Friends
In the past year or so, I've come to realize just how certain people can touch your life, and provide gifts of unimaginable wonder and beauty. And, sadly, I've also come to realize that there are people who can, and at times do, break your heart and seem to have no guilt, or understanding of just how hurtful and thoughtless their actions can be.
It's been a long day, and I'm tired, so, yeah, this one's gonna be a bit on the schmaltzy side
I've long been a sentimental soul. I get weepy at the end of movies like ET, and Edward Scissorhands. I can remember, at times, the locations and circumstances for the significant events in every significant relationship I've had, and at times, it's like I'm re-living those events, as they happen. The vividness and immediacy of these moments can at times be quite overwhelming.
This past year has been a difficult one. It's been a year of loss, of recovery, of introspection, of soul-searching and of healing. There have been many times, when I've felt utterly abandoned, and forgotten. People I'd counted on, that I'd cultivated friendships with vanished, their presence in my life evaporated, like water on a hot stove.
And so, this year, if anything has been something of a litmus test for those I'd seen as friends.
Firstly, to those who stuck by me ...
Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. A thousand thank you's. You are the rock on which my foundation rests. You are the rare gems in the bedrock of life .. the people who truly make life a lovely, enriching and rewarding experience. It was you who helped me to grow and to let go, to appreciate the opportunities this past year offered, and to maintain my faith that things would, one day work out.
To Donna .. while we haven't spoken in months, your honesty and compassion helped me re-discover the kindess and gentleness that had been missing from my life for a long time before. I pray for you, and for your daughters, and hope that one day, soon, we can re-connect and I can thank you properly for being in my life at such a crucial time.
To Eun-Young. While you, too, have faded from my life .. for a time, it was our chats, and lunches together that helped keep my spirits up, and kept me from worrying too much about the many uncertainties in the future. Your intellect, curiosity, and humour were wonderful things. I wish we could have had more moments, where we could be friends to one another. I miss you, and wish you all the best.
To Patti and Clancy. You are my family. You have shown me the power of persistence, and how healing can happen. Please keep the faith in each other, and in yourselves. I'll miss you both, greatly over the next year, but I will be back, and look foward to being an uncle, brother, friend and cheerleader for all the adventures you'll face in the years to come.
To Susan. You may not know it, but you and the gang at Vintage Stock were the life preserver tossed to a drowning man. You, and the others in the troupe gave me something to look forward to, and further confirmed just how wonderful, odd, quirky and magnificent the people who are attracted to the theatre can be. I have enjoyed every production, rehearsal, and performance I've been involved with with you, and look forward to many more once I'm back from my adventures in Japan.
To David and Claude. You are gentlemen, in the truest sense of the word. Your generosity of spirit, your humour and kindness have been something I've looked forward to, and treasured since the first moment I came aboard in Vintage Stock. Thank you for letting me share time with you, and for showing me how creative, and generous people can be.
To Kathi. You are, without a doubt, one of the finest teachers I've ever known. Your passion for theatre, your energy, and your unflinching efforts to get the best performance from everyone in your cast set a very high bar. I carry the ideals you've taught me into every performance I've been involved with since, and keep your lessons fresh whenever I perform.
To Johnson. I only knew you a few months, but your presence has reverberated every month, every year since. You were the first to show me just how unabashadly joyous performance can be. You were the first to celebrate the kooky, the oddball, the eccentric and the wonderfully creative element of the people around you. Through you, my eyes were opened to just how rich and colourful the people around me can be, and through you, I've discovered how to be as unabashadly silly and playful as you were. Your body may have failed you, but your heart lives on.
To mom and dad. I don't say it often enough, but I wouldn't have made it through the past couple of years without you. You provided the encouragement, and support that wasn't there. Your unflagging faith was, at times the only thing I had to reassure me that the whole world hadn't conspired to destroy me. I wish the best for both of you. I with all the wonder of the world be yours. I wish that someday, somehow I can repay the kindness and love you've shown me. But, until then, thank you from the bottom of my heart.
To Nadine and Phil. What can I say? You two rock my world. Though I haven't known either of you that long, I've come to know you as two of the kindest, most generous and most decent people I've encountered. Nadine, you are, without a doubt, one of the smartest, funniest and most talented people I've encountered. Your heart is as big as any I've known, and your mind takes more weird and off-beat turns than just about any I've encountered. You are one of the most unapologetic and wonderfully off-beat people I've known, and I'm so grateful for that. Phil, while I don't know you quite as well as Nadine, you are a decent, generous person, a great thinker and a wonderful improviser. I'm so grateful to know both of you. Thank you both.
To Monique and Lorne. We haven't kept in touch as often as I'd like in recent years. I'm sorry for that, and whatever I've done to contribute to our seperation, I'm sorry. I am so glad to know both of you, though. I treasure your creativity, and enjoy your photography and your adventures. I hope to see both of you before heading to Japan, so I can tell you, in person how much you've meant to me in the past several years.
To Martin. We've had our differences, in politics, philosophy .. even in hockey teams, but I've always appreciated the chats and rituals we've created. There are times I've wished our chats weren't so rushed .. that the time could be more leisurely and less frantic, but I have always enjoyed trading ideas and opinions with you. Having recently seen the film 'Fever Pitch', I can perhaps understand a bit better how strong your attachement to the Leafs might be .. I wish you the best, and perhaps, later this year, we'll be sharing a beer or two in Japan, and trading stories once again.
To Edwige. You are, without a doubt, one of the most talented, and creative people I've known. You taught me so much about performance and dedication during our time together in Office Hours. I wish you the best in your career, and hope we can meet up in the next months.
Man .. this sounds something like an Acamey Awards acceptance speech. But, in reality, I feel that we often don't say 'thank you' nearly often enough to the people who have given of themselves to help us through the difficult stretches in life.
Thank you, all. And while I'm sure there will be difficulties in the years to come, to those that I've mentioned, and to those that I've forgotten .. thank you. I won't forget you. Please don't forget me.
It's been a long day, and I'm tired, so, yeah, this one's gonna be a bit on the schmaltzy side
I've long been a sentimental soul. I get weepy at the end of movies like ET, and Edward Scissorhands. I can remember, at times, the locations and circumstances for the significant events in every significant relationship I've had, and at times, it's like I'm re-living those events, as they happen. The vividness and immediacy of these moments can at times be quite overwhelming.
This past year has been a difficult one. It's been a year of loss, of recovery, of introspection, of soul-searching and of healing. There have been many times, when I've felt utterly abandoned, and forgotten. People I'd counted on, that I'd cultivated friendships with vanished, their presence in my life evaporated, like water on a hot stove.
And so, this year, if anything has been something of a litmus test for those I'd seen as friends.
Firstly, to those who stuck by me ...
Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. A thousand thank you's. You are the rock on which my foundation rests. You are the rare gems in the bedrock of life .. the people who truly make life a lovely, enriching and rewarding experience. It was you who helped me to grow and to let go, to appreciate the opportunities this past year offered, and to maintain my faith that things would, one day work out.
To Donna .. while we haven't spoken in months, your honesty and compassion helped me re-discover the kindess and gentleness that had been missing from my life for a long time before. I pray for you, and for your daughters, and hope that one day, soon, we can re-connect and I can thank you properly for being in my life at such a crucial time.
To Eun-Young. While you, too, have faded from my life .. for a time, it was our chats, and lunches together that helped keep my spirits up, and kept me from worrying too much about the many uncertainties in the future. Your intellect, curiosity, and humour were wonderful things. I wish we could have had more moments, where we could be friends to one another. I miss you, and wish you all the best.
To Patti and Clancy. You are my family. You have shown me the power of persistence, and how healing can happen. Please keep the faith in each other, and in yourselves. I'll miss you both, greatly over the next year, but I will be back, and look foward to being an uncle, brother, friend and cheerleader for all the adventures you'll face in the years to come.
To Susan. You may not know it, but you and the gang at Vintage Stock were the life preserver tossed to a drowning man. You, and the others in the troupe gave me something to look forward to, and further confirmed just how wonderful, odd, quirky and magnificent the people who are attracted to the theatre can be. I have enjoyed every production, rehearsal, and performance I've been involved with with you, and look forward to many more once I'm back from my adventures in Japan.
To David and Claude. You are gentlemen, in the truest sense of the word. Your generosity of spirit, your humour and kindness have been something I've looked forward to, and treasured since the first moment I came aboard in Vintage Stock. Thank you for letting me share time with you, and for showing me how creative, and generous people can be.
To Kathi. You are, without a doubt, one of the finest teachers I've ever known. Your passion for theatre, your energy, and your unflinching efforts to get the best performance from everyone in your cast set a very high bar. I carry the ideals you've taught me into every performance I've been involved with since, and keep your lessons fresh whenever I perform.
To Johnson. I only knew you a few months, but your presence has reverberated every month, every year since. You were the first to show me just how unabashadly joyous performance can be. You were the first to celebrate the kooky, the oddball, the eccentric and the wonderfully creative element of the people around you. Through you, my eyes were opened to just how rich and colourful the people around me can be, and through you, I've discovered how to be as unabashadly silly and playful as you were. Your body may have failed you, but your heart lives on.
To mom and dad. I don't say it often enough, but I wouldn't have made it through the past couple of years without you. You provided the encouragement, and support that wasn't there. Your unflagging faith was, at times the only thing I had to reassure me that the whole world hadn't conspired to destroy me. I wish the best for both of you. I with all the wonder of the world be yours. I wish that someday, somehow I can repay the kindness and love you've shown me. But, until then, thank you from the bottom of my heart.
To Nadine and Phil. What can I say? You two rock my world. Though I haven't known either of you that long, I've come to know you as two of the kindest, most generous and most decent people I've encountered. Nadine, you are, without a doubt, one of the smartest, funniest and most talented people I've encountered. Your heart is as big as any I've known, and your mind takes more weird and off-beat turns than just about any I've encountered. You are one of the most unapologetic and wonderfully off-beat people I've known, and I'm so grateful for that. Phil, while I don't know you quite as well as Nadine, you are a decent, generous person, a great thinker and a wonderful improviser. I'm so grateful to know both of you. Thank you both.
To Monique and Lorne. We haven't kept in touch as often as I'd like in recent years. I'm sorry for that, and whatever I've done to contribute to our seperation, I'm sorry. I am so glad to know both of you, though. I treasure your creativity, and enjoy your photography and your adventures. I hope to see both of you before heading to Japan, so I can tell you, in person how much you've meant to me in the past several years.
To Martin. We've had our differences, in politics, philosophy .. even in hockey teams, but I've always appreciated the chats and rituals we've created. There are times I've wished our chats weren't so rushed .. that the time could be more leisurely and less frantic, but I have always enjoyed trading ideas and opinions with you. Having recently seen the film 'Fever Pitch', I can perhaps understand a bit better how strong your attachement to the Leafs might be .. I wish you the best, and perhaps, later this year, we'll be sharing a beer or two in Japan, and trading stories once again.
To Edwige. You are, without a doubt, one of the most talented, and creative people I've known. You taught me so much about performance and dedication during our time together in Office Hours. I wish you the best in your career, and hope we can meet up in the next months.
Man .. this sounds something like an Acamey Awards acceptance speech. But, in reality, I feel that we often don't say 'thank you' nearly often enough to the people who have given of themselves to help us through the difficult stretches in life.
Thank you, all. And while I'm sure there will be difficulties in the years to come, to those that I've mentioned, and to those that I've forgotten .. thank you. I won't forget you. Please don't forget me.
posted by xiz at 8:24 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home