and

I will take you there.

Snippet from a conversation with God

"you want to create a beautiful world, but you believe your words aren't enough."

romancing "the page"

as fall approaches and i prepare to put away those long, languid days on the beach, i am excited for the work that lies ahead of me. this summer has been about editing, editing, editing. i know sometimes here it might seem like editing's not that important to me, but i kind of have a rule that blogging is for kicks only. if i get too serious about it, i either a.) need to make sure i am getting paid to do it, or b.) should probably be out of work for ... oh, i don't know, something like chopping someone's head off with a broken saucer. (gasp!) come on. i'm not psychotic, but we all can get a little testy after long hours and sheer exhaustion or when, say, someone puts their hand up to you and tells you to get out of their face. O -kay, I was just leaving. but i digress. what i'm trying to say is that i'm exciting for writing season. for some reason, i am full of ideas in the summer that marinate until fall when i can give them the concentration that is their due. i have loved this last year, writing-wise. there is a novel about terrorism that i can't bring myself to face in between a couple of free hours here and there. so that one has an outline, but is on hold until some fancy benefactor recognizes my great talent and gifts me with a fellowship that allows me to write uninterrupted. until then, i am working on this novel/television spec about summer, the change it brings and four friends whose lives drastically change over several years. and it's just so much delicious fun!

one of the most exciting things about my craft is that healthy work habits have emerged, and i have a more clear idea of what i need in order to be prolific. knowing yourself, your style, your genre, your preferences, these things all help one's productivity. taking terese eiben's class at the Writer Studio really helped me discover some of those things about myself, even though much of it was already evident in my writing. if you live in nyc and you're a writer kind of fumbling around, not quite sure of your voice, i cannot more highly recommend the Studio.

and, ah, new york. i do so love that city. it's just a wonder to me though that this sunnier, brighter coast has become such a faithful muse.

until next time.

runners i like ...

everyone's talking about michael phelps, the merman who just put a swimming pool on my christmas wish list. but it's usain bolt, the spirited Jamaican sprinter who smiles for the camera as he's crossing the finish line, who inspires me.

ever since i saw chariots of fire, there's something about watching runners that fills me with admiration. i've never really been athletically inclined, have always had two left feet and two crossed-eyes, so to speak. and due to really poor depth perception, i duck when a ball comes my way -- whether it's a baseball, basketball, football or beachball even. so table tennis is out, too. (come on, that sport was created by someone with a sense of humor.)

just about the only thing i found an aptitude for was running, but i'll tell ya, it's a lot easier than it looks ... which is why i have such an appreciation for my friend fred, who is lacing up his shoes for more than just a gold medal. he's helping to change lives.

there is a group of normal folk, like you and me, mere spectators who saw an opportunity to use running as a tool to do something really good. several friends from my church back in new york have signed up for the chicago marathon, and they're not doing it to pass out pamphlets warning of hell, fire and damnation. (thank God!) they're not doing it to raise money for a new garage. and they're not doing it because they're natural born athletes. they're doing it to raise awareness about sponsoring children in rwanda.

many of you know that nate and i took a trip there last summer to help build two houses in the southern province of the country. i would like to say that it was life-changing (and it could still be), but the trip wasn't for me. i took it for you, so that i could come back and tell a story, so that somebody else would be inspired to go there and to come back and to tell a story. it's happening all over the U.S. -- we are getting involved and our collective awareness about the need to live outside ourselves is growing. the one thing i learned over there that i couldn't learn here is that

it is not about me

.

if you caught the town hall style meeting with the two presidential candidates last week at saddleback church, hosted by rick warren, you might have noticed that they both referred to the above quote, incidentally from rick's book, The Purpose Driven Life. regardless of which runner wins the presidential race, i can assure you of something i believe you can count on: our country is headed on a road to heal itself. we can all recognize our failings as a culture who is so caught up in its own materialistic success that we have lost sight of what it is to truly live.

it's hard to put into words what i experienced in modasomwa last year -- it's emotionally difficult to even pull those memories out -- a mixture of poverty and hope and gratitude from rwandans. and frankly, it's we who should have been grateful. at our first meeting, the children came out to welcome us with song and dance. there is a stark difference between children who are sponsored and those who are not. children who are not sponsored suffer from malnourishment. children who are sponsored get to go to school so that one day have hope for a better future. they are by no means as healthy as an american child, but they are healthy enough, because sponsorship also pays for food. if you sponsor a child in rwanda (or anywhere, for that matter), you can create a relationship with them, one that will last a lifetime -- beyond the sponsorship.

i want to ask you to sponsor a child in rwanda. chances are that you can afford a monthly gift of $35 that will feed an entire family and provide schooling for one child. we have three children, two in rwanda, one in zambia, who we have sponsored for the last few years. we met two of those children while in rwanda, therese and aphrodice. aphrodice, 7, was extremely shy, and warmed to nate after a couple of hours of male bonding. but therese, 13, greeted us like long-lost family. i'm not even the best at keeping in touch and writing letters as often as i could, and there she was, starved for the attention and love of her american family, dressed in her very best clothing, two sizes too big, proud and exuberantly happy and so very glad to meet me. i wonder now who she will become and what life will be offered to her for the equivalent of night out at the movies, one time a month.

this olympic season, will you join the global community? maybe let my friend fred represent your sponsor child as well in the marathon? if you too were inspired by both barack and mccain's call to live beyond yourself, but you don't know where to start, let me suggest making the difference in one life. imagine what could happen if we all got involved!

dushi mimana
yatu gizumway
kuko kubwachu
tutari kumenyana

(we are all one)

go to www.runningforrwanda.org to connect with and give hope to another child in rwanda

hollywood farmers' market

"your home should make you happy" -- jonathan adler

my happy room

giddy-up little darlin'

the last quarter has flown by, and it's been a busy one for this trail rider. i've taken the three-hour tour with sunset ranch from beachwood canyon to burbank where I tied my dappled horse, appropriate named Cherokee, to a hitchin' post and had margaritas with friends before climbing back on my steed for a late night ride back to hollywood.

... bore the light-blinding roadtrip to see joshua trees, their sad, brave limbs waiting at the side of the road to wave me away from the deadly desert heat, only to learn that one doesn't, or shouldn't, visit the desert on a national holiday in the middle of summer. ahh, spontainaety.

the sun only baked my brain slightly, but a nap and a chilly cocktail set me right. later that night, nate and i sang the star spangled banner beside 20,000 friends at the Hollywood Bowl, to which we are now completely hooked. It's a five minute walk from out apartment, which means we don't have to search for seats.

next to being married, a girl likes to be crossed in love a little now and then.

i love being married. i could say how many years i've been with my nate, but a lady doesn't speak about things like that. or, rather, this lady would, but she and her consort have agreed that they have not quite reached thirty years of age, and to count the years would only reveal their crafty subterfuge. they (meaning me, and my handsome prince) would be cast out of all proper society in their city of angels (read: those under 30) and forced to entertain themselves at the prettily packaged suburban malls, perhaps even in (gasp!) the valley!!! ... which, if they were to be honest, is a much more likely place to find them than say, a night club. i mean, why do married people go to the meat market if not to actually buy meat?

but i digress, which, if we remember what dr. mike taught us all those years ago in acting class, is okay, especially if the tangent that your on will entertain, educate or enlighten.

but o, how i do love being married ... to my best friend. nothing seems worse than being shipwrecked with someone who doesn't exactly meet the standards you had before setting sail.

and i've always loved our marriage, to the point of idolatry at times, maybe. (idolatry: archaic term often used in the christian culture, it can mean the things -- or person -- that one places before GOD or it can mean anything that a person deeply loves (yowzers!) depending on who you're talking to, since hopefully we all know that not all christians think just alike. but whatever. all i am saying is that at times i get tunnel vision, and the only thing i care about is that one person, who is, just a person. but what a human being! one so suited for me.

just yesterday, my companion, who knows the importance of whisking a girl away, met me at work and took me on an impromptu, surprise bicycle ride. and all i could think while gleefully navigating my wheels toward venice with the sun shining brightly on the ocean to my right was how very nice it is to be married to a man who really gets me and that i can't imagine my life with anyone else.

so bon anniversaire, mon grande amour! je t'aime.

hallelujah! pass the biscuits.

yea! church! all i wanted was a little religion, where i could get my groove on in my Father's house, to open my soul for some sunday morning nurture. then, when brandon said he had a sermon that was so chock full of good stuff, real food for someone there who was thirsty (and admittedly, i was) i thought he was just making fun. but the sermon, and the service, was only the beginning. after the service, just to crank out as much praise as i could, nate and i went to the house of blues for their gospel brunch -- which i highly recommend if you dig seriously soulful music. because we went for our wedding anniversary (#9!!!), we ended up on stage, praising Jesus with the Los Angeles Cathedral Gospel Choir. they're not Trinity, but you know, they can get down. to top that, i found out that next saturday, ecclesia is having a one day seminar with an apologetics scholar. and just guess who has the day off. i mean, you'd think that i'd prayed for it. talk about a baker's dozen (getting more than you bargained for).

in case you're thirsty, too, check out the podcasts of ecclesia hollywood's CALLED TO BE FREE series. sunday, march 9 will be available soon, and it's so truthful, you might be persuaded to listen to the entire series (like me).

peace!

http://www.ecclesiahollywood.org/ecclesia_hear.html

people ARE their principles*

You hold on and I don't know how. And I wish I did. Maybe you were born committed...*

if only we were born committed, but commitment takes baby steps. doesn't it? it doesn't happen overnight, but is developed. like in marriage, the pursuit of a dream, or (as I'm reminded today) political advocacy. i'm inspired by the volunteers on the roadside, holding up their signs of hope, cutting time out of their busy schedules to inspire or encourage others to get out there and vote.

because no matter who we vote for, what's important is that we take this privilidge seriously.

happy voting day!!!!

* The Way We Were

Eyes Wide Open

I love how we evolve, one step onto the road less taken and we start to become less predictable versions of ourselves.  I've had enough versions of myself in my adult life, constantly changing each time I try something knew.  In fact, I had a customer the other day who plays the violin, and I said that I loved the violin, and hoped that I might be able to inspire my children to play it someday.  "Why don't you learn to do it yourself? she asked.  "The best way to inspire your children to do something is when you yourself do it."  And I thought to myself, who knows?  Maybe I will.  Best-selling novelist and author of Bel Canto, Ann Patchett wrote that learning a new skill, or taking a new class, is the best way to keep your brain young... and God knows how I can use the help.  So maybe I will.

So, too, the life of this blog has evolved from it's initial place at my kitchen table in Inwood, where I had too much fun watching, er um, spying on, the other tenants in my building, and writing about them.  

I had a good friend and neighbor there who said that interesting things always seemed to happen to me, and he urged me to write about them -- this from a man whose white collar dad ended up in white collar jail.   My take is that interesting things happen to pretty much everybody, and if they're eyes are open, they might even notice them.