Sandi and I were just remembering, for most of our married life we have used the Jerry Lewis Telethon as a temporal mile marker. It seems that most of our Labor Days together were spent packing or unpacking boxes while we watched the MDA Telethon. Not this year. In fact the telethon is even hard to find these days. We are settling in to watch the US Open Tennis tournament.
The season for a theme park used to be Memorial Day to Labor Day, which would correspond to an end of our contract and a move to another place. I am glad not to be moving out or in today, but I do miss the excitement which this day used to be associated but very glad that our roots are deeper than back then.
Last night I performed at my favorite place, Brookledge Theatre. It is a private theatre with invited guest list. My youngest son wanted to come and bring a date. I was very excited that he wanted to come and see the show. However, my dyslexia reared its ugly head and I told him the address was 292 instead of 929. Sandi is the one that actually caught the mistake. Obviously, he did not make it to the show, but did end up wondering around the wrong neighborhood in Venice California. Later he said, "I know never to ask you addresses or directions. Mom is the only one that can really get me where I need to go." I am afraid that the boys have grown up with my lack of ability to know left from right and the irritation of transposing numbers. I am able to hide my disability with a good deal of coping and experience but when it does decide to take center stage it is usually a situation like this one.
All the build up for the filming of "Jay Johnson: The Two and Only." is coming to a close. Two more weeks before the show. One of the things you learn from performing is to trade your terror for excitement. There is no difference when you measure it physically, the heart races and the BP goes up with nerves for fear or excitement. A performer learns to interpret the physical signals as excitement and happiness rather than crippling fear or you never overcome stage fright. The problem comes when you know that the emotion can be seen either way. There are so many distractions with this production between the work of actually pulling it together and filming the show it is easy to forget that the pit in my stomach is not just hunger or fright but is excitement. (Although it is about as easy to think of it as hunger since I have been on a diet of late... I call it the HD diet, knowing that we are recording in High Definition.)
So, I will try to cope with my Dyslexia, interpret my emotions, do my best to deliver a good performance and go for the record. I can't believe that summer is coming to an end.
As you were,
Jay
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1 comment:
I feel for you, Jay. When I was just a youngster, my dad thought it would be fun to teach me that right was left and left was right. Boy did I have a hard time in school. Because of that, I failed my driver's test the first time around. I'm 54 now, and every now and then, it still rears up and gives me trouble. Have fun anyway. Also, best of luck with filming your show, or, as they say in the theater, "Break a leg."
Bill Matthews
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