I am afraid that I lack the eloquence of some of the people at this site, in expressing my feelings, so I will just write down things, freeform, and hope that they make some sense.
***
I don't care for New Year's Eve. I never have enjoyed it. Instead of viewing it as a time of rejoicing, I have always thought of it as a time to mourn the loss of yet another year; a year without obtaining the success or the happiness that I had hoped to achieve.
***
This year, in particular, has been a year filled with great unhappiness for me; but, I guess, without that unhappiness I would never have been able to appreciate any of the wonderful pleasures that I have enjoyed this year.
***
I want to thank all of my dear friends here at HHW, whose gifts of love and friendship have meant so much to me over the past year. Cheers to
Tomovoz, elmore, Jane, td, Panni, Danise, Ginny, Jed, Ann, and
Charles Pogue (
as well as any others that I may have forgotten).
***
I truly enjoyed attending my first HHW gathering this year in Portland. It was a day for not only getting to spend time with current friends
Ann, Jed, and
George; but finally getting a chance to meet our very own charming host, the fantastic
BK; as well as the charming
JMK and
DW Betsy. Of course, the bonus of that gathering was a chance to finally meet
MBarnum,
in the flesh - a pure delight that any gay male or heterosexual female should take an opportunity to enjoy.
***
Speaking of
MBarnum, has anyone else seen those Budweiser commercials this year featuring the always hunky August Busch IV? Am I the only one who thinks that
Mr. Barnum could easily be his brother?
***
The loss of
DR Derek, as well as the loss of several other long-time friends and coworkers has been tough on me this year. Seeing the decline in the health of so many of my other friends, family members, and most importantly, the health of my beloved Angel has taken a lot of joy out of what otherwise might have been happier times for me. My own health problems, which I had hoped were behind me (
don't go there TCB), seem to have become more frequent, as well.
***
Artistically, it was a wonderful year. Beginning last December, I completed seven different theatrical productions. Although all of them (with the exception of working with my son) were enjoyable, but getting the honor to portray Branch Rickey in NATIONAL PASTIME was the highlight of the year. Winning four acting awards was a great thrill, but the Best Actor Award for NATIONAL PASTIME is the one I will cherish most.
***
I also had the pleasure of reading a really great
Thin Man-style murder mystery play, which I had never read before, and no, it is not DECEIT. I may have to end up producing this play myself, because one of our local theaters is throwing aside all reasonable choices in the hopes of securing DREAMGIRLS, and the other theater doesn’t want to do the play, because the Artistic Director doesn’t care for the title of the play. These are the same two theaters that are always complaining that are no good murder mysteries left to produce.