"This, I Believe..."

I was listening to NPR on the way home from work today and heard an essay that's part of a series called "This, I Believe." I have to admit that I completely ignored what he believed in and started thinking about what I do. Being that it's just past Thanksgiving, it might interest you to know that these are also the things I'm thankful for. Here goes...

I believe in my family. Well-applied starter fluid, impact wrenches, and vice grips. Setting things on fire at parties. Mormons and heathens side by side. Dog parties. Blow torches to melt ice. Cordless drills to whip cream. Wordless workshops and applying spray paint so it doesn't drip. Instructions are for rookies!

I believe in my friends. Good theatre. Well-acted, well-produced, and well-directed. I believe in those of us who lurk behind the scenes, but without whom you would never see the show. I believe in banning cell phones and being able to fire anyone who doesn't learn their damn lines. I believe in good directors who are crazy, but my kind of crazy. I believe in quitting if you're in hell! I believe in Banshee.

I believe in off-the-wall, out-of-the-blue funny things. Rubber chickens, Animaniacs, civil war posters over the bathtub, and brain diagrams over the stove.

I believe in my mother. Her joyful, over-the-top teas. She always seems to out-do herself. Her complete acceptance of other people's ideas. Her concept of mental health days. Her love of a lap full of cat and her coronation for three of ours.

I believe in my father. His love of life. His playfulness. The fact that he still plays tennis and can still kick ass at it! His love of my mother and the fact that he let go of a trip rafting down the Grand Canyon (something he's wanted for years), so he could go to Jamaica with her.

I believe in the power of the written word and that a book can change your life. I believe in reading your favorites over and over. They only get better with time and as you grow, so does your insight into the story. I believe in vivid characters. Laurie R. King's Sherlock Holmes & Mary Russell, Gandalf & Aragorn, Lord Peter Wimsey, Sir Percy Blakeney, Albus Dumbledore, Jane Eyre, Jack Dedham, Elizabeth Bennett, Ranger, and anyone in Killer Angels.

I believe in small things too. Artichokes, cat meows, well-organized crayons, a tidy script, Grandmother's christmas tree, anything written by Aaron Sorkin, sugar cookies, colored see-through stuff, Chihuly's, that second when the lights dim in a theatre, KV5 and Kent Weeks, the smell of Pirates of the Caribbean at Disneyland, Bono's sunglasses, the days of Gemini and Apollo (okay, those weren't small), electric mattress pads, sexy high heels, Peter Jackson, and the benefits of a pot of tea when it rains (or anytime, really).

This, I believe.