Haines Logo Text
Column Archive
January 8, 2023:

MUSE MARGARET CALLS

Bruce Kimmel Photograph bk's notes

Well, dear readers, I am sitting here like so much fish, basking in the glow of a telephonic conversation with Muse Margaret. I’d sent her the first 110 pages of the new book at around two o’clock after I’d spent two hours futzing and finessing and then going through and fixing all the style stuff so it conformed. At five, I began to worry. At six, I got nervous. At seven, I figured she hated the book. At around eight, the call came and I honestly did not know what to expect but the words that came out of her mouth were music to my ears, so much so that I choked up and couldn’t even respond. In short, she said she thought this was, thus far, the best I’ve done. She said she’ll always love Benjamin Kritzer most because it was the first, but she said this one is like nothing that I’ve done before and she loved the style of it and the form of it and most of all, its leading character who, once it gets going, never stops talking, which you’ll understand once you read it. She went through stuff she thought was really funny, went through what really touched her, and it was just the best conversation. She only really had two tiny things for me to think about, but both were things that are about to happen and, in fact, already have because after we spoke and I recuperated, I wrote seven more pages for a total of twelve and I’ll try and do the other three before bed. I can’t go to bed too early tonight because I just had a piece of strawberry cheesecake and I need to hopefully digest that before going to bed. I was so happy after the call that I danced a jig and ordered the cheesecake, which I really didn’t need but I wanted to treat. Oh, she also loves the title of the book and so do I. Interestingly, when I got this idea back in the early 2000s, I had a different title, but as soon as I figured out HOW to write it, which has eluded me all these years, the title was pre-ordained. And so, I mush on from here. Prior to that, I watched two-thirds of a motion picture entitled Daddy Long Legs, starring Fred Astaire and Leslie Caron, which I saw back in 1955 at my beloved Stadium Theater at the Saturday matinee on August 6, the second feature being Foxfire with Jane Russell, but I have no memory of that and may have stayed to only see Daddy Long Legs. I think I had a boy crush on Leslie Caron and I liked it perfectly well. It still has very charming moments and some good numbers. The transfer got some surprising passes – it’s clearly an old transfer that Twilight Time wouldn’t even touch but Kino had no such compunction. Color’s a bit faded, and the whole thing just doesn’t shine as it should. It could look hugely better. I’ll finish it before going to bed.

Yesterday was a long day. I was up at nine and had a ten o’clock work session for the Kritzerland show. We went through all the songs, but after he left I realized for reasons unknown, that the sheet music for four songs weren’t in the folder I sent him. It’s odd because the singers did get them. Go know. Anyway, I sent them to him and now he has everything. After that, I did my futzing and finessing, sent the pages, wrote five new pages, went to the mail place for the first time in four days only to find a single thing in the box, not even junk mail. Very weird. I did a quick stop at an ATM, got two chicken breasts from Popeye’s for food, came home, ate, did a few things that needed doing, wrote a couple of pages, watched two-thirds of Daddy Long Legs, had the Muse Margaret conversation, ordered cheesecake, then wrote more pages until a dinner salad and the cheesecake arrived. And that was that.

Today, I’ll be up when I’m up, I’ll do whatever needs doing, I’ll futz and finesse, I’ll write new pages for most of the day, then I’ll eat something light but amusing, and then at some point I can watch, listen, and relax.

Tomorrow, we have our first Kritzerland rehearsal and it’ll be a long one due to the number of kids and songs, but I’m looking forward to seeing everyone and hearing them. Of course, I’ll write prior to that and probably after that. The rest of the week is all writing all the time and I’m sure I’ll be seeing episode seven at some point soon. And then we’re down to the final three. Friday is our second rehearsal, Saturday we have our stumble-through, I’ll give notes, and then we may or may not be adding a show and I’ll know that by today and IF we are then I’ll put that word out immediately. Then we do our sold out show on Sunday and then we’re not back until March.

Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must, for example, be up when I’m up, do whatever needs doing, futz and finesse, write new pages, eat, write more pages, and then watch, listen, and relax. Today’s topic of discussion: It’s free-for-all day, the day in which you dear readers get to make with the topics and we all get to post about them. So, let’s have loads of lovely topics and loads of lovely postings, shall we, whilst I hit the road to dreamland, happy to have had the call from a most effusive Muse Margaret.

Search BK's Notes Archive:
 
© 2001 - 2024 by Bruce Kimmel. All Rights Reserved