the positivity continues

I have heard back from the PTB at The Make a Death Wish Foundation. He reports that although he doesn't read many plays, he ended mine wanting more.

Which I'm taking to mean that it's not overwritten, yet. Fantastic! I've also sent the fourth draft to TDS (aka Ed), who read an earlier draft and now will read the fourth. Prolly do the same with Illustrious Anne

Gerry, man, if you're lurking: I'm writing this one special, just for you.

Another great day for public school[teachers]

When [a] student asked the question about taking part in [peace] demonstrations, Mayer said, she replied that there were peace marches in Bloomington, that she blew her horn whenever she saw a “Honk for Peace” sign, and that people should seek peaceful solutions before going to war.

A student complained to her father, who complained to the principal, who canceled the school's annual “Peace Month” observance and told Mayer never to discuss the war or her political views in class.

Read the rest for yourself.

Fourth draft not done but proceeding

I've added so much to Count of Three that I decided to send it to another vict fresh reader. Justin of Make a Death Wish Foundation (MySpace) is a buddy from w a y back and he's got a similar celebrity fetish to my own. I hope he likes it but look foward to hearing any criticism, too, especially because he's very eductated as to all things Anna Nicole Smith-ian. (Smithesque?) On a lark, I sent him a PDF of Lindsay Lohan's Birkin, too.

Saturday, Saturday night's all right

Lots of baby-watching today but also a ton of writing. The fourth draft of my Anna Nicole play is up to 27 pages; the third draft topped out at 18, so nine pages in two days, I'm happy with that. And I don't think that they suck. And now Anna Nicole doesn't enter until page nine, whereas in the third draft, her entrance started the show.

Monstro asks, “do you really need that much” and it's a valid question; perhaps it's overwritten but I don't think so — remember, in the third draft nobody even figured out all the characters were dead until well into the play, and I'd never intended to obfuscate that, so the things that I did intend to obfuscate? Need a little more background as well.

Tomorrow is Mothers Day and Monstro has offered to pay off my electric guitar but I'm not certain it's the one I want anymore, because (as Patrick would say) it's the “cheap Squire Strat” and I think my music deserves a fuller sound, because I don't know if you know this about me but I have a lovely big singing voice and could totally be famous.

I was that woman

You know how every once in a while you get on a plane and some woman is already buckled in with a screaming red kid on her lap? Monday night, I was that woman. The plane had been delayed and Baby was in NO mood for anything besides screaming… I offered him food, I sang to him, I changed his diaper while he stood on my lap; nothing worked. Except for the Motrin, which took effect 15 minutes after I'd dosed him and for the rest of the flight he was all conked out (praise Jesus).
I told the flight attendant I wanted to buy drinks for the two people in front of us but she told me to keep my money in my pocket, that she'd take care of it. The man in the seat directly ahead of us ordered scotch; I guess the woman next to him wasn't a drinker.

Baby remained asleep as the plane landed so I waited for everyone else to debark before waking him up. The woman sitting behind me stood and pressed a five-dollar bill in my hand.

“Listen, you didn't have to pay for my drink,” she said.

“I didn't!” I replied. “The flight attendant did. Please, keep your money.”

“No, you keep it,” she said. “Because the only thing that made it OK was your singing. That was awesome.”

So now I'm either a professional singer or a professional mom. I was going to frame the five bucks but instead I swapped it for laundry quarters. Guess that means I'm a professional mom.