The Painted Veil

For the first time in quite a while, we were able to sit down for an evening and watch a film in it's entirety. Don has the TV on Mondays for "24" and Tues & Wed for "American Idol" - both series had their finalies last week. Tonight's selection ..... "The Painted Veil". A love story set in the 1920s about a young English couple (a doctor and a society girl) who marry hastily, relocate to Hong Kong where they betray each other easily, and find an unexpected chance at redemption and happiness while on a deadly journey into the heart of ancient China.

For a synopsis of the film ......

http://wip.warnerbros.com/paintedveil/site/site.html

This film did not do particularly well in the theatrers, probably due to the fact that it offers salvation in the midst of horrific circumstances and deals with some disturbing themes not readily accepted in our comfortable culture. We both gave it a 4 out of 5 - for the brief glimpses of the spectacular scenery as well as the story line which gives hope and deliverance.

Rated PG-13, probably should not be watched with kids due to gratuitous sex scene (nothing you can't see after 7 PM on TV), as well as graphic depiction of cholera.

14 Months

May 24

It's been 14 months since our LID .....

The Gospel According to Diva

This pic was taken on our vacation in the Smoky Mountains last summer.

Can you find Be? Click on the pic to enlarge.....

This post was in my "drafts" folder from a few months back and I decided the time was right to use it. It has been expanded upon from it's original text.

I was recovering from 2 broken ribs . During that period, I feel like all I did was age - my mind was numbed from the pain killers causing me to wander in my thoughts - I could not focus - not on prayer, not on reading & not on any movie with the hint of a storyline.This past week, I felt that I could begin to wean myself off the mind bending pills, as the pain had subsided quite a bit - I told the dog that it was time to take a walk together - we have a park in our area with primative, unpaved trails through acres of native Florida plants - as we walked, I noticed that Diva (my dog) would stop & tilt her head as her ears stood up - as the drug induced fog in my mind began to clear, I realized that there was much to be heard in my pristine surroundings - she had heard a native black snake (non-poisonous) rustling through the dry underbrush - it was sunning itself and was apparently startled at our approach - the sounds of the wind through the brush, dried leaves and trees as well as the chirp of cardinals and scrub jays became a part of God's orchestration and the walk took on a whole new character for me. It reminded me of the Gospel of Luke ....... Jesus was being praised by His followers and the Pharisees became indignant that they would do such a thing and called for Jesus to rebuke them. Jesus replied to them saying "I tell you if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out." My heart which had been quite silent for the past 6 weeks or so did not wait for the rocks to sound the call to worship and I praised Him for His creation and Who He is .... and to think my dog snapped me out of my pity party.

Camelot (Where Does an Arab Buy His Wheels?)

Mom loved Robert Goulet and as we were growing up, she frequently played the old 33 rpm disc from the Broadway show "Camelot" on our Victrola to hear him, as Lancelot, sing "If Ever I Would Leave You". I also remembered songs such as "I Wonder What the King Is Doing Tonight?" as well as the title tune "Camelot". Those tunes ran through my head when I received an e-mail from Ticketmaster informing me of a 2 for 1 deal for the upcoming engagement of the show in Orlando.

"Camelot" opened in New York in 1960, but that was a few years before I was able to hop a bus on my own and take in whatever show I wanted to see (we lived in New Jersey, about 10 miles outside NYC). In high school and college, I'd write away for tickets to the Ed Sullivan Show and sat in the audience for quite a few of the live broadcasts and would frequent the Broadway shows, buying the half-price tickets at the booth in Times Square.

Be had done the show in high school, and aside from the 3 or 4 songs which were familiar to me, I really did not know that much about it. Our friends, Jeff & Kathy, wanted to see it, so we all did the dinner thing and walked to the theater from the restaurant.

Well, it should have occured to me that this was going to be quite a stretch - after all, Michael York (age 65), playing King Arthur courting the very young and beautiful Guenivere? Dang - this could be a real snore! It was. After an 8 hour day at the old grind and a very satisfying meal under our belts, I woke up several times during the first act with morning mouth. But, it was not necessarily the talent on stage which lulled me to sleep (the cast members who played Guenivere & Lancelot had outstanding voices) - I believe it was the story, a tale of fantasy which was flimsy at best, combined with lackluster staging incorporating a cast of people who strutted around the stage in fancy costumes. The guy in front of me was probably 6'5" tall and had a hairdo that looked like brocolli and as the 'action' moved around the stage, I grew tired of avoiding the visual impairment blocking my view.

As King Arthur, Michael York set about writing the creed for his Knights of the Roundtable preceding each item with a giant step to the front of the stage, punctuating the move with an index finger pointed toward the sky and making his decree - "Proposition - no knight shall sit at the head of the table! Make our table round!" "Proposition - this and that...."

And as the curtain went down after the first act, I turned to the rest of our party - "Proposition - a swift ride home at the intermission!" All raised their hands and voted "Aye". And so ...... off we went. "Anyone for Spamalot ?" "We got our money's worth. It was a 2 for 1 anyway." "Gosh! I wonder how we'd all do at an opera?" "Do you think Don can be in the LazyBoy before the curtain goes up for Act 2?"

...and so we merrily skip through the adoption waiting room ...

Happy Mothers Day

This is our 3rd Mother's day since we started our adoption paperwork. Joanna, we are praying that God sends you to us quickly. Until then we will pray and keep the faith knowing that He has the appointed time in His plan.

In anticipation of Joanna's arrival, Don had this beautiful oriental name painting of our family created and framed. It is rich in symbolism and oriental heritage. This type of art has been handed down from generation to generation for over 1000 years. There is a legend that an Angel descended from heaven riding on a rainbow. The Angel painted her name using the colors of the rainbow before she vanished through the clouds. The Angel's name has been used over the years to convey love and feeling to family and loved ones. Each letter is hand fashioned using symbols that convey meaning. The bamboo tree conveys intelligence and integrity. The artist used the bamboo tree in the letters B and J. The rainbow which you see in the O and E represent promise, love, hope and peace. Each symbol has meaning. I can't wait until Joanna is old enough to understand the rich heritage of her lineage.

Thank you Don for a gift that is not only beautiful but will be precious to our family over the years.

Back to the Old $%#@!

This pic taken Feb 14, 2007 - the day of some of the worst weather in the Northeast


A sad day - Thursday, May 10 - after 9 weeks of recovery from 2 broken ribs, it's back to the old grind at the US Airways ticket counter at Orlando International Airport. I have been spared bad weather and the start-up of a new (perhaps primative would be more appropriate) computer system while absent from work. If I had a desk job, I most probably wold have been back a little over a month after the accident, however slinging bags and lifting heavy non-ambulatory passengers could have damaged them further - so alas, the time has come - poor, poor Don.

Flower Power - Part 2

Peter & Gordon

It was apparent from the first bars of their opening song "Nobody I Know" that Peter and Gordon" had lost their singing chops over the years. What were once light and fluid vocals are now husky sounding pub singing voices. We stayed for the whole show, and I even bought a CD to enjoy their music as it was originally intended. I believe their singing gigs are for the benefit of fattening the purse of Gordon Waller as Peter Asher is a fat cat producer in L.A. and is most probably a gajillionaire. A nice trip down memory lane just the same ......

The Tokens

So we thought ..... We gotta hear "The Tokens" for their tune "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" ...... and we discovered that the group puts on a high energy show that borders on vaudeville - only with 50s rock. And they made the combination work, bouncing comebacks off each other and including the audience in zany sing-alongs. Be had to work, but I went back for a second night to enjoy the fun again.

Jose Feliciano

Jose Feliciano was quite remarkable as he performed for the fans at EPCOT. Seated throughout the entire 30 minute shows, JF made his way through his own tunes as well as those of others from the 60s & 70s with his own unique style. The man nailed every note and still plays a hot guitar.

Petula Clark

Petula Clark is the only female headliner on the Flower Power concert lineup for 2007 and she proved that she could stand firm against the big boys. The overture was a trippy pastiche of themes from her big hits accentuated with offstage vocal inserts from her very familiar pipes. The themes eventually melded together as one and formed the basis for the melody of "Who Am I" which led to her entrance. The substantial breeze blowing it's way across the lagoon added lift to her flowing gown and cape (good thing the wind was in her favor) and the songstress had the audience in her hands.
Making her way through "This Is My Song", "My Love", Don't Sleep In the Subway" and of course "Downtown" she tried her best as she belted with the best of them, sustaining several song endings a considerable length of time. Her mid range and lower register were weak on the more delicate passages and she spoke some of the lyrics as it appeared she had some vocal fatigue. But this was a legend - a 74 year old legend - and we were there for the event ....... and so, we skip merrily through the adoption waiting room.

Congrats!

Although I was in denial that they only made it through November 1, 2005, congratulations are in order for those who have seen the face of their child for the first time as referrals are out. We wish to congratulate Lynda & Roy Korbert from our Orlando Waiting Parents Support Group who received their referral package!

Also, our friends, Todd & Jaci Romer received their Traveling Authorization and head out to China tomorrow to be united with their daughter.

Our agency indicated to us that the CCAA received an unusually heavy load of dossiers last October which may explain the unusually small numbers of calendar days referred. Pray that they get over the hump - I'm aging rapidly and Joanna will be running to get a magic marker to play Connect the Liverspots on homedaddy's hand.

Sunrise

Not much to report these days - waiting on the referral numbers. Rumor on the internet is cutoff Nov 1, 2005 - only 4 (5 depending on how you count it) more days - hope they get a move on - I could pass away at any moment -
I have a few items in my 'drafts' folder awaiting tweaking & fine tuning - so, in the meantime, enjoy the photography of JoAnn, a wonderful gal from our church choir. These images were taken at our Easter Sunrise Service at Lake Down in Windermere, Florida. We sang in the choir, but it was dark as pitch out when the choir did it's thing, so ..... no pics.