If you happen to be in NJ this weekend stop by to see Elizabeth, Nicholas and the rest of the talented cast in person…
Disney’s Beauty and the Beast Jr
Thursday, March 22 @ 10am
Friday, March 23 @ 7pm
Saturday, March 24 @ 7pm
Sunday, March 25 @ 3:30pm
Holy Spirit School
330 Newark Pompton Turnpike
Pequannock, NJ
For tickets call 973-835-5680 or purchase at the door
I’m a Pollyanna; albeit a cynical and sarcastic one, but still a Pollyanna. I genuinely want to believe that there in good in people even while I’m chuckling about their pants’ inability to cover their plaid boxer shorts or their failure to find Manhattan on a map of New York City.
In the aftermath of Hurricane Irene my optimism poked its head out of the muddy waters of the Passaic and liked what it saw: people acting human. Neighbors helped neighbors sort through the destruction that had rushed through their lives. The Church started acting like it should, putting on hip waders and rolling up their sleeves to pump out basements, ripping up molding carpets and pulling out soggy dry wall for people they’ve never met. Even the corporate world was pitching in.
This got me thinking…
This could be the opportunity for the cast of “Jersey Shore” to redeem themselves to me and the millions of other New Jersey residents by giving back to the state that has provided them fame, fortune and all the wonderful sea air that they obviously use to inflate their egos. This is something that both the Pollyanna and the cynic could agree on. Disasters can bring out the best in people and nothing enables self-promotion like a tragedy and no one does self-promotion like this crew. Sure, they aren’t going to be named UN Goodwill Ambassador anytime soon but the field is wide open. Vinny could collect unused stair climbers, treadmills that have doubled as clothes hampers for years and dumbbells, lots of dumbbells. Snooki and Deena could donate the dresses they wore to the MTV music awards to Seaside’s Beach patrol to use as flags on their rescue boats.
Unfortunately the cynic won out this time. The over-coiffed and tanned crew hightailed out of Jersey on an MTV chartered private jet to attend the MTV Music Awards in Los Angeles and talked about how horrible it would have been to miss the event. Too bad a huge number of the local fools whose support keep them on the air didn’t have the power to watch them. Glad to hear that they didn’t have to worry about broken windows, flooded homes and cars destroyed by fallen trees like many of my friends and neighbors.
Even Pollyanna couldn’t make a silk purse out of a sow’s ear. But here’s hoping.
As words do not suffice, we have only images we dare not forget.
(c) 2001 The Record, (Bergen County, NJ).
Creativity is universal. It is the essence of who we are as human beings. Although many deny it, everyone has it. One of the people who profoundly encouraged my creativity is the amazing Lorraine Ferro. Lorraine was my voice teacher a few years back and beyond what she did for my voice she encouraged and fostered my creativity. Lorraine had a singular role in my claiming my writer’s voice. She was my one of my first creative mentors and I am so thankful for her.
Lorraine and I share our Italian American heritage through our respective arts. And one of her more recent endeavors just blows me away. Lorraine, JoAnn Robertozzi and Rosie DeSanctis are the three voices of Trebella. Amazing songstresses who bring new life to songs that enriched our lives and helped define Italian American culture as more than either Italian or American.
Thank you Lorraine and thank you Tre Bella!
Words in Context 