By Ron Clark
Playwright and performer of Small Miracles
Showing at Riverside Theatre December 9-10
There we were, hand in hand, walking to our favorite restaurant in Wilmington, North Carolina and a young man smoking a cigarette stepped in front of us.
“I am the street corner poet and I have identified you two as the people most in love on this entire street. I have a poem for you.” He then recited a very original (if somewhat corny) love poem. His voice was low and breathy and generated a sense of urgent intimacy. I can’t remember a single word or verse, but rather only that confused but delightful feeling one gets when serenaded by a Mariachi band in a colorful Mexican café.
He finished his sonnet and flashed a broad grin showing lots of gold and white teeth. I dug into my pants and gave him a buck. He said, “Thank you sir and I hope you continue to fall in love with this beautiful woman the rest of your life.” And he was gone down the street looking for his next set of lovers.
That’s a true story. It happened to Jody and me as we were celebrating our 22nd anniversary last April. But what value does it have to you? What is the importance of me telling it to you?
As I prepare to present Small Miracles once again, the thought occurs to me: “Why do I keep telling these stories and why do people keep coming to listen to them?” and even stranger, “Why do some people come to listen to them more than once?”
To answer: No, I don’t change the stories from one Christmas season to the next. It is a set piece of literature that has been recorded on compact disc and presented in many different locations. So, if you are considering buying a ticket as a repeat attender and expecting something new . . . sorry. But . . .
I love Jean Sheperd’s classic film A Christmas Story and apparently so do millions of other people because TBS shows it for a solid 24 hours every year. I also watch my own DVD of It’s a Wonderful Life (IN THE ORIGINAL BLACK & WHITE) every year and I cry every time at the same places; how can you resist?
And every year millions and millions of people remember their own sacred stories that range from Aunt Dorothy’s fruit cake that went round the world to Uncle Howard getting drunk and falling into the Christmas tree to the birth of Christ to the marking of Passover and Hannakah . . . the list never ends when we consider the stories we NEED to make sense of where we started, who we are now and who we aspire to be in the future.
“I am the street corner poet and I have identified you two as the people most in love on this entire street. I have a poem for you.” He then recited a very original (if somewhat corny) love poem. His voice was low and breathy and generated a sense of urgent intimacy. I can’t remember a single word or verse, but rather only that confused but delightful feeling one gets when serenaded by a Mariachi band in a colorful Mexican café.
He finished his sonnet and flashed a broad grin showing lots of gold and white teeth. I dug into my pants and gave him a buck. He said, “Thank you sir and I hope you continue to fall in love with this beautiful woman the rest of your life.” And he was gone down the street looking for his next set of lovers.
That’s a true story. It happened to Jody and me as we were celebrating our 22nd anniversary last April. But what value does it have to you? What is the importance of me telling it to you?
As I prepare to present Small Miracles once again, the thought occurs to me: “Why do I keep telling these stories and why do people keep coming to listen to them?” and even stranger, “Why do some people come to listen to them more than once?”
To answer: No, I don’t change the stories from one Christmas season to the next. It is a set piece of literature that has been recorded on compact disc and presented in many different locations. So, if you are considering buying a ticket as a repeat attender and expecting something new . . . sorry. But . . .
I love Jean Sheperd’s classic film A Christmas Story and apparently so do millions of other people because TBS shows it for a solid 24 hours every year. I also watch my own DVD of It’s a Wonderful Life (IN THE ORIGINAL BLACK & WHITE) every year and I cry every time at the same places; how can you resist?
And every year millions and millions of people remember their own sacred stories that range from Aunt Dorothy’s fruit cake that went round the world to Uncle Howard getting drunk and falling into the Christmas tree to the birth of Christ to the marking of Passover and Hannakah . . . the list never ends when we consider the stories we NEED to make sense of where we started, who we are now and who we aspire to be in the future.
1 comment:
My name is Laura Norman. I am 43 years old. I have always helped the poor my entire life. Something very scary has happened to me. I have found myself in a very very deep depression. It started in June 2006. I am taking medications,cannot work and I have now applied for disibility, but fear the worst. I attend a church and thats the only place I actually feel safe. I will not attend tomarrow, as I have no offering to give. Christmas is quickly approaching, and I managed to finally put up my old tree. I thought it would lift my spirits. No present are under the tree, and none will be this year. I never thought I would ever swollow my pride, but fear and depression has a tight grip on me. My car is going to be repossed ed and I will be evicted if a miracle in life does not show itself very very soon. Life has become, confusing,scary and disabling. I have prayed every day, I know the Lord hears me, I just cannot figure out what he is telling me. Just one miracle in my life and I would be in debt for the rest of my life. What is happening to me? Why is everything falling apart so quickly? Does the Lord hear me? It is Dec 9 and there is no light at the end of the tunnel. Oh Precious Lord, Please hear my cry, please grant me ONE miracle. Let me see the light. I have no where to go when I am evicted and cannot think of not having transportaion. God Bless anyone that hears my cry for Just One Miracle. Please, this is soppose to be a time of happiness, not sadness. I have NEVER asked anyone for anything, But I need some assistance to get above water. I am trying so hard to beleive in Miracles, as I in the apst have created many for so many people. Now, Iam in a situation and noone seems to care. My Pastor always says, BELEIVE IN MIRACLES. I am trying SO hard to accomplish this, with no success. God Bless you..........Sister Laura
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