Random Facts About Me - with accompanying links when appropriate
The Questionnaire:
My Favorite Word: Elixir
My Least Favorite Word: Plether
Noise I love: Ocean waves
Noise I hate The phone ringing
What turns me on (spiritually, creatively): A good book, my nephew Cashel, hanging out with old friends
What turns me off: Close-mindedness, gossip meant to hurt somebody
Profession I would like to attempt: Olympic figure skater, astro-physicist, Secretary of State
Profession I would hate: Executive Administrative Assistant
My favorite curse-word: Jag-off (a Chicago regionalism)
If heaven exists, what would I like to hear God say when I arrive: "Welcome, Sheila - all your family members are waiting for you over there - Grandpa and Mummy Gina and Pop and Mike and Jimmy and Joe and Angus - and dinner is just about to be served, and you will be sitting between Marilyn Monroe and Teddy Roosevelt. Welcome."
Onto the Facts:
-- I do not have a sweet tooth but I could be addicted to Doritos if I had no impulse control.
-- I have every book that L.M. Montgomery ever wrote, even the god-awful Pat of Silver Bush.
-- I have had three marriage proposals. Two I said "No" to, and one I said "Yes" to. But I'm still not married! Huh. I will leave you to puzzle that one out.
-- There was a time in my life when I was unable to listen to anything other than Nirvana. There was also a good year when the Foo Fighters' "The Color and the Shape" never went back into its case - it was always in my stereo or in my walkman.
-- I'm very big on having celebrity crushes. My first was Ralph Macchio, during his stint on Eight is Enough. I have since moved on to Harrison Ford, Jeff Bridges, Russell Crowe, Ewan McGregor.
-- A couple of my favorite movies: Running On Empty, Only Angels Have Wings, The Big Sleep, The Fisher King, Empire Strikes Back, Ball of Fire, Double Life of Veronique, Notorious, Bring It On
-- I did a play once called LESBIAN BATHHOUSE. It is NOT on my resume.
-- I have about 30 cousins and they are all amazing people.
-- I've only had one boyfriend, one guy who has met the parents. This was when the first George Bush was in office.
-- I love Metallica.
-- I am legally blind.
-- I love Guinness and I love scotch.
-- I cannot and will not function without a cup of coffee in the morning.
-- Do not come between me and my Hitachi Magic Wand.
-- I went through a huge Sylvia Plath phase in high school, unaware that I was behaving like a total cliche.
-- I have a lot of conservative views (see Edmund Burke, to know what I'm really talking about) - but I am not in any way, shape, or form, a social conservative. All that family values, moral values, religious right stuff is highly offensive to me, personally.
-- I only need 5 or 6 hours of sleep.
-- I'm against the death penalty.
-- I am the oldest of 4 kids.
-- The Bible is a great read.
-- My favorite weather is grey rainy windy chilly days.
-- My parents rock. I feel like, on some cosmic level, I must have CHOSEN them as my parents.
-- I worry about my future.
-- When I was 9 or 10, my best friends were Jen and Katy. We used to pretend we were witches. We made up witch-songs, we had witch-names.
-- I saw "Dog Day Afternoon" while babysitting when I was 12, and knew then that I HAD to be an actor.
-- I have great friends. From all periods of my life.
-- I walk while reading a book.
-- I would never have an abortion myself, but I am pro-choice.
-- My favorite places on earth are:
Glendolough (Ireland)
Beth's deck (RI)
Narragansett Beach (RI)
The entire city of Chicago
This one random tiny lake in Minnesota where I camped once, with deer literally all around my tent - the first place I saw aurora borealis
The wild west coast of Ireland
-- I have dated two guys at the same time, completely double-timing both of them, until one of them won out. Temporarily.
-- A couple of my favorite novels: Crime and Punishment, Mating, Possession, Jane Eyre, Portrait of the Artist As a Young Man, The Shipping News, East of Eden, Harriet the Spy, Scoop, The Pigman, Franny and Zooey, Catch-22
-- My favorite theatrical character is Rosalind in "As You Like It".
-- I lived in Beacon Hill in Boston.
I lived in Mt. Airy outside of Philadelphia
I lived in Woodland Hills in Los Angeles County
I lived in the financial district in San Francisco
I lived in "boy's town" in Chicago (the gay neighborhood)
I lived in Wrigleyville in Chicago
I lived on the Upper West Side in Manhattan
I lived in Hoboken
-- I love biographies. Excellent ones I have read: David McCullough's bio of John Adams, Gerald Clark's bio of Truman Capote, Scott Berg's biography of Charles Lindbergh, Richard Ellmann's biography of James Joyce
-- I don't like abstract modern art, really. I love Michelangelo, daVinci, Rubens ... I love the boxes of Joseph Cornell. I love deChirico too.
-- I'd like to have children. Or, at least, A child.
-- I'm a hawk, in terms of American foreign policy, and protecting our interests - in our own country and abroad. I'm not afraid of saying that I am proud of America, and I love my country. Even in its failings, even with all its faults. I love this nation dearly.
-- I have never had a "Beatles phase". There is no "phase". There is just one long continuous obsession. I have listened to the Beatles almost constantly throughout my entire life, with no let-up. Since Betsy and I discovered "Sgt. Pepper" in 5th grade.
-- My friend Beth and I used to dance like such banshees at high school dances that we would be drenched in sweat, our Irish faces hot and red, and we would run over to the side of the gym and press our hot sweaty heads up against the cool tiles before running back into the slam-dancing fray. And then we honestly wondered why we did not have boyfriends.
-- I was made fun of in junior high. People put signs on my back proclaiming lovely statements like, "Look at my ugly pants!" I'm getting revenge on all those shit-heads now.
-- I spent the millennium in Dublin with my friend Ann Marie
-- My best teachers were:
Mrs. Rand (2nd grade)
Mrs. Dickison (6th grade)
Mr. Crothers (10th grade English)
Kimber Wheelock (acting, college)
Judith Swift (acting, college)
Maury Klein (the History of the Industrial Revolution in college)
Carla Belver (acting in Philadelphia)
Sam Schacht (my acting teacher now)
-- In kindergarten, I recited the lyrics of "American Pie" in their entirety for Show and Tell.
-- I love Christopher Hitchens and Camille Paglia. I don't agree with everything they write, but I always perk up my ears when they've weighed in on something.
-- I had my first kiss at 17 years of age.
-- I rarely remember my dreams. This has not always been the case.
-- I'm Catholic and all, but there is one man out there who actually made me contemplate the possibility of past lives and reincarnation. Not because he believed in it, he was Catholic, too - but because not only did I love him, but he seemed familiar to me. It was more like I recognized him. From a past life. My friend Kate said, "Yeah, your Celtic tribe probably slaughtered his Celtic tribe."
-- I read Shakespeare's sonnets out loud to myself if I'm stressed out.
-- I laughed so hard once in college that I literally peed my pants.
-- Me and my friends Jayne, Meredith, and Dolores made a 2-hour movie in high school called "The Troubled Days and Nights of Husbands, Wives, Lovers and Children in Hope and Despair". I played, among other things, a murderous LUNATIC named Andrea. I did a dance with a meat cleaver to the tune of "The Hall of the Mountain King".
-- Gay people should be able to be married. End of story.
-- As the oldest child, I am often consumed with worry about my younger siblings, even though they are fine. I lie awake at night worrying: Are they okay? Are they happy? Is everything all right with them?
-- I love to jitterbug. My friends Mitchell and my Brian are my favorite partners. They know how to lead.
-- I love my friend Beth's marriage to her husband Tom. I know it's not perfect and all, but still - I love them together. I like who they are with each other, and I like who they are TO each other.
-- I have always been fascinated by madness.
-- Meryl Streep's performance in "Postcards from the Edge" is highly under-rated. I think it's comedic genius - one of my favorite pieces of acting ever.
-- My father has given his children a sense of history and cultural continuity. We grew up being proud that we were American. But we also grew up surrounded by Irishness, and he let us know that we were a part of that tradition too.
-- I have had platinum hair.
I have had jet-black hair.
I have shaved all my hair off, a la Sinead O'Connor.
-- Things I need to do before I die:
Travel through Iran
Take the train across Siberia
Go to Tibet
-- Ongoing passions:
Physics
Totalitarian Regimes
Films
Literature
The male-female dynamic
-- My friend Betsy and I, during grade school recesses, would sit on top of the jungle gym and sing the entire score of "Oliver" at the tops of our lungs. Crowds of kids would gather about and listen. We were geeks, but we were happy.
-- My brother Brendan is an actor and a musician and a great dad.
-- My sister Jean is a teacher in a middle school.
-- My sister Siobhan is an actor and a musician.
-- My mom is a wonderful painter - watercolor and oils.
-- My dad is a librarian. Here is who my dad is: Ask him a question about something, and he will stand up, go to one of the MANY book shelves in the house, and pull down a book (he knows just where to find it, in the 1000s of books he has) - and read you a quote that will answer your question.
-- My nephew Cashel is an articulate sweet-hearted boy who loves "Star Wars". He and his friend Jack have bonded about "Star Wars" to an intense degree. Cashel, speaking to my parents, rhapsodized about his friendship with Jack and actually said the following words: "The first time I saw Jack - I could see the twinkle of 'Star Wars' in his eyes."
-- The first time I saw "Harold and Maude" was at The Music Box Theatre in Chicago, and I laughed so hard and so loudly at the general with only one arm that I had to get up and leave, to try to get a-hold of myself. My guffaws were annoying people.
-- I have a tattoo of a phoenix on the back of my left shoulder. I drew it myself in a notebook during a bout with a 103 degree fever, and then I walked into a tattoo parlor, still sick, and held the notebook out, saying, "Could you put that on my shoulder?" Reluctantly, (tattoo artist could see how sick I was, thought I would regret it) the guy gave me the tattoo. I've never regretted it.
And after writing the memory below, the stream-of-consciousness ran out ... and I stopped ... and so I will end with this tale:
-- I was involved in a production of Clifford Odets' Golden Boy in Chicago. It was a wonderful production, but it did not generate an audience.
We had read somewhere that William Hurt was looking for a theatre company to be involved in. He missed the stage. We weren't just a random group of actors happy to have jobs - we were an ensemble, a company - so we sent a note to his agency, inviting him to come see Golden Boy.
Well - he did come - with his assistant - and on the night he showed up to see it, we had NO audience. Not ONE OTHER PERSON showed up. It was so mortifying. But we did the entire 3-act play solely for William Hurt and his assistant - as though there were a full house. It was one of the weirdest theatrical experiences I have ever had. On any other night, we would have CANCELED if only 2 people showed up ... but this was William Hurt! Flown in from Los Angeles!
We were all very embarrassed. We came out for our curtain call, mortified at making him come all that way to see this obvious failure. And he was sitting there, clapping, (an odd lonely sound - 2 people clapping in a big empty theatre) - and he had tears running down his face.
Afterwards, we all sat around in the lobby of the theatre with William Hurt, and talked about theatre, the state of the theatre, and acting - until 3 or 4 in the morning.
He needed a ride back to his hotel. Michael, one of the actors in the show, offered him a ride with the rest of us, in his pick-up truck.
So I sat in the back of a rickety pick-up truck with William Hurt, as we drove through the quiet dark streets of Chicago, my hair blowing like crazy, William Hurt was just beaming - and laughing in exhilaration - He looked so happy.
He hugged all of us good-bye, holding on to each one of us so tight - He said that we had made him believe in the possibility of good theatre again in this country.
It is a night I will never forget: laughing and screaming "Whoo-hoo!!" into the wind with William Hurt, crouched in the back of a battered pick-up truck.
Hmm. There were a bunch of comments in here - but ... being a computer loser, I moved the post down one - so I could move the "Welcome" post up, and greet the AVALANCHE of traffic - and lost all the comments.
Sorry all ...
You're still in my heart.
Posted by: red at October 28, 2003 5:19 PMfascinating.
Posted by: o'danny boy at October 28, 2003 6:11 PMI don't think I ever had heard the William Hurt story - it is beautiful - and....as to being geeks - I prefer to think that we were educating the masses...
Posted by: Betsy at October 28, 2003 6:44 PMBy the way, Tom finds it incredibly sexy when I dance to the point of needing to press my sweaty, red, Irish face against the tiles. On the deck. While discussing our relationship.
Posted by: Beth at October 28, 2003 8:24 PMI'm Catholic and all, but there is one man out there who actually made me contemplate the possibility of past lives and reincarnation. Not because he believed in it, he was Catholic, too - but because not only did I love him, but he seemed familiar to me. It was more like I recognized him. From a past life. My friend Kate said, "Yeah, your Celtic tribe probably slaughtered his Celtic tribe."
This quote has made my day. Very, very funny. I love that I can claim Irish AND Catholic. Such humor and such a unique view of life.
Thanks for this list.
Speaking of Irish and Catholic - just posted something else - having to do with Irish poetry.
I know - I love being Irish and Catholic, too.
What was so damn funny about my friend Kate's comment, was that I had been talking to her in kind of a girlie sentimental way about this man I loved (me? sentimental? NO!) - saying stuff like, "i am sure we were lovers in a past life ... i just know that we have known one another before ... this love has spanned many lifetimes..."
Kind of embarrassing - but what the hell, Kate is one of my best friends.
Kate pondered my meanderings, and then gave me a different viewpoint, speaking in a flat tone, "Actually, I bet your Celtic tribe slaughtered HIS Celtic tribe" - which totally bust the bubble of my new-age romanticism - which was just as well. We ROARED with laughter.
Posted by: red at October 29, 2003 12:26 PMjagoff?
I haven't heard or read that word in 16 years...
I remember the reading tho, (preferably prefaced by "you 'mudder f###-in'"...)
Jaaaahhhhhgggg-OFFF!!!!!"
The length of the 'jagggggggg' appropo to the ire of the user.
An odd yet oddly reassuring memory.
thank you ms. s.
Posted by: bill at November 30, 2003 8:13 PMi don't know how i found this site -- surfing from 'kate' to some other link related to red heads and i'm on your page and i'm an omalley so even though your page as incomprehensible to me as the kate venom page i look around and find a comment about the west of ireland being some (positive) thing and i remember how much i want to go there someday.
i think i might have to come back here someday and actually look around.
Peace
Geez, I somehow managed to miss reading this post until today.
My amazement only continues to grow...
Ah, nice one on the Jagoff. Currently reside in Chicago, and feel that dis term don't git da naytional play it deserves... nope, instead we get saddled wit "da Bearsssss", which makes ya wonder what jagoff is decidin' nis stuff, ya know?
Real nice story about William Hurt, too.
Posted by: Idler at January 21, 2004 2:08 AM
You're also a writer. You pour out the truth, even if you don't understand it yourself. I loved riding your train. Couldn't stop reading you.
How I found you I'm not sure. I pick the "A" train and I ended up in/on your blog. Although I heard the word mentioned I've never "blogged" before. Like being Googled.
How did that feel to you when you shaved your head. I did it once for the stage and kept it that way for awhile. I found the change was freeing. We're a perfect mismatch. Beatles now and forever. h
I loved having a shaved head. I looked like a badass. A boyfriend I had at the time was a bit shocked by it, but then he admitted that I looked "fetching". Thought that was pretty funny.
Posted by: red at April 26, 2004 11:16 AMDear Ms. O'Malley,
Greetings, and thank you.
I had to work the midnight shift the past two days to cover for one of my guys who is on vacation. While wasting time and trying to stay awake I read my local paper's website. On it I discovered that Ronnie Reagan departed this world.
While reading important events in his life, I came across a reference to one of my favorite poems "High Flight" by RCAF Flight-Lieutenant John Gillespie Magee Jr.
I then googled the goute so that I could read the poem again and I came across a link to your site.
Well, I normally don't care to read other peoples ramblings as I find them either to self important or just plain boring.
Yours was neither.
I am sitting here listening to music (anything from Johnny Cash's last album to Let It Be-Naked to Vince Gill) and reading your blog.
As a lover of Red heads and most things Irish (for some reason, my wife is Blond and German-Polish, but I love her anyways)I enjoyed your ramblings.
You don't take your self seriously, but, you take your views seriously.
You teach, but, you don't preach. You offer your views and allow the reader to accept them as is, discount them totally or somewhere in between.
Of course some of my ramblings are brought about from a lack of sleep (a combination of home improvement projects, and shift changes) so, you are free to accept them as the compliment intended, discount them as the meanderings of an overweight, middleage sleep deprived male or somewhere in between.
Also, I enjoyed reading your Commonplace Book. May I offer the following? When asked by others how I am doing, I typically reply that I am on the green side of the grass. Most times I get no response but occasionally I get to explain why I use that phrase. Several years ago, one of my best friends had been diagnosed with Cancer and was under going the usual treatments for it. One day, I met him in the hall at work and asked him how he was doing as he looked pretty hagard that day. His response has stayed with me and has helped me to accept the things that life throws at me. He said that he was on the green side of hte grass, so, life was pretty damn good. I lost him to cancer a year later but, his legacy stays with me. Whenever I am feeling down or I want to hold a pity party I think of how he dealth with his death sentence and I come back to reality pretty quickly. Now, with two kids of my own, I frequently think that Life IS pretty damn good.
Posted by: Dan at June 6, 2004 8:58 AMHello!
Instead of attending church today as I thought maybe I ought to do (I am a lost spiritual seeker who really doesn't dig organized religion, but occasionally needs the pacifying idea of a "loving and personal God") I decided to stay home and waste time on the computer; this instead of wasting time in a pew!
So, while writing on my website, I was looking for the exact quote from DaVinci when he died, and your site popped up on the search engine, making this discovery I have made a serendipitous event.
I think it is mainly because I like intelligent people, and you certainly appear to be that - although I have not gone through all of your writings yet, so I may hate half of what you say - but most I agree with whole-heartedly.
There is a premium on intelligence and creativity today. Most people are content to wander aimlessly through life, never giving a second thought to anything profound or unseen by the senses. They exist trying to figure out where the next check is going to come from and how they can afford to buy more shit that they probably don't need, but will make them look better among their "friends" in the big, silly capitalist rat-race.
At any rate, thank you for supplying the quote that I needed - for being vigilant and studious and moved by the words of great men and women. Thank you for being a free-thinker and for taking it a step farther than I have yet in writing your thoughts out for all to see. Thank you also for the lesson - I have learned two new things today, both which brought tears to my eyes.
1.) Beethoven's last words: "Friends applaud, the comedy is finished"
This may become my personal mantra when meditating on or discussing death. Such a wonderfully macabre topic of study. Death and I are old pals - I work as a paramedic and we have crossed swords on several occasions. He assures me that he will be back eventually to take from me what is really not mine, and guarantees that no armor nor weapon I can produce will be of any use when that time comes. I believe him. He's really not a bad guy - just got a bad rap from people who fail to see the bigger picture.
2.) The wonderful quote that I should have remembered, but at the tender age of 12, probably didn't mean much to me. This being Ronald Reagan's quote regarding the Challenger Explosion:
"And I want to say something to the schoolchildren of America who were watching the live coverage of the shuttle's takeoff. I know it is hard to understand, but sometimes painful things like this happen. It's all part of the process of exploration and discovery. It's all part of taking a chance and expanding man's horizons. The future doesn't belong to the fainthearted; it belongs to the brave. The Challenger crew was pulling us into the future, and we'll continue to follow them..."
Great stuff there. I miss leaders who can speak without sounding like an idiot. I may vote for Kerry just for that reason alone. He may screw up the country, but at least he'll speak about it intelligently.
Anyway, please continue with your wonderful insights and blogging. And I invite you to my new and budding little website / discussion forums... We could always use more words of educated people there.
BTW - My Dad hails from Chicago. Cool city. I was there a few years back for a Cubs game!
Best wishes,
Sean
aka Lamplighter or Shogakusha Lamplighter when I'm feeling particularly eastern!
Hey Sean! Thanks for the beautiful comment - I'm glad you found my wee blog. I will check out yours when I have a moment.
So glad you found that Beethoven quote too ... it does boggle the mind, doesn't it???
Posted by: red at June 6, 2004 2:27 PMOh, and Dan: Just read yours as well. Thanks for the generous comment. Truly - it means so much when people take the time to write. It's great!
Posted by: red at June 6, 2004 2:29 PMYo, Red -- about that time in college that you laughed so hard that you peed in your pants. Care to share exactly WHAT made you laugh so hard...?
Posted by: david at July 2, 2004 12:17 PMi really was moved by the william hurt story - i've always felt he was a real kind of guy - to ride in the back of pickup -- i could see your smile and his - and the wind in your hair -- thank you
Posted by: kendall at August 17, 2004 12:13 AMAw, the description of your Dad fits mine exactly, and drew big enormous tears out of my eyes. There's a hundred ways to describe him - strong, good, honest, honorable, forthright, stubborn, smart, a man of character - but you hit upon the trait that sums it up so beautifully. He was a man whose mind was open and whose curiousity in all things made his life beautiful, a collector of thoughts and ideas, an admirer of insight and creativity. Thank you.
Posted by: Stevie at September 24, 2004 1:16 PMmt. airy, huh? interesting neighborhood.
myself, i've lived in:
center city philadelphia
somerville, mass.
and that's about it for interesting places ... now i live in the burbs b/c that's where school is.
but i feel the philly-based sox fan love ...
Posted by: LilB at October 8, 2004 11:42 PMHi Red,
Just wanted to let you know I enjoyed your blog. You have some great stories and a great style for telling them.
Sincerely,
Joe Kane,
Baghdad
Hi Red
This blogoshphere can be downright cruddy.
and then
one comes across a gem
like yours.
touch another life.
and yes
the bible's
a good read.
best
MickMac
mickmac:
Why thank you so much! A nice compliment, it has made my day.
And while the Bible is a good read, and a book I continuously go back to, it can't hold a candle to The Brothers Karamazov. It just can't. :)
Posted by: red at October 22, 2004 10:11 AMReincarnation eh? LIke the founding fathers eh? Many say I'm the reincarnated Thomas Jefferson. That includes George Lucas who is indeed the reincarnated John Adams.
He made Star Wars about a family he is jealous about. The family is the reincarnated Washington, Jefferson, Hamilton (who is now female), all one family.
If you have connections to someone that can channel and detect authenticity of souls, check with her/him. See what they say.
I'll repeat that information, Star Wars is about the family that is Washington, Hamilton, Jefferson, Washington is the father of us both.
You have specific questions you have my email.
Posted by: LIBERATOR at November 30, 2004 1:57 AMOh I forgot one important detail. Reincarnated James Madison - Steven Spielberg.
And this is not good, Adams now mentoring Madison is the results and they are in total control of the country, they illegally took control by buying every dimension of "separation of powers". They're staging most everything you believe to be a real event. Use a search engine and check the name "Larry Silverstein", he's Spielbergs puppet. And Spielberg is quite obsessed about me and this would best be explained by the movie "The Truman Show". Guess which character depicts me.
Good day...
Posted by: LIBERATOR at November 30, 2004 2:02 AMLiberator,
I can only hope there's a pill for your condition. For the preservation and safety of humanity and everything.
Hey, Liberator, if you happen to talk to the reincarnated George Washington, be sure to remind him of the money he owes me. Just say "Ash hasn't forgotten about the two grand, George". He'll understand.
Posted by: Ash at December 2, 2004 10:57 AMHey Sheila! Great musings! I really have to come back. What fun to have a leisurely way to catch up on your world and the life of your very creative mind!
You DID forget to mention that you had an awesome occasional babysitter, also named Beth, who moved in with your friend Betsy and her zany clan when her parents abandonned her for a god-forsaken hellhole in upstate NY (possibly her Dad was driven off by having been out-librarianed by your Dad!), and whose most powerful memory of babysittinng at your home was the night she was terrified for the wellbeing of your cat, who appeared seriously injured or dying or something, only to find out from your parents when they got home that this is what a cat in heat is like....
So I discovered this blog because I'm procrastinating, and Cold Case Files is on, and I googled Jason Foreman... Wasn't planning on procrastinating quite this intensely. Who'd have thought that idle curiousity about a horrifying childhood event would lead to reading about William Hurt laughing and WHOOHOOing in the back of a pickup!
For Sheila's devoted regulars, she is not exagerating about her family--they do rock! As does Betsy--I think geeks EXIST to enlighten the masses by shamelessly singing. I wish there were more geeks. Especially in red states, which is why I'm moving to Elkins Park, PA, a very blue place.
Actually it's also because of a specific singing geek...this rabbi who was a college sweetheart and who told me this summer (during what was supposed to be a harmless little nostalgic fling on the weekend of the big four-oh...) that my soul is actually Jewish, and I hadn't figured it out yet (he couldn't have tipped me off about this 20 years ago and spared us both the failed marriages????!!!). You have to admit it not your typical bar-pickup line. Call me a sucker, but I'm more convinced by this than by the claim of the 30 year old Episcopal priest when I was 16 that it was god's will that I marry HIM. Bought that one for a little while, then I went to college.
Hmmm...College, where I dated a guy whose dad was an eastern religion prof and former Presbyterian minister and then became A CARPENTER when he didn't get tenure (Seriously)...
and then I went on to grad school and married an ex-Jesuit... hmmmm I think there is a theme developing here.)
Anyhow, I have decided, as a geek, that it is worth giving up many yummy things for
a) the challenge of learning an entire language with a different alphabet, that must be read backward (but where the transliterations in the book go forward--really confusing--I may accidentally learn speak Hebrew prayers correctly (lots of other people speaking, little transliteration) and but the rest of Hebrew backward...), and where once you think you have it down they take away the vowels on the theory that you should be able to get the vowels from the context (of course that does lead to the whole problem of whether the rule should actually be no meat and fat rather than no meat with milk....same consonants, only the vowels have been changed...)
and b) the priveledge of moving back to a blue state and c) the delight of having an adventure with a marvelous, singing, goofy geek of a rabbi.
I think a good question to ask anyone considering a permanent relationship is "would you be willing to trade tenure and a lifetime of lobster and quahogs and clam cakes [whimper] for this person?" If you can actually say yes to that (especially if you are from RI or Maine or BOTH), then it is probably a pretty cool relationship. It is also a good sign if one of the first messages you get after a weekend of connecting with the person is "I have noticed that I am singing more since your visit; this is a good thing."
And if the relationship also leads you to a religion designed by geeks and for geeks who aren't afraid to wrestle with god and each other over the big stuff (rather than using religion as a way to shortcut the big stuff), that is REALLY cool. Turns out kasrut can be a very buddhist mindful kind of practice. Turns out that the Talmud actually might be the first blog. I can't read enough Hebrew yet, but from what I am learning, much of it is discussion, debate, people wandering off on stream of consciousness tangents. And the prayers are sometimes also little word games (there are various places where the lines each start with a different letter, all in order). This is the part of Judaism they don't tell us about growing up Christian (maybe the church elders were afraid all the geeks would just convert to Judaism). Ok, way too much procrastinating and rambling. Thanks for creating such a great site!
PS I'd put Mrs Daniels (high school) on that teacher list, myself
Posted by: EEP at January 12, 2005 2:25 AMwow! i just read dear diary friday and i have hard time imagining anyone playing paddy cake for multiple hours in a bar....and then having the bouncer sing the chorus. remarkable.
and i don't even have the words for the about you section. i got down to kindergarten and realized that i could possibly spend all afternoon surfing around here and not get any work at all done.
anyhow, i'll be sure to tune in now and then. it's a great blog. enjoyed hanging out last night and will be sure to look forward to the next ivillage gathering.
have a great weekend. jeff
Posted by: Jeff Brown at April 15, 2005 1:30 PMGreat stream, but I was wondering if William Hurt did get involved with your company?
Posted by: John at April 25, 2005 8:06 AMJohn -
Sadly, no - he wouldn't have had a chance, because our theatre company folded for good after Golden Boy.
Posted by: red at April 25, 2005 8:27 AMHey there, just clicked my way onto your blog. Great read, this little intro!
I really loved your William Hurt story. Kinda brought tears to my eyes. He has always struck me as a complete person. So somehow, this story seemed to make total sense to me.
Oh, I'm curious, how exactyl did you get those creeps in highschool back?!
Posted by: Rob at May 7, 2005 2:13 AMThis is hard. Googling for a piece of political information, stumbled in here, fell in love, now have to resume my search. It is particulary hard, like seeing the pretty girl in a yellow raincoat on the ferry boat goint the other way. But, with this now, we can see right into somebody's heart enough to fall in love, yet the ships still move away. Bye!
Posted by: Dennis at July 27, 2005 5:49 PMDennis -
and Bye to you. What a sweet comment. Shades of Citizen Kane ...
Posted by: red at July 31, 2005 3:41 PMglad to see someone cares about the Aral Sea - that is what used to be the sea until the MAN MADE disaster...
Posted by: a person at August 1, 2005 3:27 PMDear Sheila-
My mother sent me the link to your journal. Thanks for sharing!
It seems our lives are apparently similar. I sat and read everything quite quickly, in awe. You've inspired me to make my own blog..... thank you.
I'll let you know if my band plays in Chicago, ever. (I'm from Cleveland)
cheers,
Leia
Comment... Comment? No. I don't think I really can. Maybe if we were sitting around some late night with some friends I might find something I could say. Right now I'll just thanks for the peek into you.
Posted by: David at August 18, 2005 12:04 PMI came acrosss your blog? journal? while looking for the correct spelling of 'schadenfraude"...and found your spelling which matched mine, and then started reading and saw the Joyce quote and thought oh, another mick, that's cool...anyway, loved your list of random things. I love the west of ireland too, and once spent a three days on horseback in Sligo, which was a good thing to do...
Posted by: Elizabeth at September 21, 2005 10:31 PMDon't use schadenfreude, Elizabeth. There's a perfectly good english word: epicaricacy.
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Btw, very cool William Hurt story, Red.
I'm Sheila, I'm Catholic, and I'm Irish too!
I have been reading your site for hours now, and I have tell you, I have enjoyed it so much, that I stayed up most of the night to read it.
Reading about your antics have made me young again. THANK YOU!
Posted by: Sheila Marie at November 23, 2005 9:37 AMSomeone else who loves Glendalough. It's such a magical place!
Posted by: Bev at January 15, 2006 4:15 PMyour description of your father sounds exactly like mine. mine will tell me exactly where a book is [sometimes he hasn't read them in over 20 years], and he can show me the exact page for an obscure reference. or he can pull out 5 books, all pertaining, a launch into a 45 minute lecture/explanation/discussion about the question at hand. i love it!
also, i'm not irish, but i love the quotation from your friend kate, about your celtic tribe slaughtering his. that just makes me roar with laughter!
i've been reading here for months now, and i must say, i love reading your blog. i love the discussions that get started in the comments, i love the posts. you are an amazing writer, an accomplished woman. thanks for sharing with us!
Posted by: amelie at January 25, 2006 10:38 AMThank you so much, amelie!!
Posted by: red at January 25, 2006 9:31 PMI just ran across your page trying to find a M. L'Engle quote...
You ARE my crush of the day, maybe even the week. I like how your thoughts make sense to me. So, if you would like to get married this week, let me know...
Carpe diem,
Ron
Posted by: RFP at February 7, 2006 1:36 PMI miss my old friend Sheila.
Every word she writes comes from the molecules of her body, not just the ramblings of her mind. She is more than an incredible recorder of life and the world, she is an amazing spirit who has been pulled and pushed in every direction but has the good sense to keep the wind at her back and her hopes toward the sky. My goodness, you can see her fly through her words. Don't you just feel Sheila when she writes?
I met Sheila in college, and we had been very close friends for a time. I am one of the very few people on this earth who really knows how special a person Sheila is. She has the biggest heart, the widest hopes, the wildest fantasies and the deepest convictions. I have been blessed to know Sheila. If I leave this planet tomorrow, I know my soul has been enriched and nourished by this wonderful woman.
I hope she has that baby she always dreamed of. "A" baby. Just one. That baby would rock. That baby would carry on Sheila's passion in ways no one can imagine.
I am sorry friend. 74 apologies and one pie. Pizza.
Posted by: Touring Car man at February 16, 2006 8:24 PMDear Sheila,
Just came across your site while looking for the correct line from Tennesee Williams' "Clothes for a Summer Hotel." Sure enough I found it on your site: "Despite her increase of weight and the shapeless coat, her approach has the majesty of those purified by madness and by fire." The imagery and blissful clrity of this line has haunted me for many years.
Your site is packed with goodies & gems; I thank you for publicly sharing. A few months ago I started blogging, wanting to begin a kind of poetry database. ... What you have done with your blog is a marvelous thing. Warm regards & many thanks.
Best,
Katherine A
Posted by: Katherine at March 16, 2006 6:20 AMI still remember that audition. Duse's blush!! Never forget it.
"Shipping News" is a killer. It strips the bullshit down to the bone. Don't give up on "Postcards" and "Accordian Crimes." Have you seen "Broke Back?"
What's your e-mail address?
Cheers,
Kimber
Posted by: Kimber at March 26, 2006 4:06 AMI came across your blog quite by accident. I love Kate's "Small Dead Animals" and you are on her blog roll..I have been sitting here wrapped in a blue towel for the past three hours (it's spring and I turned the heat down..but it's still a bit chilly.. I look like a domestic super-hero of sorts...)Anyway, I have to tell you how much I have been enjoying your site. I have laughed so hard so many times. I have also "felt".. numerous times I had tears in my eyes. You are honest, vulnerable, and hilarious. You are all I look for in a writer. I'm putting all other books aside for the time being and making sure I have a healthy dose of "The Sheila Variations " for a while..
Thank you...
Leslie Wright
I think I may wear the blue comfy towel every time I read your blog..just for the fun of it..
You're lovely. That's all.
Posted by: hereward at May 1, 2006 12:35 PMI came across the writer's archives when I was looking for a quote from Catch-22 (I had neglected to bring my book home with me) for a paper, and I spent nearly an hour just looking through the archive. I didn't find the quote in time to insert it into my paper, but I think this site is pretty fair compensation.
Hi,
I've just picked on your post about Maire nic Shiubhlaigh's ringside seat at the Playboy Riots.
Maire my was my grand aunt and the Edward Kenny on the title page of The Splendid Years was my (late) dad, who lived with her. It's good to know she's not been forgotten about, but I've slight misgivings about her words being published verbatim on the net as I'm currently revising her book.
That said, keep up the good work.
Dave Kenny
PS.The sun is actually shining here in Dublin. Miracle!!