Young At Arts + 20

I was delighted to return home to Boston at the end of February as a guest speaker at the 25th Anniversary Gala commemorating the Walter Suskind Memorial Fund's Young At Arts program at the Citi Center for the Performing Arts.

Joe Spaulding, (L), head of the Citi Center, handed the mic over to little old me.

Throughout the school-themed event, the audience of 400 was introduced through film to Walter Suskind, who helped transport 1,200 young children out of Holland during World War II.  His friends, the Vanderpols, founded the Young At Arts program as a tribute to Suskind, and 25 years after its inception, Young At Arts is still going strong.

Twenty years ago, as a high schooler, I was selected to be a part of the Young At Arts program, serving as a teen reviewer in the local paper, The Brookline TAB.  As a part of the "Critics Circle," I was given carte blanche in the Boston performance scene, seeing the Boston Ballet, opera, and all the major touring shows coming through the city at that time.  Then before I left Boston for college, I interned a year in the administrative offices of the Young At Arts program and learned a bit about arts administration.

I kept my remarks short and sweet (and joked, "like me"), thanking the Young At Arts program for giving me an invaluable education in creative collaboration, gaining many of the skills I use daily in running my own production company, Tongue in Cheek Theater, in New York City.

Thank you to all the wonderful people who have made Young At Arts a diverse, creative and collaborative program for 25 years!

Sky Mall Gifts: A Shopping List for Next Year's Holidays

Just got back from a trip that required flying.  I don't love to fly, but I do it.

I DO love to read, however, and for the first time I can honestly recall, I read the Sky Mall catalogue front to back.

I regret that I did none of my Christmas shopping through it, because one page basically held the ideal gifts for everyone in my immediate family.

For my brother (who is NOT named Bob), there was an entire selection of Gifts for BOB.  Ice cubes in the shape of "Bob," and various pithy t-shirts stating things like, "Bob: The Man, The Myth, The Legend."

For my sister's backyard: an Easter Island planter, where blooms sprout out of the Easter Island head.

For my dad, a sippy-cup wine glass.  No more spillage!  Is it rude to give him just one, or should I buy a set of 8 for when he entertains?

Perusing the other items, I had to rule out the rug in the shape of a cat sleeping and two pillows that say "Love you" and "Love you more" in needlepoint on them -- these are clearly intended for someone who loves cats or loves cute nicknames like "wuvvy-duvvy" for their significant other.

Just when I was thinking I didn't have anything for my sister-in-law, I saw the very travel mug that looks like it is a camera lens that I *DID* buy her this year.  I bought that for her.  Not on Sky Mall, mind you, but it does say something interesting about me that I mocked Sky Mall until I didn't anymore.

Finally, for my older brother, I flipped the page over and saw a mini statue of a little boy relieving himself, "The Peeing Boy of Brussels."  At $99.95, this would be a steal if he hadn't already given us this very object years before.

I leave you with one final thought: is there a version of the Sky Mall catalogue in, say, French?  If so, do they re-brand everything in French, and name the peeing boy statue something exotic to Europe, like "Petit garçon de Detroit"?