Monday Musings
First Grade Lessons ~ Monday, September 25, 2023
My first grade teacher was Miss Beatty and her room was the center of my universe. She was a short woman – even at 5 years old I knew she was closer to my height than my parents. On the first day each of us was ushered in by our mothers as if we were passengers on a gangway headed to an outbound ship. Which was kind of true. That grammar school ship was sailing and although we would return, we would never be the same.
School Days ~ Monday, September 18, 2023
This school with the brown linoleum hallway floors and the globe lights and the pencil sharpeners and the long wands that were topped with window latches for opening and closing the windows, and the cloak rooms and the chalk boards. This was the place I returned to every September for nine years. From age 5 to 14. I loved it more than my own home.
September 11 ~ A Surprise Take On An Old Tune ~ Monday, September 11, 2023,
Danny, was 11 on 911. He had been, for a few hours and without knowing it, a child in danger of losing his parents. And there he was, standing at the bar, having traveled though 20 years, sharing his story with me, a stranger. Something that happened 20 years ago had come full circle and placed me and Danny at an intersection of immense specificity. An 11 year old boy whose parents dodged a bullet and an older woman who had never given his generation a thought.
Labor Thoughts on Labor Day ~ Monday, September 4, 2023
Labor. Never been in it – the baby making part. I have, however, spent plenty of time in the labor for money part. As to the baby making – all I can say is that, I was involved in it in the sense that I was born. Which when you think about it is an odd word for what happens, or what I am told happens because I don’t remember one bit of it.
Anatomy Of An Audition ~ Monday, August 28, 2023
For every 1-2 minutes that we are given in an audition, we spend 3-4-5 hours working on that monologue, conjuring, sifting, adjusting.
Exits and Entrances ~ Monday, August 21, 2023
Losing two dear friends does not make me special, although I wish it did. The sting of their loss is making me look at the entrances and exits of my life and those around me. We arrive after the party has started and leave before it is over.
Death – A Surprise Visitor ~ Monday August 14, 2023
There is, however, something sticking to me about these deaths. Something about where did these expansive, funny, snarky, irreverent spirits go? Surely they have gone somewhere, transformed into something – right? Didn’t Neil DeGrasse Tyson say that or Einstein say that or Brene Brown or maybe it was Cher. “Energy cannot be created or destroyed, it can only be changed from one form to another.”
The Lure of the Lake ~ Monday August 7, 2023
Get Ready For The Gift of August ~ Monday July 31, 2023
August is right around the bend, and it is one of my favorite times of year. There is something about the light that has softened. It has changed from the baking hot heat light of July into a mellowed tone. August light has been around the block. It knows a thing or two.
What’s Up With Monday? ~ Monday July 24, 2023
Somehow it doesn’t seem fair to turn Monday into an albatross. Like I said – it is the Moon’s Day and as such is connected directly to the celestial, to dance of the planets that, no matter how we crap up this planet, keep on keeping on.
My Father Was An April Fool ~ Monday April 3, 2023
My Father was born on April Fools Day. Our relationship was rocky. Dad wanted things his way because he was the father. I know this because he told me. I wanted things my way because I was the daughter. He knew that because I told him. We drew our lines in the sand, and we waited for the other to blink. For me it was very simple. My father was usually wrong, and I was right.
Marilyn Maye Dispatches My Case Of The “What-Does-It-Matter-Blues” ~ March 27, 2023
She started singing in 1931 and has never stopped in spite of being sidelined more than once. Marilyn Maye has lived through more crap than most of us will ever see. Talk about opportunities for having the blues. And yet she chooses the crow’s nest as her permanent home.
March Madness – And The Women are WHERE Exactly? March 20, 2023
Is it possible that the women are not given equal opportunity to be seen on national television because they are, well, just women athletes? Good Gravy – could that be? Could something as blatant as public media snubbing of hundreds of college athletes be allowed to happen? And no one is commenting on it? Not even Scott Simon?
A Budget? You Kidding Me? March 13, 2023
Do you have a budget? I have never had a budget. I don’t know from budgets. I don’t want a budget. But I find myself being cornered into making one – whip and chair in hand. We call this – Wake-Up Call: The Advanced Course. I will be leaving my day job within a few months. I have seen the wagons circling for quite a while, but it is a different ball of wax when everyone parks it and hops down for a chat.
Go Ahead. Stick Your Neck Out. March 6, 2023
Let’s face it – we ALL know we are there when things go wrong. Did you ever notice that you are always there when things go right?
Every good thing? It’s because you stuck your neck out. Grand gestures. Teeny tiny ways. Things you did that you don’t even notice. Well, notice! Give yourself some credit, pal.
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The Secret of The Everything Drawer – February 27, 2023
The Everything Drawer – You know you have one. Everybody has one. Right NEXT to the silverware drawer OR the gadget drawer where you keep the wine opener and the candle stubs and the used corks. Call it what you want – it is still the Everything Drawer.
Prime? Say WHAT? – February 20, 2023
Men are always in their prime. For men, Prime is not an adjective, it is a location, and they are always in it: young, old, dead. But a woman only has a little bit of time to be in her prime. Before she stops being a juicy specimen waiting to be plucked. Before she becomes something to be discarded.
Take Me Off Your Mailing List – February 13, 2023
Since making a few donations I have been inundated with requests for more money. It is as if the sluice gates of the gift giving world were thrown open and aimed at me…. This is just plain cheesy. What if a bartender did that? “Thanks for the tip and I’m right here in case you want to up it.” I don’t think so.
Kindness Takes Time – February 6, 2023
…this epidemic of good deeds and dispositions was out of my control. I put down my book and watched as the Samaritans began to multiply out on the street. A pizza guy stopped to hold a door open. A woman stood still while her dog said hello to a puppy. A man on his phone paused his call and executed a tiny soccer move to stop something rolling down the street being chased by a panicked teenager.
Lifetime Membership: Yea or Nay – January 30, 2023
The other day I signed up for a Lifetime Membership for a Meditation App. It seemed like a no-brainer, until I heard myself think, “Wait a minute – how long would I have to live to make this lifetime membership worthwhile?” A quick calculation told me I would have to live for three more years. That sounded doable. But what in the Sam Hill am I doing thinking thoughts like THAT?
Tulis McCall
Actor, Writer
Tulis McCall is a woman with a passion for performance and presentation. She brings her extensive knowledge of acting, writing, and producing to everything she does.