I must have played a bajillion Willie Nelson records during my years in radio. I was a fan back when he wore his hair in aflat-top and performed in a suit and tie. Say what you will, the guy is truly a great great songwriter. I especially liked Ain’t It Funny How Time Slips Away. And that brings to mind another old saw…Time flies when you’re having fun.
If that’s true, then I’m having a blast! I look up and weeks have flown by. I can’t believe we only have three more performances of Elijah. That’s just…Crazy. (Another one of my favorites.)
It’s a day for that kind of reflection. Yesterday I mentioned among a group of people that today Robin and I would be celebrating our 44th wedding anniversary. A twelve year old girl who was standing nearby said, “And she’s still out of your league.” Out of the mouths of babes. That precocious little kid was one of the children in Say Nicklaus. I guess she still holds it against me for setting her character’s hair on fire in that play.
That a twelve year old knows she can cut up with me like that tells you a little bit about the relationship among our extended Ragtown family. There’s a lot that goes on between all of us behind the scenes that is just good-natured fun. But those things are the substance of the love we have for each other, and for the work we’re all blessed to get to do together. And I believe that closeness is reflected in what you see on the stage. As I’ve said so often, it’s like a big noisy family. So much love.
I’ve known the time would eventually come when we lost one of those dear people. When it happened, it hurt just as much as I thought it would. Our dear sister, Zoe Kirkpatrick, has just finished her first two weeks in Heaven. It’s beyond imagining all the incredible things that she’s already experienced there. I’m so happy for her, but goodness, what a void she left here, and it just keeps on catching all of us off guard.
The price of love. I’ll gladly pay it, but I have a new resolve to try to make time stretch a bit, so I can savor the here and now with all these wonderful people God has placed in my life. That includes the ones who walk through our doors every weekend. It may just be a couple of hours two or three times a year, but it means everything to us that you come. That we get to share experiencing this together.
We can’t do all comedy productions, but I do love it when we all get to laugh together. These last three performances of Elijah, Clash of the Prophets will be over all too soon. It’s been so much fun. Glenn Polk and his Elijah Dance, Ron Meadows and his long-winded bellowing chanted prayers to Ba’al, David Brantley and Dakota McDonald and whatever you call that they’re doing. And those crazy misguided Israelites getting rocks landing on their heads every weekend. It’s just great!
If you can…come this Saturday or Sunday at 3:00, or Next Saturday at 3:00. It’s one you shouldn’t let slip away.
What A Day of Rejoicing That will Be!
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