A Perfectly Poopy First Day of the New Year! Or. . .Why the Pooper Scooper is One of Man's Greatest Inventions!

Man, the first day of 2011 was really terrific. Few things will make me look to the future with a greater sense of promise than a first day of the year that starts with sun and with that January thaw feel in the air. The day's sweetness called me outside to vacuum the seats and floor of my car, picking up the dirt, dog hair, and dropped bits of kibble that nearly had made the carpet invisible. I was still a bit high from the Orange victory in the Pinstripe Bowl. I mean I felt bad for the saluting kid, but, what are you gonna do? Somebody's got to win, and the Orange aren't giving it back. I used that gridiron high to propel myself around the garage as I swept and shoveled the dirt and bits of paper, leaves and dog hair that had settled on the floor. I admit that the afternoon did bring rain, but we were off to the Dome to watch Boeheim's boys kick Irish butt, a truly beautiful thing to see! Then we went home to a terrific dinner and a relaxing evening.

Still, I have yet to mention another important activity that January 1, 2011, afforded for me and why I included "Perfectly Poopy" in my title. Well, anyone who owns a 95 pound Labrador Retriever knows what awaits them in their yard when the snow melts. A virtual minefield of doggy doo! An elephant graveyard of excrement! So much, in fact, that it is difficult to believe that it all came out of one animal. If, perish the thought, the snow cover lasts from December to late March, then the panorama of poop that spreads out before you and your pooper scooper is mind boggling. That's why a thaw at the beginning of January is so necessary. The first of the year afforded me a chance to remove a month and a half or so worth of poop. It took more than a half hour to pick up, and filled the bottom of a garbage can about 14 or 15 inches deep. It weighed. . .I don't want to guess how much it weighed. But the effort was so worth it because when March rolls around I'll have that much less (fill in the parentheses with your favorite term) to deal with.

Writer's Block, A Bit of Old Mexico in Chittenango, and A Visit to Zecheriah's House

I am writer's blocked. Never, since I took to writing almost daily, have I ever been so unable to come up with an idea. Nor do I have my usual desire to write. What concerns me most is that I have to get rolling on a script for SUMMERPLAY 2011 in this muddled creative state. My block is probably due to the fact that I have written three plays and directed three in the last 11 months or so... So, I'm going to take a brain rest until mid-January and not even try to write. I'll do some blogging, but I guess I'll let SUMMERPLAY, whatever it will be, simmer, wherever it is.

Now to other things.

Waldman's was in the building forever, but restaurants like Java Joe's and the Old Hotel Cafe, though really good, struggled to survive in that spot on Genesee Street across from the Episcopal Church, over the past few years. Ahora entra (now enters) La Cocina, a really terrific little Mexican restaurant that I hope will make it in 'nango because it's so good and so different from anything else we 'nangoites have. Linda and I had two of the specials for lunch on Friday, total price $9.98 + tax. For that very reasonable cost we were able to share the #4 which includes a burrito and two tacos and the #10 which consists of two beef enchiladas and a chile relleno, plus a bag of their homemade taco chips and a container of homemade salsa. We loved every item. I really liked the chile relleno, which I had never tried. It's a moderately hot pepper (a little kick) sliced open with a cheese and tomato sauce inside. I spoke with one of the owners, who told me that they hope to be able to acquire a beer and wine license soon. So. . .va a La Cocina. (Go to The Kitchen Restaurant). They open at 11:0 a.m. and don't close until 9:00 every night except Friday and Saturday when they're open until 10:00.

After a few weeks of fun and work, the CrossRoads Community Church Musical, SPOKEN, was presented yesterday and today in the high school auditorium. With music and story by Steve and Sue Case, the one hour play told the story of Zecheriah and Elizabeth and the miraculous birth of their son John. I was really knocked out by the production that we put together together. (Both "togethers" intended.) The music was beautiful, the story delightful, the performances and music inspiring. Many kudos to Steve, Sue, Mark Campitello, John Spiridigliozzi, Jodee Osborne, the entire ensemble, orchestra, and technical staff. I'm glad I was part of this special show.

I've had a lot of requests over the last few weeks to get myself back to blogging. I'll try but with no guarantees. I'm not sure if you can still go to my blog through the ONEIDA DISPATCH website. (I canceled my subscription, you see.) I'll check, but remember that you can always get to THE BLUE MOON GRILLE at wwwmotleyplayer.blogspot.com/ (The lack of a (.) after the w's is intentional.)

It Tolls for Thee

Headlines at this moment on Syracuse.com include: "Hundreds gather at funeral for Jenni-Lynn Watson" and "Syracuse toddler's death blamed on gang revenge." I can remember few if any times that reading headlines like these was so difficult for me. The tragedies our small Chittenango community has recently experienced make those of which I have only a peripheral attachment, I know Jenni-Lynn's cousin Mark, and those to which I have no actual attachment at all, the death of 20 month-old Rashad Walker, Jr., even more horrible than they would be under normal circumstance. The violent death of anyone is awful; the violent death of children, and in this group I include both Jenni-Lynn and Rashad, is despicable. I hurt deep down inside for them and all. I'm not going to try to explain this "species pain" I feel. I will leave it to John Donne who said it with nearly impossible eloquence when he wrote,

No man is an island, entire of itself;

every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main.

If a clod be washed away by the sea,

Europe is the less, as well as if a promontory were,

as well as if a manor of thy friend's or of thine own were:

any man's death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind,

and therefore never send to know for whom the bells tolls;

it tolls for thee.

These words come from Donne's "Meditation XVII," an essay, although the lines above are often printed as a poem. Reading the whole essay might take 5 minutes. It's a worthwhile read with the only logical conclusion.

Lisbeth and Kaitniss and Kathy

It has been so long since I last blogged, that I was afraid I wouldn't remember how to access this page. My explanation for my lengthy absence is that autumn has been so busy with playwriting, family obligations, leaf raking and much more, that I needed time off from my blogs. The hiatus was a good one for me, although, I missed my postings, my chances to vent or comment or compliment. This dark, gloomy, blustery afternoon seemed like a good time to come back to blogging with three friends in tow: Lisbeth, Kaitniss, and Kathy.

Though I haven't been blogging, I have been reading. In the last few months, among a variety of other things, I've read a trilogy by a Swede, a trilogy, by an American, and a novel by a Japanese-born Brit, and as a result have made three wonderfully interesting literary acquaintances. Lisbeth Salander is the name that I imagine is most familiar. Lisbeth is the heroine of the "Girl Who. . ." novels by Stieg Larsson. I FACEBOOKED back in the summer about Lisbeth, a tiny, terrifying, computer genius, bi-sexual martial artist, who somehow, through three violent books, remains both lovable and vulnerable, while overcoming industrial villains, sadists, Nazi sympathizers, government conspirators, and their lot with the aid of magazine writer Mikael Blomkvist. The "Girl Who. . ." books are already a Swedish film franchise and are on their way to becoming an American one. Lisbeth is my favorite literary character in a long time.

Thanks to Tim Sorensen I discovered the "Mockingjay" trilogy by Suzanne Collins. The young adult novels THE HUNGER GAMES, CATCHING FIRE, and THE MOCKINGJAY are great for adults, too, and tell the story of the wonderful Kaitniss, a sixteen year old girl, who must protect her mother and sister and eventually much more in a future American dystopia. The central horror of the books is the concept of the "Hunger Games," a televised competition that pits two children (ages 12 to 18) from each of the 12 districts that are controlled by the "Capitol" against each other in a battle to the death in a giant, technologically-created arena. Designed to both fascinate and disgust the citizenry, this yearly punishment of the masses is reality tv at its most devious. The amazing Kaitniss is a "Hunger Games" contestant in the first novel and evolves through the other two into a symbol of the revolution that slowly foments when she defies the authorities. This amazing young woman, who is bright, and brave, and incredibly resilient, is another of my favorite characters.

The writer Kazio Ishiguro was not a name I was familiar with, although he is a prize winning novelist, and his works include the very successful REMAINS OF THE DAY. NEVER LET ME GO is the quietest horror/science fiction novel you will ever read. There will be no zombies or vampires or UFO's, but when you think about it, it will frighten you more. The book could be called a form of revisionist history, I suppose. It postulates a Britain at the end of the 20th century that has devised a program for the "national health" that is exquisitely twisted. Ishiguro leads his reader quietly along, revealing a little at a time, with a hint here and a revelation there. Soon the reader is squirming at what is becoming clear. NEVER LET ME GO is serious literature. TIME named it the best novel of 2005. Its narrator is Kathy, who with her friends Ruth and Tommy, age from about 16 until their late 20's in the novel. We see them when they are students at Hailsham, a boarding school that is quietly sinister. Then we follow them through a transitional time at a place called the Cottages. In these places, they suffer the joys and sorrows of kids growing up. They fight, have tantrums, fall in love, have their first sexual experiences, and all the time, something that they should be dreading is hanging over their heads. Eventually, they chose to begin their absolutely inevitable "careers." What was most frightening for me was how accepting Kathy choses to be of this inevitability. The film version of NEVER LET ME GO starring Carrie Mulligan and Keira Knightley was recently at the Manlius. I wanted to see it but didn't get the chance. The trailer of the film does an excellent job of suggesting the dread that looms over this novel. Check it out: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sXiRZhDEo8A

Two trilogies and a novel, three great reads, which I have chosen to blog about because of the three central characters. The trio of Lisbeth, Kaitniss, and Kathy consists of two amazingly brave women and a third, who I so wish would have decided to be brave. (Or was she the bravest of them all?) Try these books!

Moving to a New Location

I am now blogging at www.duboishill.blogspot.com/ My theme has become more specific. I am writing about growing up in the 50's and 60's in Webster, NY. I hope some of my BLUE MOON GRILLE followers might enjoy the change and find something interesting in life at that time.

Blog's Out For Summer!

OR MAYBE NOT. . .

This is my 180th post from the Blue Moon Grille in about a year and a half. A school year is 180 days, and I have taken this fact as a sign that it's time for the Grille to shut down for vacation. I'm not done blogging, certainly, but I'm thinking of eventually developing a blog about a more specific topic. For awhile, though, I'm not going to do anything in the blogosphere, I guess. Thanks for reading and occasionally reacting. I've had a lot of fun. I hope that those who have read "The Blue Moon Grille" have had fun, too.

No Time to Say Hello Good-bye. . .

I am happily busy with "THE GIRL WHO LOVED ROMANCE NOVELS", and so this rapid posting will once more advertise SUMMERPLAY with two photos of the cast. At the top, Sarah Baidel as Ashley is looking particularly motherly. The object of her concern is her sorority sister and BFF, the girl in the title of the play, Jess Arden, who is played by Kayla Haynes. In the second photo, Kyle Stevens as Tim reveals his secret crush to Jess. Watching is Sarah Guzman, who plays Jess's sister Juliet.

"THE GIRL. . .," the comic story of a college junior who falls for two guys on the same morning, plays this Thursday, Friday, and Saturday at 7:30 p.m. in Chittenango High School's beautifully air-conditioned auditorium. Tickets are $5 with a $20 per family limit.