Have you seen Fantasia 2000? I haven’t watched it for a while because we have it on VHS and need a new VHS player. It would be fun to get it on DVD and watch it on a big screen. Disney created animated sequences to interpret some well-known classical music. It’s imaginative and visually stunning at times! The last song/sequence is the very best in my opinion – breathtaking!
At any rate, several celebrities host, giving intros between the segments on a set with an orchestra seated around them. One of the funniest is Steve Martin who tells us he is going to play a magnificent violin solo in the next piece, but then accidentally flips his bow up in the air and flying into the seats behind him. We realize he can’t play violin and the camera starts panning away from Steve, who says, “Camera back on me. Camera back on me. Camera…” as the camera fades away unwilling to give Martin the attention he wants so desperately.
I’ve been realizing lately that there are so many ways I maybe saying “eyes on me” or “camera back on me”. I even think part of the appeal of facebook (or – yikes – even blogging) is the attention I receive from others. Is that a bad thing? Continue reading
I’m so blessed to have both my parents living and that we have an open, loving relationship. It enriches my life and gives me so much support – just knowing they love me and are there for me. I hope I can do the same for them!
I just enjoyed a few days with my mom. She came over to visit since my girls are on spring break so I took two days off work. We saw a movie, shopped ’til we dropped (groceries and the mall), ate some M & M’s and ice cream, drank diet cokes & coffee, and just relaxed. My favorite part of the visit was when we had breakfast together at Bob Evans one morning, not because of the yummy omelet and pancake, but because of the heartfelt open conversation.
Last week I got to fly and see my sister in Phoenix for free! Free doesn’t always mean easy or super convenient however. It was totally worth it, but the trip home was arduous, boring, frustrating, and long. My sis and I looked at the flights on the Internet and saw they were all full, however sometimes people sleep through their alarms or miss flights so there’s hope of getting on as a standby, especially if you’re early to the gate. It’s spring break and there were teens, kids, families, and college kids everywhere. I signed in and didn’t get on, I went to the next gate for the next flight and didn’t get on, I walked quickly to the next gate and signed in but it looked bleak so I left and went to the 4th gate/flight and signed in. I sat for a moment eating my cinnamon roll (hey, might as well eat something yummy while I wait right?). I thought I’d better visit the restroom before it got too close to boarding time but when in the restroom heard my name over the loud speaker, “Michele Klotz come to gate C4 to board your flight.” That was the 3rd flight I thought I missed! And it’s clear on the other end of this concourse!! I grabbed my two bags and big diet coke and started all-out sprinting, down the moving sidewalks, past slow-movers and standers, “excuse me, pardon me” I said breathlessly while silently praying God would help me not collapse before I got there. I made it, and presented my boarding pass while grasping the counter and bending over – my heart pounding. “I’m on a flight!” I thought as I happily made my way to a seat between two large people. When you fly standby and are the last on full flights, you get the squished-in the-middle seats. “That’s okay” I thought, “at least I’m outta here.” The flight was smooth and uneventful. As I walked out of the jet way into the airport I looked up at the departure signs for some idea of where to race next and try for a flight. Uh oh. 
Time away with my sister and her family, in sunny Arizona, was like the wonderful rush of “ahhhh” after a strenuous workout, when the endorphins kick in.
There was much conversation and diet coke (of course!), much laughter, watching movies, sitting in the sun, walking through beautifully manicured, landscaped southwestern neighborhoods with cactus and brilliant fuchsia bougainvillea vines growing everywhere, shopping at 
Ikea for the first time, tutoring my sis on facebook, driving around town in the little pick-up truck with my nephew Curtis, playing with their two sweet doggies, singing at the piano and visiting with my older nephew TJ, playing guitar hero, holding the snake, Vinnie (!) and just plain ol’ heart-warming love.
I sat down at the piano to play a little the afternoon he was home with us and he came into the room. He started singing a praise song I was playing, so I sang, too. 
Or think of yourself wearing black clothes in a moderately dark room. You could be covered in lint and “fuzzies” but none really show because of your dim surroundings. Walk into a bright spotlight, like the ones they use in a play, and suddenly every little speck, hair or particle is visible to everyone. Flaws and smudges you didn’t even realize were there are suddenly glaringly obvious.
Along the Narrow Path 