Stomp & Paul Simon (and Jimmy Fallon)

What an awesome exploration of rhythm!!

Michael Jackson RIP

I know it's been more than a week since Michael Jackson passed away, but this is the first time I've gotten the chance to sit down and put my thoughts together. Mostly, it's just sad to lose anyone that young, but most especially to lose someone with that much talent & artistry.

His songs were the soundtrack to most of the jazz classes I ever took. One of my jazz teachers actually was in the video for Beat It and again in the Weird Al parody of it, Eat It. (In Eat It, he was the "gang member" in the white leather jacket with the smiley face & "have a nice day" on the back.)...It's rare that I don't hear one of those songs and it doesn't place me immediately back to whichever dance class where we used that song.

Another one of those "burned forever in my mind" memories from high school was the time when 3 of us decided we had to go get ice cream from a place approximately 30-35 minutes away. The only one of us who had use of a car that night was a friend who could borrow his mom's car -- a small convertible. (Luckily, I'm small enough to fit in the back or it wouldn't have worked.) That friend was in the process of creating a music mix, but the only stuff he'd gotten to so far was 3 old Jackson 5 songs: ABC, I Want You Back, and one other that escapes me at the moment. For 35 minutes out there, and 35 minutes back, we heard those same 3 songs over and over again, top down, singing along...I don't hear any of those 3 songs without thinking of that night.

And who (who was around) can forget the impact of the video of Thriller?! A friend of mine managed to record it and we played it over and over until we managed to break it down, and then we knew it by heart. Yeah, I'll admit it, we were all dancers, so we kinda get a pass, but I'd bet there are tons of others who, if they were being honest, would have to fess up to the same thing & they wouldn't have the excuse that they were dancers.

He was always breaking new ground & and what he did one day would be tweaked & modified and incorporated until 10 years later, there it was at the core of whatever was hot. The "heartbeat" in today's hip hop? Take a look at this video of Dirty Diana and you'll see it developping:



And, yes, as a dancer, I know that the Moonwalk came directly from Bill Bailey:


but you gotta admit, MJ made it his own and it grew from there. And, I think that's really the saddest thing -- that we'll never know what he would have done next or when that next iconic thing would have appeared.

Thankful Thursday Friday

A time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance.
- Ecclesiastes 3:4

This week, I'm thankful for having been blessed to know Frankie Manning for 20 years. It's not everyday you meet someone who truly changes your life. Frankie did that for me in January 1989. I wouldn't do what I do if it weren't for him.

My favorite comment about Frankie's passing was "We now have the answer to the age-old question, 'How many angels can dance on the head of a pin?' Answer: 2. Frankie & whomever he chooses as his partner. The rest of the angels will back off to give him room & watch."

This was a tribute put together by some local DC dancers. It only scratches the surface of what an incredible man he was and how much knowing him has meant to me.

Teacher, Inspiration, Friend

I wrote about Frankie here. I was honored to organize his 82nd birthday party back in 1997. I am deeply humbled, extraordinarily honored, and profoundly grateful to have called him my friend for the past 20 years.

God speed, Frankie. A one, a two, you know what to do...

Thankful Thursday

It's been a little while, so I'm overdue for showing a little gratitude. Today, I'm thankful for:

• My 2nd mom's finally getting to go home from the hospital. It was great to hear from her!!
• Daffodils. I've got about a dozen blooming in the yard and it brightens up the day whenever I see them.
• Silly puppy antics. As exhausting as it is to be fostering a young 'un, she is quite entertaining.
• Fresh, red, ripe strawberries. Simply delightful!!
• Starting up our dance classes again. It's kind of tough suddenly not having my Monday nights to myself anymore, but I do love teaching and we have good classes this go round, so it is kinda fun. It's always nice to see students from the fall classes come back, as well.
  
• Getting a clear vote of confidence from the higher ups at work.
• Getting to see my nephews this weekend. It's always fun to spend time with them.
• My new camera. I'm LOVING it!! Only a couple more weeks til there should be some fantastic opportunity for "Spring in Washington" shots.

So, how bout you? What are you thankful for today?

Thankful Thursday

It's Thursday, which means it's time for a little "attitude of gratitude". This week, I'm thankful for:

• Getting to see my family. With my siblings and I being spread coast-to-coast, and not even all in the same country, it's rare that you get all 6 of us in one room at the same time & it takes some doing to make it happen. Last time we managed it was 4+ yrs ago, so I'm very much looking forward to it.
  


• The fact that my family all gets along & that we have a really good time together. There are lots of ppl who dread family get-togethers; for us, we've been looking forward to this!!
  


• That we managed to keep this a surprise for my parents. Dad wouldn't have noticed, but Mom is pretty perceptive & picks up on little things, so she was the one we had to really watch it around. She knows that 2 of us will be there (are already there actually). That was the "set up". She doesn't know that the rest of us are coming, along with more of my neices & nephews. Dinner tomorrow night when we surprise them should be wonderful.
  


• Warmth & Sunshine & Beaches!! It's really cold here -- we aren't supposed to even hit freezing today or tomorrow, which is unseasonable for here. Temps are forecasted to be the single digits when I take off tomorrow. It's supposed to be mid-70s to low 80s and sunny all weekend in Fl. I'm sooo ready for that!
  


• The internet -- what did we do without it? I managed to stop the mail, check in for tomorrow's flight, confirm the rental car, get directions from the airport to the hotel, and more, all online in the last 24 hrs. What a time-saver!!
  


• My new camera!! -- It came!! And I managed to get back here about 20 mins before the FedEx guy showed up, so it was much more painless than it could have been!....So far, I've only attached the strap and charged the batteries (mostly because I know that once I start playing, I won't want to stop, so I'm not doing anything else until I've packed and gotten all of the rest of that type of stuff taken care of). I'm so glad I'll have it for my trip; since it's difficult to get us all together, I want to make the most of the opportunity while I have it.
  


• A great dance/business partner -- we're in charge of running a dance here this weekend. When we were given our dates for 2009 (it's a RFP process & we never know what we're actually going to get from year to year), I already knew I'd be in FL this weekend, so he's got to do all of it on his own. It's doable, but it's a lot easier when there are 2 ppl to take care of all of the details & it means he pretty much only gets to work/manage things all night; no dancing for him. Thanks, Babe, for handling everything and doing so so good-naturedly.

Everyone have a great weekend. I don't know if I'll check in from FL or not, but I will report in later.

Quote of the Weekend

Back in the summertime, we taught/performed at a charity event. This was a small, grass-roots cause, but one we believe in, so we donated our time & talents, as did the band, the homeowner who hosted, etc. We all bonded over the experience & so, we were excited to get an invitation to the homeowner's Christmas party for last night.

My dance partner wasn't going to be able to come for the evening as his family Christmas get-together was last night, but since his cousin's house is only a mile or so away, he stopped in for a little while to say hello. When the band broke into a fun song, he and I decided to dance to it. For us, this was very low-key, nothing special about it dancing, but since most ppl in attendance didn't know us & most ppl don't actually dance with a partner (as opposed to in the same general area as another person), it was noticed.

I was highly amused when one woman came up to me later in the evening and told me:

It was like watching Dancing with the Stars...except you were wearing clothes.

We Clean Up OK

This was taken at our dance gig a week ago.
That marble floor was a killer on the feet/joints, but the atmosphere was stunning!

Dancin' Granny

A friend sent me this video. She's my type of dame!! I hope to have her spunk when I'm 50, much less at 90+.

Enjoy.

Thankful Thursday

It's that time again -- time to take a moment to focus on gratitude and the things for which I'm thankful. This week, I'm thankful for:

• Getting the chance to get out with the camera and get creative for a bit. It felt good to rekindle my joy in photography and I'm very happy with some of the shots I took. Thanks, too, go to Will, a professional photographer from Colorado who I met as we were both shooting pics near the Capitol. He was kind enough to offer suggestions and pass on bits of his knowledge.
  


• Getting to see my nephews this upcoming weekend. The older of the 2 boys is 4 years old, so Christmas is pretty magical to him this year. I love getting to be part of that.



• Getting to spread a little holiday joy. Each year, we take a group of dancers to the Armed Forces Retirement Home's holiday party. It's a chance to dance with and for the veterans, spend some time talking to them, and in general, just spreading a little goodwill. It's one of my favorite holiday traditions & will take place tomorrow evening.



• The wonderful massage I got last weekend. As a dancer, I beat my body up on a pretty consistent basis. Last weekend was no exception since our gig on Sat night was 7 hrs long and we were dancing on a marble floor. I was most definitely sore after that!! But, since this wasn't the first time we'd done this event, I knew to expect being sore & scheduled a massage for Sunday. My last 3 massages really didn't do much to help; they were nice, but my muscles fight back/require a bit of convincing that they need to release & the past couple of massages I had never reached that point. This time, however, was different -- I went to a new place & this new massage therapist was fantastic!! I'm still feeling the benefits!! And, since this place was considerably less expensive than the other places I'd tried, not to mention more conveniently located, you can bet I'll be going back!!
  
  
• The adorable ornaments I got from Mindi. There's a music clef that represents my dancing and a beautiful bird that can either be hung conventionally or can be clipped onto a tree branch as if it's perching. Pics will be coming as soon as I change the batteries in my camera. Thanks, Mindi -- They are perfect!!
  
  
• Hearing that the package I shipped for my neices and nephews in Vancouver, BC arrived yesterday. Last year, it didn't get there until the 2nd week of January, even tho I shipped it around the same time. There's a strike going on in some of the Canadian postal system, so I was worried this year would be the same, despite being told 5-10 days when I shipped it. Glad to know it made it!!

So, that's my list today. What's on yours?

Thankful Thursday

It's been a while since I've gotten one of these written and it's long overdue. This week, I'm thankful for:

• Holiday goodies. They are starting to appear around my office & since I haven't gotten around to making any myself, that's a good thing!!
  


• Finally kicking the sinus infection that sidelined me for a bit. Good riddance!
  


• Cyber Monday. I was home sick that day & managed to pick up most of the remaining items on my Christmas list. Got some good deals on 'em too!!
  


• My job. It's rough out there. I know lots of people are out of work or facing potential layoffs. So far, things are stable here & I am profoundly grateful for that!
  


• The holiday specials. I admit it; I'm just a big ol' little kid when it comes to holiday specials. Charlie Brown, the Grinch, Heat Meiser/Cold Meiser, etc. all make me smile.
  


• Getting a break from teaching weekly dance classes. The place we teach isn't heated, so we take the winter off from our classes. Don't get me wrong, I do enjoy teaching or I wouldn't do it, and especially with the last group of students we had as they were a lot of fun. However, I do also enjoy getting a break from it sometimes. We've still got events to perform at and other non-weekly-classes to do, but due to the economy, those are also lighter than usual this year, so it's the first real break we've gotten in quite a while and I'm greatly enjoying it.
  

How bout you? What are you thankful for today? Thanks to Tiburon for the new graphic.

Late to the Party

I've got a confession to make. Up until a couple of months ago, I didn't have cable tv. (Yes, it is possible to live without it in this day and age.) I wasn't home enough to justify the cost (& it had gotten pretty darn expensive). But then, I switched internet carriers & got a bundled package back in the summertime & thus, I've slowly been catching up on all of those things I missed.

Like this:

Saturday night was the perfect storm -- my SO was in class all weekend (so I was on my own); we didn't have any dance gigs to do; and it was snowing (so who wants to go out in that). Sounded like a good night for a movie. I was about to pop a dvd into the player when I discovered that Disney was running not only HSM, but also HSM2 back-to-back. To top it off, these were the "What's What" versions, meaning they had little pop-up bubbles that contained fun facts, pointed out continuity mistakes or other movie quirks, etc throughout the movies. (The running tally of "who wore more hats" contest between Ryan and Kelsi for HSM2 was my personal favorite.)

Well, get me a plate of crackers & bring on the cheese!!!

And cheesy it was!!! However, I've already confessed to having been in musicals and occasionally rockin' a show tune or 2, so I can't pretend that I didn't enjoy the movies. I will just say that it's a good thing that I'm not lactose intolerant or it would have been a rough night!!

Thankful Thursday Friday

Traveling this week has left me scrambling to catch up, so I'm a little late, but thankful none the less. This week I'm thankful for:

• Being home -- I like traveling, but I'm always glad to come home.
  
  
• Those things Washington DC has to offer like great museums, wonderful theatre & arts, etc. I'm reminded every time I go away how many nice things this city/area offers.
  
  
• My dogs --it's so nice to see how much they've missed me whenever I go away. Makes me feel special. :-)
  
  
• A great cadre of volunteers --without their help, we couldn't run the dances we offer. This is especially noticeable this week since I was gone for much of it and couldn't have managed the details even if I'd wanted to.
  
  
• My dance partner -- who did keep things running while I was gone. Teaching classes or filming a partner-based dance show is not easy to do solo and he had to do both this week. Thanks, darlin', you're a gem!
  
  
• Making 2 new friends at work -- this trip, I was paired up with 2 ppl I'd neither met nor worked with before. Given the nature of the trip, one spends long hours (14-16 hr days, or even longer) as a team, most of the time in one car, so there's no getting away from one another if personalities clash or you just aren't a good fit. I was paired with 2 wonderful people with great senses of humor. Within a very short time, we were laughing and joking with each other as if we were old friends. It made the very long work days a lot nicer than if we hadn't really clicked.
  
  
• Being healthy -- Last time I had to do this type of work assignment was a couple of years ago. I was not well, so those 16-hour days really were trying. This time around was a MUCH better experience.
  
  
• Our veterans. And the troops currently serving our country. They deserve our thanks & more! Take a moment or 2 this upcoming Tuesday to at least honor them, if not doing something to actively thank them.

Props to Tiburon for the great new autumnal graphic & the original idea for the Thankful Thursday posts. Feel free to take the idea and the graphic and play along.

Thankful Thursday

Wow, I'm even going to get the chance to get this written & posted on Thursday this week....

In no particular order, I'm thankful for:

• Having session #2 of the training class I set up (and to which my boss came) go off smoothly.
  
  
• Eating lunch at a favorite restaurant in Chinatown before that training session since it was held right around the corner from the restaurant.
  
  
• The first signs of color in the trees.
  
  
• Watching the gentleman who hands out newspapers at my subway stop become more comfortable & confident in his English. When he first started, it was a small, shy nod. The nod became a 'hi'. Hi turned into 'Good morning', said with a smile. Now, it's a smile and a 'Good morning' oftentimes coupled with 'Have a good day' or 'Have a nice weekend' if it's Friday.
  
  
• Good, supportive co-workers.
  
  
• 3-day weekend coming up.
  
  
• Really fun students in the series of dance classes we just started.

What makes you thankful this week?

Four and Four

I saw this on Tiburon's blog and thought I'd play along. The rules are: Go to your picture folder, open the 4th folder, select the 4th picture, post it & talk about it.


In my case, the 4th folder is my "Blog" folder & the 4th picture is my blog header:


The photo in the header was from a spread in Life magazine in 1943. The gentleman in the picture is one of my teachers. His name is Frank (Frankie) Manning. He will turn 95 years old this coming May. He was one of, and arguably the most important of, the originators of the Lindy Hop. Lindy is considered the grandfather of all the swing dances. He was the first person to do an air step in swing dancing: if you've seen anyone pick up/throw their partner, you can trace that back to Frankie.


He was one of the original Whitey's Lindy Hoppers who made their home at the Savoy Ballroom in Harlem in the 1930's. He was the lead dancer and principal choreographer for the group. You can see their work in the Marx Brothers' film A Day at the Races or in what is probably the greatest Lindy Hop performance ever put on film in the movie Hellzapoppin'. Another personal favorite is the troupe doing the Big Apple from Keep Punchin'.

He has been featured on 20/20, ABC's World News Tonight, National Geographic Explorer's episode on Jitterbug (I'm also in that one), among others. He is a Tony-award winner (for Black & Blue), an author, a dancer, an ambassador of American culture & most importantly, one of the greatest, most-humble, most-genuine people you'd ever want to meet. I'm very honored to be able to call him my friend.

Thankful Thursday

It's that time again. Wow -- I even got it written & posted on Thursday. That's 2 weeks in a row. It might even be a trend! :-)

This week I'm thankful for:

Veterans -- I meant to include this last week b/c the big dance performance included a salute to the veterans. The association whose annual meeting was the reason for the event invited some of the residents from the Armed Forces Retirement Home here in DC to be their special guests, so we were able to thank the ones who attended personally. For all the rest who weren't in attendance, a heartfelt thanks!

Fall -- It appears to finally be making an appearance around here. The weather has that little tang in the air & the first crop of locally grown apples is appearing. Won't be long before there's color in the trees.

Getting to attend my nephew's 4th birthday party -- Even tho they live nearby, I haven't seen him (or my brother, sister-in-law, and my other nephew) in a little while, so this gives me a good excuse to hang out with him for the day. My nephew was really disappointed that Grandma & Grandpa weren't coming to his birthday party -- he doesn't understand that they live in Florida & it's too far to drive for the party -- but he got over it immediately when he was told that I was coming. That kid sure knows how to get to me!!

Being able to help someone -- I got a plea for help via the dog rescue organization I volunteer with. A woman was having issues with her dog & was thinking about giving him up. None of the issues were surprising given his age (adolescent) nor that difficult to manage if one had the right tools or skill set; since training is one of my specialties, this was right up my alley. Luckily, the woman was very receptive to what I had to offer her/what suggestions I made and has started implementing them. So far, so good, leaving us with one happier (and more hopeful) owner and one happier dog who is that much more likely to stay in his home/not need rescue's help. That's what I call a win-win!!

So, how bout you? What are you thankful for today?

Thankful Thursday

This week I'm thankful for:

• Getting my Thankful Thursday post actually written and posted on Thursday. :-)
  
  
• The dance team performance going okay and the whole gig in its entirety going off without a hitch. All of my dancers arrived on time, had no problem getting thru security & onto the base, had the appropriate wardrobe with them, and performed their job admirably. Our client was happy and we are likely to get called again the next time they need someone, so really, how much more could I ask for?
  
  
• Sleep. After all the rehearsals & extra stuff, not to mention my usually crazy schedule, to say I was wiped out last night was an understatement. A good night's sleep and I feel soooo much better and more functional today.
  
  
• Salon Pas. This is similar to Ben Gay, but on a transdermal patch which allows you to slap one (or more) right on the aching muscle & get a slow, constant release of the good stuff right where you need it. They also don't have the tell-tale smell that Ben Gay has, so I could wear them under my outfit at the dance event & no one could tell.
  
  
• Random compliments. Being complimented anytime is nice, but when it comes totally out of the blue & from someone you didn't expect to say something, it's really nice!

So how about you? What are you thankful for this week?

Beware the Ides of September

I swear today was trying to kill me!!

Late Friday afternoon, my boss told me that he, his boss and I would be meeting early on Wed morning. This meeting is about something that my boss & I proposed a couple of months ago, after working on developing a new process for 6-9 months. Unfortunately, at that time, his boss shot it down -- not because he didn't agree with what we wanted to do or even with the need to do it; he just didn't want to fight the people who wouldn't have been too happy about the changes our proposed new way of doing things would create....Fast forward to last week & apparently my boss's boss has realized that there is good reason to implement our plan, or at least make some of the changes we recommended. Thus, the meeting on Wednesday.

My boss asked me to redo the presentation from before, simplifying it compared to the old presentation we'd given, incorporating the changes that had been suggested/discussed when we pitched it to his boss a couple of months ago, etc. Usually, I would have a couple of days to do this, but since I'm off work tomorrow because of the big dance gig, I only had today to get it done. Ack!!

The only thing I had on my schedule when I got into work today was something that should only take an hour or so, so I had hopes that I'd have plenty of time to get the presentation done. Ha! Best laid plans and all that good stuff...like a huge percentage of ppl here in DC, my job is connected to the US Govt. The ppl I work for/with hold a periodic training that they like to make a big deal out of, including taking pictures of the participants selected for the class. Because I've done some photography before/know my way around a camera, I've been named the backup to the person who's usually responsible for taking these photos. (That's why I had a camera with me when I took the photos for this post.)

A couple of weeks ago they let me know that they'd need me to help them out at this training by taking photos this time around. Ok, no problem; I could spare an hour to go do so. My section's camera was already spoken for, so I arranged to borrow one from another group, guessing I'd be able to figure out how to use it enough to make do for what is needed for these events. For the record, I'm a Nikon person & the camera we were borrowing was a Canon, but a camera's a camera, right & they can't be that different, right? Well, luckily, I gave myself some extra time & got there early because someone had turned the timer feature on & the camera was waiting 8 seconds between when I'd press the button and the shutter would release. Ack!! After frantically pushing buttons & going thru every menu I could find, I finally got that to turn off & got the camera working correctly. Because of that, I didn't have much time to play with the various settings or the external flash unit or otherwise learn the camera's bells & whistles, so I turned the setting to "auto" and prayed the camera was decent enough to handle it...oh yeah, it helps to know that the 2nd bombshell they dropped on me when I got there was to tell me that the head of our govt agency was coming to this event today. As in a member of the President's cabinet/one of those people you see on the national news. Oh great! Now they tell me!! So, with only approximately 10 mins to get comfortable/familiar with the camera, I'm taking photos not only of the group like I was expecting, but also individual photos of each participant meeting/shaking hands with the Cabinet Member -- you know, those photos that you see framed & hanging on people's office walls. No, no pressure there!!

Of course, that also meant more work once I got back to my office because those photos will all need to be printed & put into presentation folders. The group photos will get signed by all & distributed and of course, they want them ready to hand out at the end of the training on Friday. So, I had to get them downloaded, sorted, touched up, burned to CD & off to the people who will handle such things as soon as I got back from the office; again, with my being out tomorrow, it couldn't wait til Wednesday or there wouldn't be enough time to make it happen. What I planned on taking about an hour ended up eating a LOT more out of my day. I didn't even get STARTED on that presentation until about 3:00 pm, so I had to stay late to get it done & sent to my boss before I left. He'll look it over tomorrow & let me know how many changes he wants with it. Once he's had a chance to review it, he's going to email me at home to let me know if I need to come in early on Wed (lots of changes) or if there are just some minor tweaks so I can come in at my regular time. I'll find out when I get home from the dance event & check my email.

Oh yeah, then there was the dance gig to manage. Most peple never know the amount of time it takes "behind the scenes" to make something like this come off without a hitch. I have 3 different groups of dancers coming tomorrow. Each group arrives at different times, has their own instructions about what to wear & what their assigned jobs are. Add on to that that the event is being held on a military installation, so there are security protocols to deal with. For example, people arriving before 5:00 pm need to go through a specific gate to get on the base. Anyone arriving after 5:00 pm need to go through a different gate....Given all the different permutations & combinations, I couldn't send a blanket email or other communication out to people and had to make sure everyone got the correct information, answer the inevitable last minute questions, deal with wardrobe issues from 3 different people, etc. Not a big deal/typical of these type of events, but not something I had time to deal with today of all days.

I don't think I need to tell you that I didn't make it to the 2 dance classes I was supposed to help teach tonight or to the final rehearsal for tomorrow's gig. It's about 11:00 pm now & sometime between now & when I leave tomorrow at about 10:00 am, I'll need to do hair & makeup (1940s style), polish my nails, sew 6 buttons on the outfit for the performance, possibly hem the pants I'll be wearing for the team performance, organize a bunch of stuff & be sure I've got not only my own outfits, but also shirts for 3 other dancers. There's probably more things on that list too, but I'm too tired to even think of them at the moment.

As I said, Beware the Ides of September!!

3 Minutes to Dinner

Today has been a long day. I left for the Kennedy Center about 9:30 this morning & didn't get home until 6:30 ish. I had a blast at the KC Open House & it's always an honor to be asked to teach or perform there, but it's a long & tiring day. Thus, I was wiped out, not to mention hungry as I headed home.

A quick stop at the local grocery store for a bag of lettuce (on sale!), some extra fixin's from the salad bar, a multi-grain baguette, a minute or 2 to cube up some cheese and turkey I already had and voila. Dinner's ready. Yay for the 3-minute healthy dinner!!

I'm off to stretch, followed by a (sorely-needed) shower & then I'm taking it easy for the rest of the evening since I've got a 2-hour aerials workshop to teach tomorrow plus 2 rehearsals to run since we're only 72 hrs away from that big performance I've been mentioning.

Thankful Thursday Friday

Yeah, I know. I'm late again. Story of my life lately it seems, but that doesn't make me any less appreciative. This week I'm thankful for:

• My dogs -- work has been crazy, and kinda frustrating this week. Nothing melts away a bad day like being greeted by 3 fuzzy monsters who are so happy to see me. Add in a squeaky toy and some other silly antics and it's an instant attitude adjustment. I've also had a couple of friends who have lost their dogs in the past few weeks, so it makes me realize even more how precious they are.
  
  
• My boss -- as I mentioned, work's been frustrating, but it's not because of my boss. He's had my back all week and I know I've got his support when I run up against the stuff that's going on.
  
  
• Sleep -- it's really a nice thing. And after rehearsals & such, MUCH needed!!
  
  
• The Kennedy Center's Open House -- this annual event is another favorite of mine. A full day of interesting and varied art workshops & performances. Music. Dance. Theatre. We're teaching for some of it, which is always fun, plus before & after, I can go check out other offerings. (If you're in the area tomorrow, you should come down and check it out.)
  
  
• Firefighters, Police, Rescue workers, etc. -- we get reminded every Sept 11th, but these fine men & women are out there doing the same sorts of things every day. Thanks!

So what makes it onto your thankful list this week?