On The Boards

There's one more horizon out there, one more horizon that you have to make for yourself and let other people discover it.

Gordon Parks
**************************
Hello George
**************************

I want to go back to work. It makes no difference how good you are, if you're an artist there is always more to do, more ideas, more expressions, more experiences to describe, more truth to tell, more wisdom to share. The intelligence of the universe, of all creation, is unlimited, therefore there is no limit to the ideas which can be discovered and expressed.

I knew a broadcaster named Chester. He was very good. He was the only announcer I ever knew who could tell exactly what time it was without looking at the clock.

One day he retired. His family had grown, he had a healthy pension and some very solid investments. So off he went into the world of freedom and financial independence. It wasn't long before he was back for a visit and saying that he still had ideas inside of him that needed to come out.

I called my friend Diane last night. She and I did a season of stock together years ago. She is also living in a place, in her case Florida, that she wants to get out of. We talked of meeting up in New York and doing "The Gin Game" together. That would be a sight to see. Another friend, Charles, and I would like to do"The Dresser" some day, another sight to behold.

Me best memories are on a stage somewhere, the only place I ever felt at home. So here I am stuck in a nowhere town and itching to get out and back to New York where the auditions are. But I'm also stuck in a body that doesn't work and needs a complete overhaul. Alas, alack and woe is me.

I started painting in New York because I was encouraged to by one of my art instructors and by fellow artists. I always get a chuckle when I remember an actor I used to know who looked at the price of the paints I was using (Golden, the best acrylic paint in my opinion, and, no, they're not paying me, unless they want to, of course) and said "This is a very expensive hobby." To him anything other than acting is a hobby.

I started writing about 6 years ago. When I became unable to work as an actor because of physical problems, the only thing I had besides paints and brushes was my computer, which was a gift from a dear friend. I wrote a few sentences now and then and posted them. I'm also an avid reader. So I began to jot down quotes, and write comments about them. Then one day Linda in Washington State discovered me, told on me, people started sending me comments and that's how Vagabond Journeys was born, and now there are over 1,700 issues of it.

In my profile it used to say I'm a retired actor and broadcaster, but I realized not long ago that I am not retired as an artist so why should I say so. I am looking at the horizons I have made for myself. Ingrained into the creative process of an artist, like a tattoo, an extra rib or a sixth finger is an intense and controlling necessity to bring those horizons alive and palpitating, waiting for others to discover.

There is one more horizon, and when that is reached, there's one more, and then there's one more and then....

I'm stuck in a neighborhood I don't like, in a town I don't like, rattled with illnesses and no health insurance on a meager income and I think I going to get back to New York and start appearing on the stage, my home, again. Who are you kidding, DB?

Some day soon I'll do it. Watch me.

Dana Bate - The Vagabond
Never Give up
****************************

Guest Author 10

Guest Author #10

We've waited and waited for this day. Thirteen years to be exact. When my husband John was 36 years old, as most of you know, he was diagnosed with Non Hodgkin's Lymphoma. It was unusual how John's physician, at the time, found the cancer. Dr. Hall was doing surgery for a hernia correction when he found a tumor that happened to be the lymphoma. It was both one of the worst things that could happen during a hernia surgery, yet a real blessing -- if the surgeon hadn't opened John up, he never would have found the tumor and John would have never started to fight the dreadful cancer he had, which, as I stated, was Non Hodgkin's Lymphoma. John had more than one tumor, and was staged at 3B. And the cancer was in his lymph nodes. The surgeon stated that if he had not found the cancerous tumor when he had, John would have been dead within six months.

Back 13 years ago, blood cancer doctors (hematologists/oncologists) didn't have a lot of hope for patients with NHL. John was told that even if he was put into remission, he probably wouldn't live. He was advised to be proactive, choose a method of treatment and do everything he could to fight. This would extend his life for only a few years, they said. And this, the hem/oncs (blood cancer doctors), told John, could buy him enough time until enough time for another treatment or cure came along, so that if it happened enough time, John would be able to live.

I have asked John how he could live like this. He has told me, "You do what you got to do. If you were going to die, you would do what you had to do. There was no other option. Everybody keeps calling me brave. An inspiration. I am not an inspiration. All I did was survive."

On the contrary, I believe John is an inspiration. I'm not sure I wouldn't have gotten depressed and quit. I'm not sure I would've been able to last the 13 years, before I was declared OK, and worked so hard. But then again, you never know. As John says, "You do what you have to do."

Okay, this post has gotten long, so I am going to finish it tomorrow. I hope you come back to read the rest. Meanwhile, I've got a question for you:

I think John was an inspiration. I think the fact he did work hard to survive is an inspiration. I think he did "more than survive" and he's a true hero, trying and trying, until he finally got into remission. I will explain how his remission, and how Dr Claxton is actually calling it a "cure", came 13 years later, in the next post or two. But for now, I want to ask you this:

Did John just do what he had to do? Or is he an inspiration to you? Just wondering. I am going to be showing him the answers!
************************
************************
Look here.

This is an invitation for anyone and everyone to post a entry of their own on my journal, Vagabond Journeys http://vagabondjourneys.blogspot.com/.

The end of the year holidays are soon upon us and since it is a time for celebrations, remembrances, resolutions and plans for the future I know that people have a lot to say.

Not to take away from the postings on your journals, but to add to the joy of my own celebrations is why I invite you to write for mine.

I want to read what your thoughts are about this magical time of the year. This invitation is open to everyone: Christians, Jews, Muslims, Buddhists, Pagans, Agnostics, Atheists and the Uncertain.

Tell me your thoughts on Chanukah, Christmas, Ashura, Kwanzaa, the Winter Solstice, New Years Eve. or any subject you wish or associate with this holiday season.

There are no limits in regard to length. The only limitation is that, for reasons so far unexplained to me, my blog does not take photographs, animations, videos or pictures of any kind. I deal in words.

Please accept my invitation. Send your entry to my email address dbdacoba@aol.com I will copy and paste it into my journal and it will be displayed promptly. You may sign your name or not as you wish, and you may leave a link to your blog or your email or not, as you wish. I will do NO editing or censoring. Eloquence is not necessary, mind or heart or both is all.

I have 10 Guest Authors so far. Check them out. Can I hear from Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin America? All are welcome. Admission is free.

DB
***************************