I just flew in from Denver and boy, are my arms tired. Well, from carrying luggage. What did you think I meant? What? That's stupid.It's been far too long between Cherney Journeys and at long last, off I twent into the wild gray yonder, it being December in Oregon and murky is the name of that tune. But up, up and away I flew from the Northwest of the Pacific and returned to Denver, Colorado, home of Broncos, Rockies and Omelettes, in order to visit members of my fam. I flew solo this time around, my wife unable to make the trip, which put me in a self-inflicted precarious state of mind due to too much anxiety and lotsa Jewish guilt by proxy. You see, mi familia that I refer to is the one I so happily married into almost a quarter of a century ago, therefore, my wife's side and her blood. Those remaining in mine are few and far between, making it rather sparse on that side of the church none of us would have attended. This Denver contingent consists of the cast of my book PLEASE HOLD THUMBS which involved the wedding of my stepdaughter Lindsay to my eventual son-in-law Chris in South Africa, a union that has given us two off-spring, granddaughters extraordinaire, Aefa and Athena.
Aefa, the eldest of the two, has grown into an amazingly gorgeous young woman in the decade she has graced us here on earth. The greeting she gave me and the love she showed me totally decimated the barnacles of my cynical heart. Her little sister, three year old Athena, was the question mark. A spitting image of her mother at that age, she is a force of Mother Nature incarnate in a half-pint size body. Advance word was that she would be standoffish and totally shy around this curmudgeon in training, but they underestimated the Power of the Grandpa. I worked my way into that hard candy shell within the first twenty minutes of my arrival until me totally under her own super powers, wrapping me around her itty bitty fingers.
The main event of said sojourn was to witness the budding actress Aefa in a performance of BEAUTY AND THE BEAST JR., a concept of which I was initally baffled. What could be missing in the junior version of a Disney property? Some randy doings between B and B? Is Chip the illegitimate cup of Mrs. Potts? Does "Be Our Guest" have a double meaning? I guess I should have been grateful it was ANGELS IN AMERICA JR. When I discovered this was merely scaled down and truncated from the original, boy was my face red. (Not really, but I'll cop to the ignorance) But I would have gone to see Aefa in anything (and have and will again). To be front and center for this particular production honored me to no end. She hads evolved into a real theater kid, even to the point of rattling off her numerous credits like the seasoned ten year old veteran that she now is.
So I headed back into familiar territory, that of Children's Theater, able to sit right up front next to Chris' lovely mother Elke, visiting from South Africa, two grandparents, side by side, weeping openly under our masks at the sight of our Aefa on opening night. She charmed us by her mere presence alone, but when she displayed the passionate enthusiasm she threw into her performance, I was knocked for a positive loop. I lived vicariously threw her joy of performing before a live audience and the fact that she is so emotionally involved at this early stage of her young life speaks volumes and fortunately, I'm not the only one to hear her. With support, she will continue on and who knows where she's headed, though if it were up to me, all the way.
As for Denver itself, I didn't see much this time around but it wasn't that kind of a trip, so gratefully immersed in the bosom of my family that I was. What I did experience was a lovely taste of holiday cheer as the brood decorated their Christmas tree. This ornaments are all personalized, one or more from each year that Chris and Lindsay have been married and with a meaning attached to every one of them. Some were from South Africa, others designated special events like the birth of their daughters, their moves to Brooklyn and Denver and my favorite, a solid white globe with the picture of a dung beetle, representing a tough year that they managed to get through and move on. This family ritual of theirs gave him something I haven't had in many a year, more than just a modicum of holiday spirit. It was actually the star atop my own personal tree and has remained shining since my return.
This was a true Cherney Journey, one that afforded me the luxury of getting out of my own head, live entirely in the moment and reflect upon the past, present and future with open eyes and mind. I headed back to Portland to my wife and life with newfound vigor, insight and recharged batteries to face whatever lies ahead.
Christmas spirit? Dude, I'm soaking in it.
Nice change of pace.
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