. The spontaneous joy, laughter and tears we enjoy just knowing how profoundly we have touched other peoples lives, I find, difficult to describe. ART.

Looking West

To be among the few that actually get to share art publicly, for the world to see and enjoy, is something of a bucket list item for me. I have made my attempts over the years to be an artist but nothing has really stuck. When I stumbled on this "ART" monument in Imperial Beach California, just south of San Diego, it intrigued me. An art monument celebrating "ART." Cleaver, mesmerizing, quiet and loud. I would love to know how many people walk past this monument without ever realizing it exists. I'm sure that many people look at these squiggly poles and wonder what they are all about. They are about you; they are about ART.  Enjoy!

Looking NorthEast

Looking North

Looking Southwest

Another San Diego Sunset

Maybe you are one of "those" people. You know the ones I'm talking about: at ten years old they knew they were born to be a quantum physicist and would stumble across the cure for cancer while discovering the tesseract.  Well, I'm not one of those good folks but I hope both are discovered. When I suggest that you RetireInSanDiego I'm talking about retiring on more of a Clairemont budget than a La Jolla budget. 

I hope you read the dialogue and enjoyed the pics I took at La Jolla Cove. It is such a beautiful place. I lived in Wind-n-Sea, just South of the Cove, for many years and thoroughly enjoyed this park-like area. My reality, however, is and was not La Jolla. I eventually bought a great condo in Clairemont. Fabulous location and I do mean FABULOUS. Ten minutes to the airport; four miles to the ocean through Pacific Beach; a grocery and drug store one mile South, a shopping center two miles North and a Target, Home Depot, Von's and Kohl's a mile and a half East. AND, best of all, Clairemont is a neighborhood I can afford. To top it all off I get to enjoy beautiful sunsets every night. If you get tired of me posting them, please send me a comment like, "Okay, enough with the sunsets already." I will understand. But, you have to see this one. Enjoy! and Happy Wednesday.