a fine whine.......

this year marks the 30th year I have been directing. and teaching acting in schools. Hundreds of kids, heck maybe a couple of thousand. Amazingly I'm still in contact with some of them- most amazingly I'm still in contact with some of those kids from 30 years ago.

This morning I'm doing my daily round of e mail and message retrieval and up pops an instant message from a kid who graduated last year. He's asking me how the show went this year, we did a production of "Brigadoon" a favorite of mine, we get into a wonderful conversation about how is he doing in school, he's doing great. How is he adjusting to college life, he loves it, but a kid in his suite is having trouble with alcohol. We get into a fairly serious discussion about the perils of that first taste of freedom. Lots of laughs peppered throughout. After about 20 minutes I tell him I have to be going.

"Oh, that's okay, my class is just finishing up."

Our whole conversation was taking place while he was in class! He's talking to me (and someone else, a graduate from two years ago) all the while he's sitting in class. An Art History class, I think I would have enjoyed that lecture, but that;s not the point.

I have to admit I felt a bit guilty.

It's incredible how the whole phone thing has changed the world in such a short amount of time. We have all become the evil spawns of Alexander Graham Bell and Sputnik. Hmmm, well you know what I mean.

The other day during dress rehearsal for Brigadoon, the full cast is on stage, big scene, lots of action and there are two girls onstage, in costume, texting!!!!

Lights, costumes, orchestra, sets, props and the two of them texting!!!! Who are you talking to!? Is it really more pressing than what you are involved in right now?

I know, I apologize, this borders on Andy Rooney territory, but it is amazing to be sitting here in my horse and carriage watching those Auto- mo- biles go zipping by.

ps it's not just me- during spell check the computer didn't recognize the word texting- it suggested testing.