Susie Duncan Sexton's Blog, page 33
June 8, 2012
Pot pourri: review of Jim Robertson's Exposing the Big Game, some additional thoughts on hunting, and some wonderful feedback
Wanted to recommend to you all the book "Exposing the Big Game: Living Targets of a Dying Sport" by my new friend Jim Robertson. Below is the review I added to the book's Amazon listing
i now have this fabulous book on my desk...often picking it back up and reading aloud to my husband. how stunning are the photographs and the persuasive words of wisdom! the message is clear...and powerful...and one that each of us must take to heart. ['] thank you, Jim. i also am fascinated with his blog entries which are well worth checking out ([...]).
i am walking around reading passages out loud...now, that's the true test, isn't it? it's like another of my bibles...some of my other bibles are JAMES DEAN A-Z and BENET'S READER'S ENCYCLOPEDIA! and all of SHAKESPEARE'S WORKS! so, believe me when i say this book is in good company!!!!!! as befits the material jim is presenting! ['] i am in heaven when i am surrounded by the right bibles! adore it...and shall be quoting from it until the hunting stops altogether!
______________________
More thoughts...
i do my best...i can honestly say i give it my all (at this advanced age not sure how much "my all" might be though? ;D)... what spurs me on is people who "get" this...what also spurs me on are the folks who refuse to budge or rediscover their hearts. geesh, why take bitterness out on animals?
that is the challenge and the great puzzle...as dudley moore says in ARTHUR when he views a severed, mounted deer's head in a rich guy's mansion..."gee, you must have really hated that animal"...rationalizing killing always perplexes me to the max.
FDR was so correct with WE HAVE NOTHING TO FEAR BUT FEAR ITSELF...i believe in that to the max...therefore not being an alarmist i would never condone mass slaughters of so called "pesky" animals
and, oh, how i do agree that animals can forgive...sometimes patience is all that is required from human beings...something as virtuous and as simple as patience which animals can teach us for sure. their serenity is miraculous.
______________________
Some kind and supportive comments on the most recent Homeward Angle column "Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again," which can be found here (as blog entry) or here (from newspaper with photos)......thrills me so! Thanks!
Elizabeth Lean: "love you, [Susie] as you are so funny...you are lovely and an animal lover - what else can I say...[Susie] is a star, and I have grown very fond of her even though we are miles apart and strangers .xx"
Colleen Hornidge: "love it*xo"
Sharon Brockhaus: "Enjoy reading about the Blue Bell family and my dad Bill Winters. I can still remember the smell of denim in the cutting room. I loved going back to the plant after work hours with him while he finished some work."
Tyler A. Chase: "I just went through this with the anniversary of my mothers death.. it is important and you don't realize it right away...."
Jim Robertson: "Thanks for posting!"
Lucy Grant: "What fun to think about Hazel Munns again. Your mom captured her essence perfectly! Also pleased to meet Treva whom I did not know."
Pat Heinbaugh: "Read and enjoyed very much:)"
_______________________
Read about movies and nostalgia, animal issues and sociopolitical concerns all discussed in my book Secrets of an Old Typewriter - print and ebook versions available. Also available in both formats at Amazon.com
Meet other like-minded souls at my facebook fan page
Visit my author website at www.susieduncansexton.com
Join a great group of animal advocates Squawk Back: Helping animals when others can't ... Or won't
i now have this fabulous book on my desk...often picking it back up and reading aloud to my husband. how stunning are the photographs and the persuasive words of wisdom! the message is clear...and powerful...and one that each of us must take to heart. ['] thank you, Jim. i also am fascinated with his blog entries which are well worth checking out ([...]).
i am walking around reading passages out loud...now, that's the true test, isn't it? it's like another of my bibles...some of my other bibles are JAMES DEAN A-Z and BENET'S READER'S ENCYCLOPEDIA! and all of SHAKESPEARE'S WORKS! so, believe me when i say this book is in good company!!!!!! as befits the material jim is presenting! ['] i am in heaven when i am surrounded by the right bibles! adore it...and shall be quoting from it until the hunting stops altogether!
______________________
More thoughts...
i do my best...i can honestly say i give it my all (at this advanced age not sure how much "my all" might be though? ;D)... what spurs me on is people who "get" this...what also spurs me on are the folks who refuse to budge or rediscover their hearts. geesh, why take bitterness out on animals?
that is the challenge and the great puzzle...as dudley moore says in ARTHUR when he views a severed, mounted deer's head in a rich guy's mansion..."gee, you must have really hated that animal"...rationalizing killing always perplexes me to the max.
FDR was so correct with WE HAVE NOTHING TO FEAR BUT FEAR ITSELF...i believe in that to the max...therefore not being an alarmist i would never condone mass slaughters of so called "pesky" animals
and, oh, how i do agree that animals can forgive...sometimes patience is all that is required from human beings...something as virtuous and as simple as patience which animals can teach us for sure. their serenity is miraculous.
______________________
Some kind and supportive comments on the most recent Homeward Angle column "Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again," which can be found here (as blog entry) or here (from newspaper with photos)......thrills me so! Thanks!
Elizabeth Lean: "love you, [Susie] as you are so funny...you are lovely and an animal lover - what else can I say...[Susie] is a star, and I have grown very fond of her even though we are miles apart and strangers .xx"
Colleen Hornidge: "love it*xo"
Sharon Brockhaus: "Enjoy reading about the Blue Bell family and my dad Bill Winters. I can still remember the smell of denim in the cutting room. I loved going back to the plant after work hours with him while he finished some work."
Tyler A. Chase: "I just went through this with the anniversary of my mothers death.. it is important and you don't realize it right away...."
Jim Robertson: "Thanks for posting!"
Lucy Grant: "What fun to think about Hazel Munns again. Your mom captured her essence perfectly! Also pleased to meet Treva whom I did not know."
Pat Heinbaugh: "Read and enjoyed very much:)"
_______________________
Read about movies and nostalgia, animal issues and sociopolitical concerns all discussed in my book Secrets of an Old Typewriter - print and ebook versions available. Also available in both formats at Amazon.com
Meet other like-minded souls at my facebook fan page
Visit my author website at www.susieduncansexton.com
Join a great group of animal advocates Squawk Back: Helping animals when others can't ... Or won't
June 7, 2012
Latest Homeward Angle: WISHING YOU WERE SOMEHOW HERE AGAIN
Treasured memories linger in our minds to be nourished in our hearts. Frequently, retrieved thoughts -- centered on those who nurtured us, laughed at us and with us, instructed us, cared about our welfare, and encouraged our talents -- sustain and strengthen us. Blood relatives flood genealogical charts and function as pen-and-ink illustrations upon family trees; yet, that word “family” also connotes friends and acquaintances we encounter throughout our lifetimes.
Louise Easterday called me yesterday. We chatted about Treva Wolfe who died last spring. Mrs. Wolfe and her husband Lawrence worked side by side with my father for decades – three employees of one company called Blue Bell, Incorporated. The Wolfes, who never had children, eventually traveled to western states and foreign countries to develop new factories engaged in the manufacture of Wrangler jeans and bib overalls. After Lawrence died, Treva ventured alone to Scotland and South Africa, a woman ahead of her time. I grew up loving her sparkling personality…and I adored her nephew and my high school classmate Mike Crampton.
Recently, our new Peabody Library director Mary Hartman (Mary Hartman!) directed me to one of the installments of Jon Pontzius’s 25 part DVD series of oral history interviews with Columbia City citizens. Treva, dressed to the nines, fielded Jon’s questions well, hesitating occasionally in her recall of some 94 years of living, 48 of those employed by one company.
She spoke of her childhood in Larwill and the overwhelming responsibility of helping to raise her five younger siblings. She remembered wearily, yet spunkily, suggesting that her parents should stop bringing children into the world since her own multi-tasking roles of accomplishing farm chores, sewing kids’ clothing, and baby-sitting sapped her otherwise youthful energy.
She described herself as a “pinch-hitter”, commenting that males once stitched together military uniforms at our plant during World War II, later transferring -- post-war -- to heavier labor. Returning veteran Bill Winters commenced his 30 year “tour of duty” as an integral part of the Wrangler family in 1948. With Treva as his supervisor and my dad, who always proclaimed that he “kept Bill around for entertainment”, bribing him with a tempting offer of a “25 dollar bonus to attend Old Settlers’ Festivities” IF Mr. Winters would sew waistbands on 85 pairs of dungarees within one hour, Bill not only got his fill of Ferris wheel rides and cotton candy but also a promotion to Lawrence Wolfe’s Shipping Department in record time. Later, Bill Winters traveled to Scotland, Georgia, Virginia, and North Carolina as a highly respected Cutting Room Consultant.
Mrs. Wolfe referred to my “East Coast” (?) dad – her “boss” assigned by the Greensboro headquarters in North Carolina to manage the Midwestern Division in 1942 -- a bit condescendingly as “Mister Y’all”. Always a forgiving soul, I laughed out loud! (Do check out this vast collection of fascinatingly preserved interviews available at our library!)
Recanting a tad from my usual lamentations that the “art” of conversation may have died, Mary Johnson Mcmanama and I enjoyed giggling and reminiscing recently via that archaic method of a telephone chat! She remembered that our junior high/high school, rather famous, choir director daily smelled so divine because of an application of “White Shoulders” perfume behind each ear. I recalled that Hazel Munns’ wardrobe impressed as exquisite and that my sister Sarah claimed Hazel purchased only six new outfits every 5 years at top price in Chicago, then replaced those sophisticated garments with another shopping trip to the Windy City. Since Hazel and her husband Merrell occupied an upstairs apartment in the former home of Governor/Vice President Thomas Riley Marshall, one need only tour the present Whitley County Historical Museum to note that closet space was/is at a minimum. (Our teacher stored her Christmas poinsettias in Tom Marshall’s closets annually – miraculously the plants thrived to greet another holiday season totally intact!)
Museum curator Dani Tippmann and historical society board member Pat Heinbaugh researched the childless Munns couple and answered many of my questions ignited by the phone gab between me and my school chum. Non-pianist Hazel Munns, equipped with a pitch pipe or harmonica, masterfully conducted eager voices raised in song in our town from 1927-1962, having financed her earlier education through turns as a silent movie violinist, theater usherette, a choral stint at NBC, and brushing up against Fred Waring (himself) and his Pennsylvanians. Our community fortunately benefitted from her skills, and her innumerable “children” ranged from Terry Smith’s mom Ada and dad Stuart all the way to Mary and me. Mrs. Munns announced to all qualified “sight-reading” sixth grade choir members that one of us would, as a high school senior, win a wonderful prize called the Arion Award. I minded my “p’s and q’s”, performing a sufficient number of concert solos with minimal stage fright for a half dozen years. Presently, that precious ribboned medal graces my mantelpiece.
Last week, another land phone exchange between childhood pal Peggy Gaylord and myself transported us both back in time, to sunny afternoons spent engaging in “dress-up”. Resembling over-decorated, miniature, mobile Christmas trees, we awkwardly clopped through the newly mown grass as we sported our moms’ high heels and earrings. We paraded like runway fashion divas in and out of my Line Street backyard “playhouse” or all about Mr. Marshall’s former “estate” nestled on Jefferson Street. Peggy lived in the downstairs apartment with her parents, Irma and George. (Grandpa Roy Gaylord worked at Blue Bell as the groundskeeper, and when his son moved to Ft. Wayne, Peggy would return on week-ends to visit her C.C. grandparents. For several years, my dad would drop by Roy’s to drive Peggy and me together to Sunday School at Grace Lutheran Church.) Now senior citizens, we recalled Mrs. Munns cheerfully interrupting our playtime occasionally with home-made confections of succulent fudge and taffy candies wrapped in wax paper, while she hung Mr. Munns’ salesman shirts and signature white floppy hats upon the clothesline to whip about in the summer breeze.
Funny, those no longer physically present in our lives dreamily mingle with folks directly in front of us, when we share our stories and recollections. Although childless, Hazel and Treva both touched the lives of so many kids, as one lady clothed the nation’s and the world’s children and the other taught so very many of us to sing out harmoniously and proudly and to appreciate music. Careerist Treva discovered the world of ballroom dancing at an Arthur Murray Studio…and fox-trotted and waltzed for 23 years. Hazel Munns produced amazing choruses of enthusiastic students blending voices during “one season following another” for 35 years.
Treva, laughing with Jon Pontzius regarding her credo “once a Wolfe, always a WOLF”, wistfully recalled that she and Lawrence owned mouth-harps as youngsters and warbled duets with one another. “While other kids were doing ornery deeds, we performed music which people loved to hear.” I remain uncertain whether Mrs. Wolfe and Mrs. Munns might have been best friends or ever even met each other; nevertheless both were models of gentle determination enhancing our community. Happily, their melodies linger on – to this very day!
*Song title from Andrew Lloyd Webber’s musical, PHANTOM OF THE OPERA. Many, many thanks to Louise Easterday for her suggestion of this topic, and to Bill Winters, Bob Kellogg, Pat McNagny, Mary McManama, Peggy Gaylord, Jean Simon, Gloria Glass, Terry Smith, Eileen Cira, JoEllen McConnell, and Evelyn Zumbrun for sharing their reminiscences in real time. Dani Tippmann, Pat Heinbaugh, Jon Pontzius, and Mary Hartman graciously provided their services to aid my research.
_______________________
Read about movies and nostalgia, animal issues and sociopolitical concerns all discussed in my book Secrets of an Old Typewriter - print and ebook versions available. Also available in both formats at Amazon.com
Meet other like-minded souls at my facebook fan page
Visit my author website at www.susieduncansexton.com
Join a great group of animal advocates Squawk Back: Helping animals when others can't ... Or won't
Louise Easterday called me yesterday. We chatted about Treva Wolfe who died last spring. Mrs. Wolfe and her husband Lawrence worked side by side with my father for decades – three employees of one company called Blue Bell, Incorporated. The Wolfes, who never had children, eventually traveled to western states and foreign countries to develop new factories engaged in the manufacture of Wrangler jeans and bib overalls. After Lawrence died, Treva ventured alone to Scotland and South Africa, a woman ahead of her time. I grew up loving her sparkling personality…and I adored her nephew and my high school classmate Mike Crampton.
Recently, our new Peabody Library director Mary Hartman (Mary Hartman!) directed me to one of the installments of Jon Pontzius’s 25 part DVD series of oral history interviews with Columbia City citizens. Treva, dressed to the nines, fielded Jon’s questions well, hesitating occasionally in her recall of some 94 years of living, 48 of those employed by one company.
She spoke of her childhood in Larwill and the overwhelming responsibility of helping to raise her five younger siblings. She remembered wearily, yet spunkily, suggesting that her parents should stop bringing children into the world since her own multi-tasking roles of accomplishing farm chores, sewing kids’ clothing, and baby-sitting sapped her otherwise youthful energy.
She described herself as a “pinch-hitter”, commenting that males once stitched together military uniforms at our plant during World War II, later transferring -- post-war -- to heavier labor. Returning veteran Bill Winters commenced his 30 year “tour of duty” as an integral part of the Wrangler family in 1948. With Treva as his supervisor and my dad, who always proclaimed that he “kept Bill around for entertainment”, bribing him with a tempting offer of a “25 dollar bonus to attend Old Settlers’ Festivities” IF Mr. Winters would sew waistbands on 85 pairs of dungarees within one hour, Bill not only got his fill of Ferris wheel rides and cotton candy but also a promotion to Lawrence Wolfe’s Shipping Department in record time. Later, Bill Winters traveled to Scotland, Georgia, Virginia, and North Carolina as a highly respected Cutting Room Consultant.
Mrs. Wolfe referred to my “East Coast” (?) dad – her “boss” assigned by the Greensboro headquarters in North Carolina to manage the Midwestern Division in 1942 -- a bit condescendingly as “Mister Y’all”. Always a forgiving soul, I laughed out loud! (Do check out this vast collection of fascinatingly preserved interviews available at our library!)
Recanting a tad from my usual lamentations that the “art” of conversation may have died, Mary Johnson Mcmanama and I enjoyed giggling and reminiscing recently via that archaic method of a telephone chat! She remembered that our junior high/high school, rather famous, choir director daily smelled so divine because of an application of “White Shoulders” perfume behind each ear. I recalled that Hazel Munns’ wardrobe impressed as exquisite and that my sister Sarah claimed Hazel purchased only six new outfits every 5 years at top price in Chicago, then replaced those sophisticated garments with another shopping trip to the Windy City. Since Hazel and her husband Merrell occupied an upstairs apartment in the former home of Governor/Vice President Thomas Riley Marshall, one need only tour the present Whitley County Historical Museum to note that closet space was/is at a minimum. (Our teacher stored her Christmas poinsettias in Tom Marshall’s closets annually – miraculously the plants thrived to greet another holiday season totally intact!)
Museum curator Dani Tippmann and historical society board member Pat Heinbaugh researched the childless Munns couple and answered many of my questions ignited by the phone gab between me and my school chum. Non-pianist Hazel Munns, equipped with a pitch pipe or harmonica, masterfully conducted eager voices raised in song in our town from 1927-1962, having financed her earlier education through turns as a silent movie violinist, theater usherette, a choral stint at NBC, and brushing up against Fred Waring (himself) and his Pennsylvanians. Our community fortunately benefitted from her skills, and her innumerable “children” ranged from Terry Smith’s mom Ada and dad Stuart all the way to Mary and me. Mrs. Munns announced to all qualified “sight-reading” sixth grade choir members that one of us would, as a high school senior, win a wonderful prize called the Arion Award. I minded my “p’s and q’s”, performing a sufficient number of concert solos with minimal stage fright for a half dozen years. Presently, that precious ribboned medal graces my mantelpiece.
Last week, another land phone exchange between childhood pal Peggy Gaylord and myself transported us both back in time, to sunny afternoons spent engaging in “dress-up”. Resembling over-decorated, miniature, mobile Christmas trees, we awkwardly clopped through the newly mown grass as we sported our moms’ high heels and earrings. We paraded like runway fashion divas in and out of my Line Street backyard “playhouse” or all about Mr. Marshall’s former “estate” nestled on Jefferson Street. Peggy lived in the downstairs apartment with her parents, Irma and George. (Grandpa Roy Gaylord worked at Blue Bell as the groundskeeper, and when his son moved to Ft. Wayne, Peggy would return on week-ends to visit her C.C. grandparents. For several years, my dad would drop by Roy’s to drive Peggy and me together to Sunday School at Grace Lutheran Church.) Now senior citizens, we recalled Mrs. Munns cheerfully interrupting our playtime occasionally with home-made confections of succulent fudge and taffy candies wrapped in wax paper, while she hung Mr. Munns’ salesman shirts and signature white floppy hats upon the clothesline to whip about in the summer breeze.
Funny, those no longer physically present in our lives dreamily mingle with folks directly in front of us, when we share our stories and recollections. Although childless, Hazel and Treva both touched the lives of so many kids, as one lady clothed the nation’s and the world’s children and the other taught so very many of us to sing out harmoniously and proudly and to appreciate music. Careerist Treva discovered the world of ballroom dancing at an Arthur Murray Studio…and fox-trotted and waltzed for 23 years. Hazel Munns produced amazing choruses of enthusiastic students blending voices during “one season following another” for 35 years.
Treva, laughing with Jon Pontzius regarding her credo “once a Wolfe, always a WOLF”, wistfully recalled that she and Lawrence owned mouth-harps as youngsters and warbled duets with one another. “While other kids were doing ornery deeds, we performed music which people loved to hear.” I remain uncertain whether Mrs. Wolfe and Mrs. Munns might have been best friends or ever even met each other; nevertheless both were models of gentle determination enhancing our community. Happily, their melodies linger on – to this very day!
*Song title from Andrew Lloyd Webber’s musical, PHANTOM OF THE OPERA. Many, many thanks to Louise Easterday for her suggestion of this topic, and to Bill Winters, Bob Kellogg, Pat McNagny, Mary McManama, Peggy Gaylord, Jean Simon, Gloria Glass, Terry Smith, Eileen Cira, JoEllen McConnell, and Evelyn Zumbrun for sharing their reminiscences in real time. Dani Tippmann, Pat Heinbaugh, Jon Pontzius, and Mary Hartman graciously provided their services to aid my research.
_______________________
Read about movies and nostalgia, animal issues and sociopolitical concerns all discussed in my book Secrets of an Old Typewriter - print and ebook versions available. Also available in both formats at Amazon.com
Meet other like-minded souls at my facebook fan page
Visit my author website at www.susieduncansexton.com
Join a great group of animal advocates Squawk Back: Helping animals when others can't ... Or won't
June 4, 2012
The two most important days in your life...
These comments are grand - thank you so!! From Edward Levine: "Susie, this is a great group.....In order for any group to be great it has to have a leader who is loved, admired, and looked up to.......That would be you.......Any animal lover, compassionate person, or just a good person in general is inspired by what you have to say and write every day.....So this group of wonderful people have been drawn together because of the messages you send, the causes you stand for, the compassion and concern you exude...It's only natural for wonderful people to hold in the highest esteem, and admire, respect and look up to someone who makes a difference every day in so many different ways......That would be Susie Sexton!!!!!!! Susie, the reason you have a following of fans is because who you are and the principles you stand for.......Just by being you, you have earned many wondrous souls in your life (not sure I qualify), and my suspicion is you did not do SOMETHING somewhere along the line to draw so many people to you......I would bet everything I own that you have lived your life in total correctness, and sharing the incredible values you have to your son and all the people who have jumped on the Susie Sexton band wagon is just further proof of the incredible woman you are......There are many wonderful people out there, not all of them get a following like you........You are awesome and I continue to marvel at you every day........."
Some video fun!
From Yuka Yamashita: "Timely like you read my mind, Susie! I was just thinking about this today, and thinking about what I can do and should do to make things better in this world!! This is so true and I will keep searching, trying to find out that answer!!" [Yuka was responding to this quote: "The two most important days in your life are the day you are born...and the day you find out why." ~ Mark Twain]
_______________________
Read about movies and nostalgia, animal issues and sociopolitical concerns all discussed in my book Secrets of an Old Typewriter - print and ebook versions available. Also available in both formats at Amazon.com
Meet other like-minded souls at my facebook fan page
Visit my author website at www.susieduncansexton.com
Join a great group of animal advocates Squawk Back: Helping animals when others can't ... Or won't
Some video fun!
From Yuka Yamashita: "Timely like you read my mind, Susie! I was just thinking about this today, and thinking about what I can do and should do to make things better in this world!! This is so true and I will keep searching, trying to find out that answer!!" [Yuka was responding to this quote: "The two most important days in your life are the day you are born...and the day you find out why." ~ Mark Twain]
_______________________
Read about movies and nostalgia, animal issues and sociopolitical concerns all discussed in my book Secrets of an Old Typewriter - print and ebook versions available. Also available in both formats at Amazon.com
Meet other like-minded souls at my facebook fan page
Visit my author website at www.susieduncansexton.com
Join a great group of animal advocates Squawk Back: Helping animals when others can't ... Or won't
June 3, 2012
THE PENNY SEATS offers She Loves Me starting 7/26
THE PENNY SEATS theatre company presents “She Loves Me,”
a classic musical about romance, mistaken identity, and old-fashioned social media
Ann Arbor, Michigan – In an internet age consumed by social media like Facebook, Twitter, and Match.com, the idea of two lonely hearts connecting as anonymous pen pals may seem quaint. The Penny Seats theatre company aims to correct that assumption with their summer production of the award-winning musical classic “She Loves Me,” opening July 26 at Ann Arbor’s West Park Band Shell.
“‘She Loves Me’ is about real people, with real flaws and real problems. It's clever and sort of cynical in places, but yet, it has this incredible romantic hopefulness. Audiences will be drawn to the humor and the edginess…but will then hope, in spite of themselves, for the fairy tale ending,” observes returning director Jacqui Robbins. Robbins, The Penny Seats board secretary, adds, “With so many people making internet friends they have yet to meet in daily life and with online dating, there is a revival of this idea that the perfect person is out there if only you write the right letter. That makes this show timely again.”
In this classic musical by a trio of Broadway's best-known creators (Sheldon Harnick, Jerry Bock, and Joe Masteroff), two workplace rivals spend their days bickering and their nights falling in love as secret pen pals, while their quirky coworkers deal with a spate of other problems. Said to have "one of the best scores... in musical theater," the show has enjoyed a well-deserved resurgence in recent years.
The show is based on the play "Parfumerie," by Miklos Laszlo, which was also adapted cinematically three times: "The Shop Around the Corner" with Jimmy Stewart and Margaret Sullavan, “In the Good Old Summertime” with Judy Garland and Van Johnson, and “You’ve Got Mail” with Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan.
"We already had a huge change of pace between ‘Goodnight Desdemona’ [The Penny Seats summer offering and inaugural show last year] and ‘What Corbin Knew’ [in the Performance Network’s ‘Mosh Pit’ this winter], and I think we'll get the same sort of energy from the shift to ‘She Loves Me,’” noted Russ Schwartz, a founding member of the group. “The main thing is, we're ready to draw in new people, both in our audience and among our collaborators, and these shifts keep the group exciting for our current community while constantly offering new points of entry."
Added Penny Seats board vice president Matt Cameron, “After two years of existence, The Penny Seats wanted to display their versatility by offering a musical. While The Penny Seats are no strangers to music, a full-fledged musical is a massive undertaking. However, it was very important to us as a company to provide our audience with something new and interesting; an outdoor musical.”
Choreographer and fellow board member Victoria Gilbert affirmed, “Some of our strongest roots as company members originate in musical theatre, song, and dance. This is what we do!”
This summer’s production will mark The Penny Seats second foray in West Park, after last summer’s well-received debut there. Rachel Murphy served as stage manager last year and will be producing this summer, “I am most excited to be coming back to West Park. I really enjoyed the community setting that the park offered. I loved how many people stopped and watched while we rehearsed and were so excited that we were there. I appreciated that so many people could walk to the park and enjoy a picnic meal with a bottle of wine before the show - what a great way to spend a summer evening!” The Penny Seats will partner with What’s Cooking again this year to offer picnic dinners for pre-order.
For Rachel and her husband Sean, The Penny Seats are a family affair. Sean, like Rachel is also a board member. He echoed, “I'm excited to be returning to West Park! Last year, I joined The Penny Seats as the set builder and stage hand for my first ever theater production…West Park is a beautiful venue, and it’s great to see people outdoors, enjoying live theater. This summer will be my first musical, so I'm really curious to see what that's like from behind the scenes. I know it's going to be fun!”
Beyond the beautiful venue and the camaraderie of performing live outdoor theatre, the group is excited to be presenting a classic Broadway show.
“Such clever lyrics and lilting melodies! Songs like ‘Vanilla Ice Cream,’ ‘Twelve Days to Christmas,’ ‘A Trip to the Library,’ and the title tune are such a pleasure and have found life as standards in their own right through live cabaret and recordings by artists like Lena Horne and Barbara Cook [a cast member of the original New York production],” commented board chair Roy Sexton, who will be playing “Georg Nowack,” one of the lonely hearts around whom the show’s story revolves. “Georg is just this great everyman character to whom anyone can relate. He is dedicated to his work and is only capable of connecting with his true love through written letters. He is completely befuddled when he is around Amalia face-to-face…in fact, they can’t stand each other in real life!”
Penny Seats president Lauren London, who will play fellow “lonely heart” Amalia Balash in the production, added, “The comedy that comes from this tension is just priceless. I think audiences will have a ball!”
“The dream of The Penny Seats would not be complete for me without including some top-notch Broadway musicals in the mix…and not just any musicals; ones that are clever and fun and agile and touching,” London concluded. “‘She Loves Me’ is all of these. The show has an incredible book and score by three of the best in the business, and I think experiencing it outdoors on a summer evening will create a particularly idyllic and inviting atmosphere. I can't wait!”
SHOW DATES: Performances will be at the West Park Band Shell July 26-28, August 2-4, and August 9-11, all at 7:00pm.
“She Loves Me” premiered on Broadway in 1963, and subsequently had productions in the West End in 1964 and award-winning revivals on each side of the Atlantic in the 1990s, as well as regional productions. Jack Cassidy won a best supporting actor Tony for the original, Hal Prince-directed production. Boyd Gaines won a best actor Tony for the 90s revival.
LOCATION: The West Park Band Shell at Ann Arbor’s West Park, between Miller and West Huron
TICKETS: Tickets are $10 (age 12 and younger admitted for $7) online at pennyseats.org and at the gate. For more information, visit or call 734-276-2832.
CAST:
Ellington Berg
Arpad
Ann Arbor, MI
Matt Cameron
Waiter
Ann Arbor/Plymouth, MI
Jenny Fernandez
Chorus
Farmington Hills, MI
John Henderson
Chorus
Van Buren/Canton, MI
Ellen Butler Lawson
Chorus
Ann Arbor, MI
Lauren London
Amalia
Ann Arbor, MI/Washington, DC
Drex Morton
Maraczek
Canton/Highland, MI
Laura Sagolla
Chorus
Ann Arbor, MI
Russ Schwartz
Kodaly
Ann Arbor, MI/Washington, DC
Roy Sexton
Georg
Saline, MI/Columbia City, IN
Cathy Skutch
Ritter
Plymouth/Canton, MI & Toledo, OH
Brent Stansfield
Sipos
Ann Arbor, MI
CREW:
Bridget Bly
Costumes
Ann Arbor, MI
Victoria Gilbert
Choreography
Ypsilanti, MI/Burlington, ON
Steve Hankes
Set Construction
Ann Arbor, MI
Barbara Kramer
Assistant Producer
Ann Arbor, MI
Zach London
Sound
Ann Arbor, MI/Milwaukee, WI
Rachel Murphy
Producer
Ann Arbor, MI
Sean Murphy
Set Design
Ann Arbor/Traverse City, MI
Nick Oliverio
Stage Manager
Ann Arbor/Saline, MI
Jacqui Robbins
Director, Producer
Ann Arbor, MI/Greenwich, CT
Chris Whittaker
Music Director
Harrisburg, PA; Baltimore, MD; Lansing/Ypsilanti, MI
ABOUT THE PENNY SEATS: Founded in 2010, we’re performers and players, minimalists and penny-pinchers. We think theatre should be fun and stirring, not stuffy or repetitive. We believe going to a show should not break the bank. And we find Michigan summer evenings beautiful. Thus, we produce dramas and comedies, musicals and original adaptations, classics and works by up-and-coming playwrights. We also provide cabaret shows, acting classes, and wacky improv evenings. And you can see any of our shows for the same price as a movie ticket.
FOR MORE INFORMATION about The Penny Seats call at 734-276-2832 or Visit: www.pennyseats.org.
###
_______________________
Read about movies and nostalgia, animal issues and sociopolitical concerns all discussed in my book Secrets of an Old Typewriter - print and ebook versions available. Also available in both formats at Amazon.com
Meet other like-minded souls at my facebook fan page
Visit my author website at www.susieduncansexton.com
Join a great group of animal advocates Squawk Back: Helping animals when others can't ... Or won't
a classic musical about romance, mistaken identity, and old-fashioned social media
Ann Arbor, Michigan – In an internet age consumed by social media like Facebook, Twitter, and Match.com, the idea of two lonely hearts connecting as anonymous pen pals may seem quaint. The Penny Seats theatre company aims to correct that assumption with their summer production of the award-winning musical classic “She Loves Me,” opening July 26 at Ann Arbor’s West Park Band Shell.
“‘She Loves Me’ is about real people, with real flaws and real problems. It's clever and sort of cynical in places, but yet, it has this incredible romantic hopefulness. Audiences will be drawn to the humor and the edginess…but will then hope, in spite of themselves, for the fairy tale ending,” observes returning director Jacqui Robbins. Robbins, The Penny Seats board secretary, adds, “With so many people making internet friends they have yet to meet in daily life and with online dating, there is a revival of this idea that the perfect person is out there if only you write the right letter. That makes this show timely again.”
In this classic musical by a trio of Broadway's best-known creators (Sheldon Harnick, Jerry Bock, and Joe Masteroff), two workplace rivals spend their days bickering and their nights falling in love as secret pen pals, while their quirky coworkers deal with a spate of other problems. Said to have "one of the best scores... in musical theater," the show has enjoyed a well-deserved resurgence in recent years.
The show is based on the play "Parfumerie," by Miklos Laszlo, which was also adapted cinematically three times: "The Shop Around the Corner" with Jimmy Stewart and Margaret Sullavan, “In the Good Old Summertime” with Judy Garland and Van Johnson, and “You’ve Got Mail” with Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan.
"We already had a huge change of pace between ‘Goodnight Desdemona’ [The Penny Seats summer offering and inaugural show last year] and ‘What Corbin Knew’ [in the Performance Network’s ‘Mosh Pit’ this winter], and I think we'll get the same sort of energy from the shift to ‘She Loves Me,’” noted Russ Schwartz, a founding member of the group. “The main thing is, we're ready to draw in new people, both in our audience and among our collaborators, and these shifts keep the group exciting for our current community while constantly offering new points of entry."
Added Penny Seats board vice president Matt Cameron, “After two years of existence, The Penny Seats wanted to display their versatility by offering a musical. While The Penny Seats are no strangers to music, a full-fledged musical is a massive undertaking. However, it was very important to us as a company to provide our audience with something new and interesting; an outdoor musical.”
Choreographer and fellow board member Victoria Gilbert affirmed, “Some of our strongest roots as company members originate in musical theatre, song, and dance. This is what we do!”
This summer’s production will mark The Penny Seats second foray in West Park, after last summer’s well-received debut there. Rachel Murphy served as stage manager last year and will be producing this summer, “I am most excited to be coming back to West Park. I really enjoyed the community setting that the park offered. I loved how many people stopped and watched while we rehearsed and were so excited that we were there. I appreciated that so many people could walk to the park and enjoy a picnic meal with a bottle of wine before the show - what a great way to spend a summer evening!” The Penny Seats will partner with What’s Cooking again this year to offer picnic dinners for pre-order.
For Rachel and her husband Sean, The Penny Seats are a family affair. Sean, like Rachel is also a board member. He echoed, “I'm excited to be returning to West Park! Last year, I joined The Penny Seats as the set builder and stage hand for my first ever theater production…West Park is a beautiful venue, and it’s great to see people outdoors, enjoying live theater. This summer will be my first musical, so I'm really curious to see what that's like from behind the scenes. I know it's going to be fun!”
Beyond the beautiful venue and the camaraderie of performing live outdoor theatre, the group is excited to be presenting a classic Broadway show.
“Such clever lyrics and lilting melodies! Songs like ‘Vanilla Ice Cream,’ ‘Twelve Days to Christmas,’ ‘A Trip to the Library,’ and the title tune are such a pleasure and have found life as standards in their own right through live cabaret and recordings by artists like Lena Horne and Barbara Cook [a cast member of the original New York production],” commented board chair Roy Sexton, who will be playing “Georg Nowack,” one of the lonely hearts around whom the show’s story revolves. “Georg is just this great everyman character to whom anyone can relate. He is dedicated to his work and is only capable of connecting with his true love through written letters. He is completely befuddled when he is around Amalia face-to-face…in fact, they can’t stand each other in real life!”
Penny Seats president Lauren London, who will play fellow “lonely heart” Amalia Balash in the production, added, “The comedy that comes from this tension is just priceless. I think audiences will have a ball!”
“The dream of The Penny Seats would not be complete for me without including some top-notch Broadway musicals in the mix…and not just any musicals; ones that are clever and fun and agile and touching,” London concluded. “‘She Loves Me’ is all of these. The show has an incredible book and score by three of the best in the business, and I think experiencing it outdoors on a summer evening will create a particularly idyllic and inviting atmosphere. I can't wait!”
SHOW DATES: Performances will be at the West Park Band Shell July 26-28, August 2-4, and August 9-11, all at 7:00pm.
“She Loves Me” premiered on Broadway in 1963, and subsequently had productions in the West End in 1964 and award-winning revivals on each side of the Atlantic in the 1990s, as well as regional productions. Jack Cassidy won a best supporting actor Tony for the original, Hal Prince-directed production. Boyd Gaines won a best actor Tony for the 90s revival.
LOCATION: The West Park Band Shell at Ann Arbor’s West Park, between Miller and West Huron
TICKETS: Tickets are $10 (age 12 and younger admitted for $7) online at pennyseats.org and at the gate. For more information, visit or call 734-276-2832.
CAST:
Ellington Berg
Arpad
Ann Arbor, MI
Matt Cameron
Waiter
Ann Arbor/Plymouth, MI
Jenny Fernandez
Chorus
Farmington Hills, MI
John Henderson
Chorus
Van Buren/Canton, MI
Ellen Butler Lawson
Chorus
Ann Arbor, MI
Lauren London
Amalia
Ann Arbor, MI/Washington, DC
Drex Morton
Maraczek
Canton/Highland, MI
Laura Sagolla
Chorus
Ann Arbor, MI
Russ Schwartz
Kodaly
Ann Arbor, MI/Washington, DC
Roy Sexton
Georg
Saline, MI/Columbia City, IN
Cathy Skutch
Ritter
Plymouth/Canton, MI & Toledo, OH
Brent Stansfield
Sipos
Ann Arbor, MI
CREW:
Bridget Bly
Costumes
Ann Arbor, MI
Victoria Gilbert
Choreography
Ypsilanti, MI/Burlington, ON
Steve Hankes
Set Construction
Ann Arbor, MI
Barbara Kramer
Assistant Producer
Ann Arbor, MI
Zach London
Sound
Ann Arbor, MI/Milwaukee, WI
Rachel Murphy
Producer
Ann Arbor, MI
Sean Murphy
Set Design
Ann Arbor/Traverse City, MI
Nick Oliverio
Stage Manager
Ann Arbor/Saline, MI
Jacqui Robbins
Director, Producer
Ann Arbor, MI/Greenwich, CT
Chris Whittaker
Music Director
Harrisburg, PA; Baltimore, MD; Lansing/Ypsilanti, MI
ABOUT THE PENNY SEATS: Founded in 2010, we’re performers and players, minimalists and penny-pinchers. We think theatre should be fun and stirring, not stuffy or repetitive. We believe going to a show should not break the bank. And we find Michigan summer evenings beautiful. Thus, we produce dramas and comedies, musicals and original adaptations, classics and works by up-and-coming playwrights. We also provide cabaret shows, acting classes, and wacky improv evenings. And you can see any of our shows for the same price as a movie ticket.
FOR MORE INFORMATION about The Penny Seats call at 734-276-2832 or Visit: www.pennyseats.org.
###
_______________________
Read about movies and nostalgia, animal issues and sociopolitical concerns all discussed in my book Secrets of an Old Typewriter - print and ebook versions available. Also available in both formats at Amazon.com
Meet other like-minded souls at my facebook fan page
Visit my author website at www.susieduncansexton.com
Join a great group of animal advocates Squawk Back: Helping animals when others can't ... Or won't
June 1, 2012
New episode of The Colin Lively show... live radio play, interview of Susie Duncan Sexton, and reading from Secrets of an Old Typewriter
New episode of The Colin Lively show... LIVE Original Production of Sheepshead Bay Boulevard! (Brooklyn Version of Sunset Boulevard). Starring Judy Stadt, Susie Sexton (www.susieduncansexton.com) and Colin Lively.
Listen to the riotous broadcast here...
Here is a link to the Secrets of an Old Typewriter excerpt that Susie reads during the broadcast: Snow Globes, Grave Vines, and Hockey Pucks
________
CALL TO ACTION...
_______________________
Read about movies and nostalgia, animal issues and sociopolitical concerns all discussed in my book Secrets of an Old Typewriter - print and ebook versions available. Also available in both formats at Amazon.com
Meet other like-minded souls at my facebook fan page
Visit my author website at www.susieduncansexton.com
Join a great group of animal advocates Squawk Back: Helping animals when others can't ... Or won't
Listen to the riotous broadcast here...
Here is a link to the Secrets of an Old Typewriter excerpt that Susie reads during the broadcast: Snow Globes, Grave Vines, and Hockey Pucks
________
CALL TO ACTION...
_______________________
Read about movies and nostalgia, animal issues and sociopolitical concerns all discussed in my book Secrets of an Old Typewriter - print and ebook versions available. Also available in both formats at Amazon.com
Meet other like-minded souls at my facebook fan page
Visit my author website at www.susieduncansexton.com
Join a great group of animal advocates Squawk Back: Helping animals when others can't ... Or won't
May 27, 2012
rolling over and playing dead...is not wise
EVERY DAY IS THE SAME FOR ANIMALS.....i envy them that, except that every day more of them than not...considerably more...are ignored and abandoned and killed...please care second by second...be aware and help brighten a life or two or three. thanks for pausing to think of another lonely heart and doing something about it! no matter what day that might be! ♥!!! bless you...
last night my good friend, the talented and kind edward levine noted via facebook about Suffolk County's new animal abuser registry, "And of course the ultimate goal of having to suffer a severe punishment, many of these psychos will think twice before acting....." this is important. i do not believe in capital punishment, i always thought, but as a deterrent to brutality and sadism, i am rethinking my gentler stance these days...and why?
innocents and beautiful souls should NEVER be harmed even psychologically not to mention physically. life is tough enough without the highest species behaving like devils. humans know better. so i am with edward...i believe that we evidently must put punishments in place to stop thuggish barbarism in its tracks. too bad education is not happening with the young who should grow up appreciating the rights of all and the freedoms of all to enjoy existence.
this all starts with the young...we must help parents and teachers to realize their responsibility to impart a reverence for all life, regardless of political motivations and religious creeds. sad but true...somewhere along the way we have started to revert to primitive power struggles and politicking with each other and to apply our stubborn biases on whatever moves or whoever passes by.
i am sickened and distressed by the arrogance of manKIND -- hopefully only momentarily. waiting patiently for thinking and reasoning to make a comeback and the gift of "caring" -- about more than ourselves -- to emerge.
cannot stress enough how empathy could solve so many misunderstandings...and how apathy is the bane of our existence. the true evil is apathy...one wouldn't think so, but it truly is.
as contentious as the environment has become, i myself find it easier not to give a damn. so i try for one more day to save some lives...one day at a time... watching and probably participating sometimes in the "vanity fair". meantime, animals are suffering and dying in monumental proportions. whatever works to sensitize the supposedly highest species. great advocacy from edward! proud to know him, my friend!
i agree that rolling over and playing dead rather than speaking up is not wise. many third world countries and dictatorships are not unlike our own nation at this moment. we are about to undergo a MORTAL STORM...the thunderclouds are gathering.
so speaking up loudly and often for goodness to prevail is wise rather than to wait until the manipulative power mongers take charge. reminds me of other periods in history when folks went on about their own personal lives and subversiveness rose up and took hold and strangled people and nations and the entire world.
this regard for suffering of animals may strike those who bother to notice as immaterial...it is not. as i wrote in my story such crassness of spirit and such thoughtlessness creeps up and grows day by day until it approaches our front doors and walks right in and hauls us off in cattle cars.
we must not ignore the thuggish behavior which is flaring up in our country nor the simple-minded biases which are being encouraged by power moguls...we are all being victimized and we must all get on the same page...and remember to stand up for what is correct and what is kind. so i truly agree that we must be loud and proactive.
i worry that the terrorists' crimes were also that of dividing our country quite simplistically into two camps making no sense whatsoever except that hate is festering among ourselves. we have stopped trying to understand the hearts of others and the needs of others...and i too veer from anger back to compassion and so forth and so it goes.
love and understanding and empathy should not be confusing...simply practiced even when it becomes more and more difficult. but believe me when i say that i too shall not put up with hate...i have done that long enough now. most of my life.
i now wish to speak up and i am. good for us...we are correct to do so.
________
CALL TO ACTION...
____________________
Read about movies and nostalgia, animal issues and sociopolitical concerns all discussed in my book Secrets of an Old Typewriter - print and ebook versions available. Also available in both formats at Amazon.com
Meet other like-minded souls at my facebook fan page
Visit my author website at www.susieduncansexton.com
Join a great group of animal advocates Squawk Back: Helping animals when others can't ... Or won't
last night my good friend, the talented and kind edward levine noted via facebook about Suffolk County's new animal abuser registry, "And of course the ultimate goal of having to suffer a severe punishment, many of these psychos will think twice before acting....." this is important. i do not believe in capital punishment, i always thought, but as a deterrent to brutality and sadism, i am rethinking my gentler stance these days...and why?
innocents and beautiful souls should NEVER be harmed even psychologically not to mention physically. life is tough enough without the highest species behaving like devils. humans know better. so i am with edward...i believe that we evidently must put punishments in place to stop thuggish barbarism in its tracks. too bad education is not happening with the young who should grow up appreciating the rights of all and the freedoms of all to enjoy existence.
this all starts with the young...we must help parents and teachers to realize their responsibility to impart a reverence for all life, regardless of political motivations and religious creeds. sad but true...somewhere along the way we have started to revert to primitive power struggles and politicking with each other and to apply our stubborn biases on whatever moves or whoever passes by.
i am sickened and distressed by the arrogance of manKIND -- hopefully only momentarily. waiting patiently for thinking and reasoning to make a comeback and the gift of "caring" -- about more than ourselves -- to emerge.
cannot stress enough how empathy could solve so many misunderstandings...and how apathy is the bane of our existence. the true evil is apathy...one wouldn't think so, but it truly is.
as contentious as the environment has become, i myself find it easier not to give a damn. so i try for one more day to save some lives...one day at a time... watching and probably participating sometimes in the "vanity fair". meantime, animals are suffering and dying in monumental proportions. whatever works to sensitize the supposedly highest species. great advocacy from edward! proud to know him, my friend!
i agree that rolling over and playing dead rather than speaking up is not wise. many third world countries and dictatorships are not unlike our own nation at this moment. we are about to undergo a MORTAL STORM...the thunderclouds are gathering.
so speaking up loudly and often for goodness to prevail is wise rather than to wait until the manipulative power mongers take charge. reminds me of other periods in history when folks went on about their own personal lives and subversiveness rose up and took hold and strangled people and nations and the entire world.
this regard for suffering of animals may strike those who bother to notice as immaterial...it is not. as i wrote in my story such crassness of spirit and such thoughtlessness creeps up and grows day by day until it approaches our front doors and walks right in and hauls us off in cattle cars.
we must not ignore the thuggish behavior which is flaring up in our country nor the simple-minded biases which are being encouraged by power moguls...we are all being victimized and we must all get on the same page...and remember to stand up for what is correct and what is kind. so i truly agree that we must be loud and proactive.
i worry that the terrorists' crimes were also that of dividing our country quite simplistically into two camps making no sense whatsoever except that hate is festering among ourselves. we have stopped trying to understand the hearts of others and the needs of others...and i too veer from anger back to compassion and so forth and so it goes.
love and understanding and empathy should not be confusing...simply practiced even when it becomes more and more difficult. but believe me when i say that i too shall not put up with hate...i have done that long enough now. most of my life.
i now wish to speak up and i am. good for us...we are correct to do so.
________
CALL TO ACTION...
____________________
Read about movies and nostalgia, animal issues and sociopolitical concerns all discussed in my book Secrets of an Old Typewriter - print and ebook versions available. Also available in both formats at Amazon.com
Meet other like-minded souls at my facebook fan page
Visit my author website at www.susieduncansexton.com
Join a great group of animal advocates Squawk Back: Helping animals when others can't ... Or won't
May 26, 2012
Three cheers for the animal kingdom forevermore: thoughts and observations from an active life of caring...
...you are such wonderful folks to care about animal welfare and to work to save lives. i am so happy to know you all! thank you...we must never give up...we must educate humans so that every person realizes and appreciates the power and majesty and importance of all beings! bless all creatures great and small! ♥ animals matter. and we are intelligent enough to know that! YAY!
i am just a tired old lady who finally developed some guts! i ain't never gonna shut up! ;D three cheers for the animal kingdom forevermore!
it is soooooooooo hard to put our compassion into words...i struggle with composition of THE moving words to change hearts alllll the time...the way i feel is soooooooooooo strong and i can never ever capture it and i want to capture it because i really wish to convert the non-believers, as many as humanly possible!
oh, baby, yeah!!!!! i am way better faulknerianing it than being formal. hard to please everybody...trying to just write and not give a damn about critics! this entire globe gets all simon cowell-ish...is that the creep's name? those shows have ruined people...now, literally, everybody's a critic???? LOL
I AM SERIOUSLY SERIOUSLY WONDERING IF SOME OF THESE folks who jump onto these strings and hurl monkey wrenches (pardon the pun) are "plants"...especially happens on strings where folks are really making a great deal of informative sense...and here comes somebody completely outta left field to disrupt the flow? honestly, when it happens i truly wonder...if i ever encounter a string that i do not click with, i move on...i do not stop and ask everybody to scatter and drop dead? does that thought of sabotage by the disenfranchised or clueless or just plain mean-spirited ever cross your mind?
there are some animal folks who either do not "get" it or "really" are NOT at all truly interested in animals.
seriously, i always scratch my head and wonder. almost figuring out the critics also? they wanna do what we are doing? i am not going to use the J word...but i am thinking the culprit is the J word? ;D the old green-eyed monster? tired of those types...to the max.
______________
Neat comment...
From Tressa Marie: "Hi Roy! Your Mom is truly a wonderful person!!"
______________
Check out this petition...
Make it Mandatory to have ALL pets spayed or neutered in every state
I added the following to the sample letter submitted...feel free to use this, anybody and everybody...
A SPECIAL AND PERSONAL NOTE: Veterinary clinics must play a willing and generous part in this effort...time to make these operations affordable for all strata of incomes. The pricing has become prohibitive and is a major part of this epidemic of homeless animals whose lives are so casually ended in shelters. To over-regulate those who are doing their best to comply and not seek cooperation from those who will profit from such a mandate is unfair and only caters to the profits made by the doctors. Thanks to you for realizing the importance of this crucial, crucial issue.
________
on facebook, there is a photo of southern hounds with numbers tattooed on their sides???? not to be believed and the string of talk is intriguing...my relatives are from that state...they all go to church a lot...i wish they would help save some lives and change some very "deliverance" type mind-sets if possible?
this country/world seems to be on a downward spiral. really believe we should speak up every chance we get...or some holocausts are gonna happen just like what is happening to our fellow mammals right this second...human beings are next...i assume there are still some human beings among us.
when you click onto the pic, the conversation is fascinating...somebody from NC claims that a shooting game of killing hounds, that refuse to hunt, is engaged in and the number of points for the dead dog is added to one's score. who knows? i do remember watching "deliverance"... i do know who and what rednecks are...unfortunately i truly do.
these poor dogs fill up the shelters...they are retrieved from being chained to trees and left to die and are dumped into shelters at the end of hunting season...travel down there on their super highways which cut through the mountains now and you'll see oodles of packs of strays running back and forth across the highways...even bears...and the entrails of deer are just left to rot up in the mountains after hunters "dress" them or whatever hunters do...and carcasses of dogs and bears are smattered on the highways as the southerners whiz by on their way to shop and attend church functions.
my mom was born there. back when the state had a conscience i presume. because i got my heart from somewhere or other...i assume from my southern parents. i miss them. i miss grace and graciousness and kindness and action to do what is right and correct.
________
CALL TO ACTION...
____________________
Read about movies and nostalgia, animal issues and sociopolitical concerns all discussed in my book Secrets of an Old Typewriter - print and ebook versions available. Also available in both formats at Amazon.com
Meet other like-minded souls at my facebook fan page
Visit my author website at www.susieduncansexton.com
Join a great group of animal advocates Squawk Back: Helping animals when others can't ... Or won't
i am just a tired old lady who finally developed some guts! i ain't never gonna shut up! ;D three cheers for the animal kingdom forevermore!
it is soooooooooo hard to put our compassion into words...i struggle with composition of THE moving words to change hearts alllll the time...the way i feel is soooooooooooo strong and i can never ever capture it and i want to capture it because i really wish to convert the non-believers, as many as humanly possible!
oh, baby, yeah!!!!! i am way better faulknerianing it than being formal. hard to please everybody...trying to just write and not give a damn about critics! this entire globe gets all simon cowell-ish...is that the creep's name? those shows have ruined people...now, literally, everybody's a critic???? LOL
I AM SERIOUSLY SERIOUSLY WONDERING IF SOME OF THESE folks who jump onto these strings and hurl monkey wrenches (pardon the pun) are "plants"...especially happens on strings where folks are really making a great deal of informative sense...and here comes somebody completely outta left field to disrupt the flow? honestly, when it happens i truly wonder...if i ever encounter a string that i do not click with, i move on...i do not stop and ask everybody to scatter and drop dead? does that thought of sabotage by the disenfranchised or clueless or just plain mean-spirited ever cross your mind?
there are some animal folks who either do not "get" it or "really" are NOT at all truly interested in animals.
seriously, i always scratch my head and wonder. almost figuring out the critics also? they wanna do what we are doing? i am not going to use the J word...but i am thinking the culprit is the J word? ;D the old green-eyed monster? tired of those types...to the max.
______________
Neat comment...
From Tressa Marie: "Hi Roy! Your Mom is truly a wonderful person!!"
______________
Check out this petition...
Make it Mandatory to have ALL pets spayed or neutered in every state
I added the following to the sample letter submitted...feel free to use this, anybody and everybody...
A SPECIAL AND PERSONAL NOTE: Veterinary clinics must play a willing and generous part in this effort...time to make these operations affordable for all strata of incomes. The pricing has become prohibitive and is a major part of this epidemic of homeless animals whose lives are so casually ended in shelters. To over-regulate those who are doing their best to comply and not seek cooperation from those who will profit from such a mandate is unfair and only caters to the profits made by the doctors. Thanks to you for realizing the importance of this crucial, crucial issue.
________
on facebook, there is a photo of southern hounds with numbers tattooed on their sides???? not to be believed and the string of talk is intriguing...my relatives are from that state...they all go to church a lot...i wish they would help save some lives and change some very "deliverance" type mind-sets if possible?
this country/world seems to be on a downward spiral. really believe we should speak up every chance we get...or some holocausts are gonna happen just like what is happening to our fellow mammals right this second...human beings are next...i assume there are still some human beings among us.
when you click onto the pic, the conversation is fascinating...somebody from NC claims that a shooting game of killing hounds, that refuse to hunt, is engaged in and the number of points for the dead dog is added to one's score. who knows? i do remember watching "deliverance"... i do know who and what rednecks are...unfortunately i truly do.
these poor dogs fill up the shelters...they are retrieved from being chained to trees and left to die and are dumped into shelters at the end of hunting season...travel down there on their super highways which cut through the mountains now and you'll see oodles of packs of strays running back and forth across the highways...even bears...and the entrails of deer are just left to rot up in the mountains after hunters "dress" them or whatever hunters do...and carcasses of dogs and bears are smattered on the highways as the southerners whiz by on their way to shop and attend church functions.
my mom was born there. back when the state had a conscience i presume. because i got my heart from somewhere or other...i assume from my southern parents. i miss them. i miss grace and graciousness and kindness and action to do what is right and correct.
________
CALL TO ACTION...
____________________
Read about movies and nostalgia, animal issues and sociopolitical concerns all discussed in my book Secrets of an Old Typewriter - print and ebook versions available. Also available in both formats at Amazon.com
Meet other like-minded souls at my facebook fan page
Visit my author website at www.susieduncansexton.com
Join a great group of animal advocates Squawk Back: Helping animals when others can't ... Or won't
May 25, 2012
free will...
free will and will power and the ability to try to communicate with language and to aid others in understanding through literature and film and music and conversation and schooling...that is the very best policy of all.
and IF we consider ourselves the superior species and if we tell ourselves we are via human language which means very little to other species, we should then restrain ourselves from behaving in what some view as animalistic ways? the name for this is evolution.
and perhaps we ourselves can help lead the way. that is if we are indeed the master species. not too sure we are.
________
NEAT COMMENTS...
From Louise Charlotte Davies: "Thank you for introducing us to the wonderful and lovely Susie Sexton I have much deep respect for her and it has brightened up my world knowing that she is here fighting as hard as she does. ♥"
From Emma Schumann: "Susie Sexton is a wonderful lady x"
________
CALL TO ACTION...
____________________
Read about movies and nostalgia, animal issues and sociopolitical concerns all discussed in my book Secrets of an Old Typewriter - print and ebook versions available. Also available in both formats at Amazon.com
Meet other like-minded souls at my facebook fan page
Visit my author website at www.susieduncansexton.com
Join a great group of animal advocates Squawk Back: Helping animals when others can't ... Or won't
and IF we consider ourselves the superior species and if we tell ourselves we are via human language which means very little to other species, we should then restrain ourselves from behaving in what some view as animalistic ways? the name for this is evolution.
and perhaps we ourselves can help lead the way. that is if we are indeed the master species. not too sure we are.
________
NEAT COMMENTS...
From Louise Charlotte Davies: "Thank you for introducing us to the wonderful and lovely Susie Sexton I have much deep respect for her and it has brightened up my world knowing that she is here fighting as hard as she does. ♥"
From Emma Schumann: "Susie Sexton is a wonderful lady x"
________
CALL TO ACTION...
____________________
Read about movies and nostalgia, animal issues and sociopolitical concerns all discussed in my book Secrets of an Old Typewriter - print and ebook versions available. Also available in both formats at Amazon.com
Meet other like-minded souls at my facebook fan page
Visit my author website at www.susieduncansexton.com
Join a great group of animal advocates Squawk Back: Helping animals when others can't ... Or won't
May 24, 2012
of all the -isms....
what is interesting is that a professor whose lectures appear on facebook said that of all the '-isms', species-ism is the hottest issue...that the volatility associated with this topic is nearly insurmountable.
this is 2012, however, and if we begin to live harmoniously and not desperately, the sensible status of no more brutality and barbarism across the board CAN happen.
what the moguls count on and breed (like cattle and pigs and yes, deer) is the divisiveness they can foster from fear and loathing among us all, the people, us peasants - as the corporate giants laugh all the way to the banks they are currently destroying with their greed. vulgar murdering must stop on all fronts.
to each his own. what we have been manipulated into believing in 2012 is that we must continue to breed and murder animals...if we stop that, the environment improves, human health improves, and some billionaires lower themselves to live peaceably down to earth with the rest of us...the masses...who MUST speak up NOW! and no more manufactured wars.
we have been vegans for nearly a year now and all is well, especially on the health front. i cannot be moved to change what i have researched and totally believe in -- join us! please! a wonderful discussion we are having
postscript...
i am thinking...a bit hesitantly....that there actually may be more kind humans than clueless, screwed-up, self-centered, creepy humans? and to be kind lately calls for a spine of steel...onward and upward, brave hearts! step up, speak up, educate, be resolute and refuse to be discouraged. LOVE AND LIFE AND OTHERS DO REALLY MATTER.
________
NEAT COMMENTS...
From Vicki Floren Blanche: "you are such a great hilarious writer..i just can't help but laugh out loud...you are beautiful...I like the 'naughty serious' articles best!"
From my facebook page - love this exchange with Edward Levine...
Edward Levine: "I believe Susie's fingers are raw......The woman is like the energizer bunny.......She never stops.......And every thing she does is constructive and positive.......Susie I am begging you, try to get 2 or 3 hours of sleep a night.......Our furry friends, and all animal lovers cannot afford to have you burn out........"
Me: "wow....what a neat response to my passion! (that sounds suggestive?) truly, though, i have been headed in this direction since standing around in a crib wondering what life's supposed to be all about...took me this long to just sorta begin to arrive at some answers and to become courageous enough to speak up and out about fairness and a spirit of inclusion extended to alllllllllllllllll who live! i surprise myself sometimes cuz i seldom back down. it is a fine feeling at last!!!! you are my guardian angel, edward, if you don't mind being referred to as an angel...angels walk among us in real time and urge us on with a gracious pat on the back. your support means everything to me! I admire YOU...so this is entirely mutual!"
Edward: "Being called an angel by an angel is very humbling....You are a true angel walking amongst us.....I wrote Roy about our lobbying for the Suffolk 'Animal Abuse Registry List' ....I told him I was too tired to explain. (I require an hour or 2 more sleep then your 6 minutes a night.......) I told him if he didn't see it on my page to google, it or better yet ask you.......I spoke at a rally on Friday with the people from the Suffolk County SPCA, who have been given the job of enforcing that wonderful law the the Suffolk County Legislature passed....(I am sure you saw it right???)....I am going to bed, my main thrust at the rally, was terminology....No E word, when they are being killed, no S word when they destroy them and of course they are "not being put to sleep", by gas chambers and heart sticks....Most of the people had seen my nonstop ranting, and vowed they would get the word out to more people.......Good night Susie, make sure Roy understands the impact of that law, when I read in Newsday that Roy Gross 'Head of the SPCA,' said 'People in a neghborhood have every right to know if there is an animal abuser amongst them as well as the have the right to know if there is a chil abuser or pedophile amonst them'....I thought that was the mosy powerful statement I had ever heard from one of these normally empty suits.......When I called him to tell him I thought he was a hero, he asked me if I was the one who was doing all the posting on the vocabularly....I said I was and I would never stop until the only time the E word is used correctly...Smudggie and Murray, done out of love to end their suffering and pain because we adored them so much........He told me he thought it was great and had heard people talking about and he would see me at the rally......Goodnight Susie, I love you my guardian angel.............."
Me: "oh, my, edward! fantastic...i shall see that roy reads what you wrote here and on your site, too...gonna google. i am so proud of your courageous spirit...i find that speaking up can be trickier than hell. but i do not stop...i just figure out how in this world we can reach the stubborn and the ignorant and the selfish and the ornery. sometimes i just stand back and watch them hang themselves in front of god and everybody? ;D give 'em just enough rope. animals are way smarter than human beings...god should have stopped while he/she was ahead. my genius friend madeleine wrote of animals being able to live in the moment which humans seldom actually do...can you believe how many wonderful folks we can find on this social network? i call them 'family' because we are truly here for each other and earnestly working for a greater cause than ourselves. wow! ♥"
Edward: "Susie's little blurb says, she is a prolific writer, political pundit, arts critic and mother of Roy......What it failed to mention, is she is also a prolific 'liver of life,' who spends so much time being the voice for the voiceless, the advocate for the neglected and abused, and the fighter for the helpless and the defenseless.......What a wonderful role model she is for her son Roy, and so many people who follow and admire everything she does, myself included.......I am in awe of Susie Sexton...."
Me: "tears welling in my eyes now...i am thanking you sincerely. i gravitate toward folks who are gracious and are generous with their time and problem-solving gusto and who boost the spirit of others. how did i get so lucky as to find edward levine????? ♥ BLESS YOUR SOUL!!!!!! love you, kind sir!!!"
Edward: "2 minds with the same thoughts Susie....That's always great......."
________
CALL TO ACTION...
____________________
Read about movies and nostalgia, animal issues and sociopolitical concerns all discussed in my book Secrets of an Old Typewriter - print and ebook versions available. Also available in both formats at Amazon.com
Meet other like-minded souls at my facebook fan page
Visit my author website at www.susieduncansexton.com
Join a great group of animal advocates Squawk Back: Helping animals when others can't ... Or won't
this is 2012, however, and if we begin to live harmoniously and not desperately, the sensible status of no more brutality and barbarism across the board CAN happen.
what the moguls count on and breed (like cattle and pigs and yes, deer) is the divisiveness they can foster from fear and loathing among us all, the people, us peasants - as the corporate giants laugh all the way to the banks they are currently destroying with their greed. vulgar murdering must stop on all fronts.
to each his own. what we have been manipulated into believing in 2012 is that we must continue to breed and murder animals...if we stop that, the environment improves, human health improves, and some billionaires lower themselves to live peaceably down to earth with the rest of us...the masses...who MUST speak up NOW! and no more manufactured wars.
we have been vegans for nearly a year now and all is well, especially on the health front. i cannot be moved to change what i have researched and totally believe in -- join us! please! a wonderful discussion we are having
postscript...
i am thinking...a bit hesitantly....that there actually may be more kind humans than clueless, screwed-up, self-centered, creepy humans? and to be kind lately calls for a spine of steel...onward and upward, brave hearts! step up, speak up, educate, be resolute and refuse to be discouraged. LOVE AND LIFE AND OTHERS DO REALLY MATTER.
________
NEAT COMMENTS...
From Vicki Floren Blanche: "you are such a great hilarious writer..i just can't help but laugh out loud...you are beautiful...I like the 'naughty serious' articles best!"
From my facebook page - love this exchange with Edward Levine...
Edward Levine: "I believe Susie's fingers are raw......The woman is like the energizer bunny.......She never stops.......And every thing she does is constructive and positive.......Susie I am begging you, try to get 2 or 3 hours of sleep a night.......Our furry friends, and all animal lovers cannot afford to have you burn out........"
Me: "wow....what a neat response to my passion! (that sounds suggestive?) truly, though, i have been headed in this direction since standing around in a crib wondering what life's supposed to be all about...took me this long to just sorta begin to arrive at some answers and to become courageous enough to speak up and out about fairness and a spirit of inclusion extended to alllllllllllllllll who live! i surprise myself sometimes cuz i seldom back down. it is a fine feeling at last!!!! you are my guardian angel, edward, if you don't mind being referred to as an angel...angels walk among us in real time and urge us on with a gracious pat on the back. your support means everything to me! I admire YOU...so this is entirely mutual!"
Edward: "Being called an angel by an angel is very humbling....You are a true angel walking amongst us.....I wrote Roy about our lobbying for the Suffolk 'Animal Abuse Registry List' ....I told him I was too tired to explain. (I require an hour or 2 more sleep then your 6 minutes a night.......) I told him if he didn't see it on my page to google, it or better yet ask you.......I spoke at a rally on Friday with the people from the Suffolk County SPCA, who have been given the job of enforcing that wonderful law the the Suffolk County Legislature passed....(I am sure you saw it right???)....I am going to bed, my main thrust at the rally, was terminology....No E word, when they are being killed, no S word when they destroy them and of course they are "not being put to sleep", by gas chambers and heart sticks....Most of the people had seen my nonstop ranting, and vowed they would get the word out to more people.......Good night Susie, make sure Roy understands the impact of that law, when I read in Newsday that Roy Gross 'Head of the SPCA,' said 'People in a neghborhood have every right to know if there is an animal abuser amongst them as well as the have the right to know if there is a chil abuser or pedophile amonst them'....I thought that was the mosy powerful statement I had ever heard from one of these normally empty suits.......When I called him to tell him I thought he was a hero, he asked me if I was the one who was doing all the posting on the vocabularly....I said I was and I would never stop until the only time the E word is used correctly...Smudggie and Murray, done out of love to end their suffering and pain because we adored them so much........He told me he thought it was great and had heard people talking about and he would see me at the rally......Goodnight Susie, I love you my guardian angel.............."
Me: "oh, my, edward! fantastic...i shall see that roy reads what you wrote here and on your site, too...gonna google. i am so proud of your courageous spirit...i find that speaking up can be trickier than hell. but i do not stop...i just figure out how in this world we can reach the stubborn and the ignorant and the selfish and the ornery. sometimes i just stand back and watch them hang themselves in front of god and everybody? ;D give 'em just enough rope. animals are way smarter than human beings...god should have stopped while he/she was ahead. my genius friend madeleine wrote of animals being able to live in the moment which humans seldom actually do...can you believe how many wonderful folks we can find on this social network? i call them 'family' because we are truly here for each other and earnestly working for a greater cause than ourselves. wow! ♥"
Edward: "Susie's little blurb says, she is a prolific writer, political pundit, arts critic and mother of Roy......What it failed to mention, is she is also a prolific 'liver of life,' who spends so much time being the voice for the voiceless, the advocate for the neglected and abused, and the fighter for the helpless and the defenseless.......What a wonderful role model she is for her son Roy, and so many people who follow and admire everything she does, myself included.......I am in awe of Susie Sexton...."
Me: "tears welling in my eyes now...i am thanking you sincerely. i gravitate toward folks who are gracious and are generous with their time and problem-solving gusto and who boost the spirit of others. how did i get so lucky as to find edward levine????? ♥ BLESS YOUR SOUL!!!!!! love you, kind sir!!!"
Edward: "2 minds with the same thoughts Susie....That's always great......."
________
CALL TO ACTION...
____________________
Read about movies and nostalgia, animal issues and sociopolitical concerns all discussed in my book Secrets of an Old Typewriter - print and ebook versions available. Also available in both formats at Amazon.com
Meet other like-minded souls at my facebook fan page
Visit my author website at www.susieduncansexton.com
Join a great group of animal advocates Squawk Back: Helping animals when others can't ... Or won't
May 23, 2012
Orphans in the storm...
dear precious orphans in the storm, i have posted your stories and photographs until my fingertips are raw.
hopefully, many others will join this cause and share also. NOKILLNATION in 2012!!!!! a wonderful possibility...and somehow we may inch a bit closer to forgiveness for having foolishly ended sweet lives too numerous to even begin to fathom.
certainly way past time for human beings to reach the era of becoming civilized.
my life has been enriched beyond measure through continual adoption of the homeless as well as intense advocacy through words and actions for a half dozen years.
i shall persist until i die.
___________
CALL TO ACTION...
____________________
Read about movies and nostalgia, animal issues and sociopolitical concerns all discussed in my book Secrets of an Old Typewriter - print and ebook versions available. Also available in both formats at Amazon.com
Meet other like-minded souls at my facebook fan page
Visit my author website at www.susieduncansexton.com
Join a great group of animal advocates Squawk Back: Helping animals when others can't ... Or won't
hopefully, many others will join this cause and share also. NOKILLNATION in 2012!!!!! a wonderful possibility...and somehow we may inch a bit closer to forgiveness for having foolishly ended sweet lives too numerous to even begin to fathom.
certainly way past time for human beings to reach the era of becoming civilized.
my life has been enriched beyond measure through continual adoption of the homeless as well as intense advocacy through words and actions for a half dozen years.
i shall persist until i die.
___________
CALL TO ACTION...
____________________
Read about movies and nostalgia, animal issues and sociopolitical concerns all discussed in my book Secrets of an Old Typewriter - print and ebook versions available. Also available in both formats at Amazon.com
Meet other like-minded souls at my facebook fan page
Visit my author website at www.susieduncansexton.com
Join a great group of animal advocates Squawk Back: Helping animals when others can't ... Or won't
