When you mail a letter, you can send it anywhere...

I don't remember this play (or this letter). Mom found it in her archived email. I'm sure the letter was for a class assignment, but I like to think that I was a pretentious teenager who constantly wrote to playwrights telling them how they could improve their plays. And I still agree with my 16-year-old self. Poe is creepy.


85 Farragut Street
Cincinnati, Ohio 45218

October 20, 1999

Professor George Branigan, Ed.D.
c/o Chamber Theatre Productions, Inc.
2 Park Plaza
Boston, Massachusetts 02116

Dear Dr. Branigan:

I had the opportunity to attend a production of “Encore” on October 18, 1999 and found it very enjoyable. It has inspired me to pursue writing my own stories. I especially liked the different types of writing, from comedy to horror.

The stories were told almost word for word. This was very helpful because I could watch stories I wouldn’t necessarily read. For example, I’ve never read “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow,” but I might now because the play piqued my interest.

Having a plethora of stories, each by different authors, helped me in deciding on future books to read. I will be inclined to read more by Mark Twain because I like his style. I don’t think I will ever enjoy Edgar Allen Poe’s creepy style.

I think you could improve the show by gearing it toward a different age group. I am in high school, and I felt some of the acting was for younger children. It would be great if you had two versions, one for younger children and one for older children.

I think the range of the types of stories could be broadened. There were five short stories and three of them were horror. I don’t know if it was because it was around Halloween or if you just like those stories. However, different styles could be used. For instance, you could have one comedy, on historical fiction, one mythical story, one science fiction story and one horror story. You could even have two horror stories since so many people seem to enjoy that style, but not one right after the other.

As I mentioned previously, I really enjoyed this production and hope you will consider my suggestions. I look forward to being able to attend some of your other productions.

Sincerely,


Beth ------

And we'll make a lovely dress for Cinderelly...

As a little girl, one of my ultimate goals in life was to be a flower girl. I even wrote an entire book about it, which Mom was kind enough to save. But alas, that was a dream that was never realized, and I will go to my grave bemoaning that fact. Unless someone out there is looking for a flower girl who happens to be in her mid-20's.

But I have stood up as bridesmaid in two weddings, and this fall it will be 3, since my college roommate, Sharyn, was crazy enough to ask me to stand up in her wedding.

I've learned a few things from the previous weddings I've bridesmaid-ed at:

1) I always have a look of terror on my face as I begin to walk down the aisle.

2) About halfway down the aisle I realize have a look of terror on my face and try to hastily paste on a crazed smile. Unfortunately by the time this happens, only the first two aisles are privy to my manic grin.

3) I cry at all weddings.

4) It's hard to conceal Kleenex on yourself when all you have is a bouquet in your hands.

5) People don't like it when one of the bridesmaids pulls Kleenex out of her cleavage in front of the entire audience.

Okay, so I've never stuffed Kleenex down the front of my dress (for a wedding), but I imagine that it's a bad idea.

For Sharyn's wedding I have found a solution to the Kleenex dilemma - my dress has pockets.

I still need to work on that look of terror thing though.

Strolling along down a...what's that word again?

I'm going to Paris in August for 10 days. Ten days of sightseeing. Ten days of adventure.

Ten days of walking.

All day.

For 10 days.

That's a lot of walking, and I really don't exercise much. I've decided it would be a good idea to do some walking here, so I don't die on foreign soil later this summer.

So on Sunday I eased myself into walking by going on a 7.2 mile jaunt.

D-:

Why, do you ask, did I think 7.2 miles was a good starting distance when I normally walk less than a mile each day? I'll tell you why. Or rather, I'll show you why:

We moved back into a city with an awesome library! And Sunday was the day Mom and I decided to get our new library cards. And the library happens to be 3.6 miles away from our new house.

A major reason we moved back into the city we did is because of the library system. Trufax.

Now, the trip there wasn't too bad. The trip back is what nearly killed us. But we limped home victorious. Not only had we proven to ourselves that we could survive a 7 mile walk, we were the proud renters of some library books.

(Who wouldn't want to go to a library with the Cat in the Hat outside?)