Lifting A Glass

In the midst of all that is, I have several reasons to lift a glass this week. I want to lift a very particular glass, too. Rather than just my usual glass of whatever white, rose, or red happens to be on sale, which has become all too frequent over the last few months, I want to lift a mint julep. I want to taste familiar. I want to celebrate sweet. I want to dance just a little while thinking about Derby memories. I want to toast the joy I knew while teaching high school drama. I want to say thank you for the gifts home, the arts, mentors, and others have given me over the years. To all that, I lift a mint julep.

Derby Week 2020

So, this was Derby week 2020. I still bought a hat — a lovely butterfly fascinator. I am still cohosting a Derby party (via Zoom) and will virtually gather with friends. I am still gonna sway to My Old Kentucky Home and watch a Derby race (probably a Youtube clip of American Pharaoh’s win.) I am still gonna eat Derby Pie and drink a mint julep. I have been thinking a lot this week about ritual and traditions in the past and what they might look like going forward; feeling in my bones that the future will hold things a little differently. Our grips will change. Our eyes will adjust. Our heads might tilt just a little. What we knew will never be quite the same, but I guess it never is. Perhaps that is the lesson of Derby 2020 — find a way to love what was, what is, and what will be. I mean love in that deep down, look you in the eyes and tell you the truth, sit right in the middle with you kind of way.

Silver Knight Awards

This week I was a judge in the 62nd Annual Silver Knight Awards produced by the Miami Herald. The competition acknowledges South Florida high school seniors’ excellence in service and academics across all major disciplines. It was my second year to be a judge for the Drama category of the competition. This year the judging was held virtually. (The award ceremony will be held virtually in May.) I am profoundly grateful that the Miami Herald found a way to keep the awards alive this year. These seniors have really lost so much, especially these student nominees, and knowing this recognition will still be given is truly important. To be a Silver Knight for Drama, the student had to have served their community in significant and sustainable ways, and been involved in Drama during the high school years. To say these student nominees were outstanding is an understatement. To say I feel better about the future thinking these young people will be part of it does not truly take into account the hope these students embody. These student nominees inspire me by their story and example to do more, be better, aspire/dream/imagine/dare/create.

Each application includes a description of the student’s high school career; detailing their service, academic, and artistic involvement. Reading through the applications, I am immediately transported to meaningful experiences I have had performing in shows, serving others, and teaching and researching the arts. The kids get it. They have been changed in the same way that I, and so many others, have been changed by the arts. Our world is better for that. In these times when so much of the news makes me feel paralyzed, fearful, and angry. These students remind me of the power we have to live something else: to not let our world be controlled by those few who would storm a state house with semi-automatic weapons, to not let the most vulnerable die at the hands of an evil virus, to not turn the other way when cruelty happens. These kids are the solution. We can be the solution. I lift a glass to each of them, too.

Read the entire May 2, 2020 Weekly Roundup Here