Don't be confused, I got a 'muse'd!...

I know it's been a long time since I've posted, but I kind of hit the doldrums there toward the end of winter and early spring and wasn't motivated enough to write...outside of work. Recently, I've been inspired by numerous events and figured it was time to blog on!

This year the St. Peter High School drama department is putting on "The Diary of Anne Frank" for their spring play, which is a riveting production and I'm anxious to see the talented cast bring this show to life.

However, it's not often that someone can find something amusing about "The Diary of Anne Frank", given the serious nature of the show, the dire consequences the characters endure and the terrible final results.

However, those of you that know me probably figured I could put a slightly lighter twist on things. Do keep in mind this pales in comparison to the Seinfeld/Schindler's List episode where Jerry gets caught making out with his girlfriend during a screening of that Oscar-winning flick...which was a great episode BTW.

Let me preface this by regaling you with brief glimpses at my theatrical resume...ah, who am I kidding. My entire theatrical resume is just a glimpse.

While I did have a couple of bit parts during my elementary school days in my hometown community theatre as a member of the Workhouse Gang in "Oliver Twist" and as one of the Royal Children in "The King & I", once I entered the world of junior high and eventually high school, the only other 'dramatic' experience I officially endured was a stage crew member as an 8th grader in my high school's production of "The Diary of Anne Frank".

I have scant memories of the show itself other than the always abundance of theatrical talent my small high school used to crank out helped filled the auditorium seats for each emotionally-draining show. I do recall the harrowing ending when those hiding out with Anne and her family are finally captured and the hushed theatre as the lights dimmed on the final scene.

However, my most memorable moments came after we wrapped up our final show and tore down the set. It was at this time when this then wide-eyed 8th grader and a couple of classmates/fellow stage crew members who felt painting sets, organizing props and clothes and doing just about every other behind-the-scenes-thing needed to put on a good show was a good time, got to go to the cast party at one of the older cast member's home.

Actually, little did we know that while our spots in the high school spring play pecking order garnered an invite to the soiree the invitation extended to the three of us was out of mere courtesy and there was an apparent unwritten code of not accepting it. We were oblivious to that fact and were unaware of the looks of astonishment we must have gotten after the host opened the door to see the JoinUs Brothers trio standing there ready to par-tay!

Reluctantly, they let us in but probably on a "greet 'em, feed 'em and fleet 'em outta here" basis. As I looked back a few years later, there were obvious hints dropped throughout the evening that we had worn out our welcome and it was time for us to go, but I remember having a major crush on one of the older female leads and I wasn't about to miss out on opportunity to showcase my skillz to her (insert "bow-chicka-wow-wow" here) even though she barely knew I existed. To make matters worse for the other older attendees, one of those aforementioned skillz I possessed, along with my 2 compadres, was power chugging cans of Mountain Dew. I think we each got down 3 or 4 in the first hour.

While I eventually crashed at home several hours later from the sugar/caffeine-induced high, it kept us annoying long into the early morning hours until basically some of the older kids with driver's licenses basically offered us cash incentives and free rides home that were too good to resist.

On our way home I do recall seeing the eastern sky getting significantly brighter than when we went into the party, so I'm confident we did a good job of ruining what probably could have been a heckuva party, but it was a memorable night for at least three boys who suddenly gained some street cred with the junior high pubescent crowd roaming the halls of good ol' Mountain Lake High!