ARE YOU ANYBODY?

An article in The NewYork times this past week about people who collected the autographs of celebrities made me think of The Ice Cream Man. When I was auditioning for the chorus in Broadway shows, we all  ran into him. He drove a truck and sold ice cream when he wasn't chasing a famous actress or actor. He showed up everywhere--the stage door of Broadway Theatres, rehearsal studios, restaurants where performers grabbed a snack during a break or Sardi's on opening nights. If he wasn't sure of who you were or how you ranked in the theatrical firmament, he would ask. His question? "Are you anybody?"

My answer was, "Everybody is somebody." After reading the piece in The Times, I began to think about what turns a person into a somebody. Is it having the confidence to try to work at something you love? Finding contentment in work or family or using the gifts that were bestowed upon you by chance or birth or hard labor? Is it sharing those gifts? I began as a singer, became a stage manager and then a writer. As a singer I found excitement and a connection to the audience. As a stage manager, I enjoyed seeing the pieces of a show come together and as a writer I find fufillment in my words and characters. How do you define being a somebody? And do you ever redefine yourself?

Bests,

Elise

Ah, The Books We Read and Love

Photo by GrafPhotographer

Authors have always been affected by the stories they've been told and the books they've read since they were babes in arms. The magic of fairy tales, romantic adventures of our parents and relatives and bedtime narratives dramatically illustrated by the reader. Many told over and over again. I remember my first two books--one was titled Rags, Tags, Wags and Obediah, the other Three Little Kittens and How They Grew. Like most children I went on to read The Bobbsey Twins and Heidi (loved the goats.) In my teens there was Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights and Edna Ferber's Show Boat. The last introduced me to Show Business and an exciting career. Since I love fiction whether mystery, general, or literary and non-fiction that ranges from biography, and travel to politics I'm always reading and being influenced by words. I've loved words all my life which is one of the reasons I began to write and after my first short story was published began to call myself a writer. I'm at my computer every day and carry the usual pocket notebook with me. I'm hooked. How about you? What books have changed your life?

Bests,

Elise