Last May, the stars
aligned. I had a conference in New Orleans. This would be my third trip and for
the first time it wouldn’t include an excursion with a boyfriend/husband. This
was a trip for me to take back the city that I loved. My fella was very
encouraging. He knew that I needed this as much as I knew that I needed it.
My arrival day was on May
10th, 2014. I landed and pulled off the
drop-off-suitcase-at-hotel-and-get- to-the-cemetery-tour in record time. I
toured St. Louis No. 1 cemetery within an hour of landing (even with a flight
delay). The universe was smiling on me. What made the day even better was that
THAT VERY NIGHT ***swoon*** THE Julian Sands (more swooning) whom I have loved
since I was a fledgling goth girl watching Gothic (1986) and dying over
seeing Mr. Sands’ bottom (I’m sorry but it’s true) in that performance. It was
on VHS so it was probably the size of a pea but still… I watched the movie
again and again and again and again. Not exactly for his nakedness but you know
what I mean. I rented it so often that I eventually owned it! I could write a whole separate blog post just
about that movie… but that’s for another time. Anyhow, 2014… I was in New
Orleans and Mr. Sands was performing THREE BLOCKS from my hotel. I planned a
nice dinner for myself and then walked to the Contemporary
Arts Center, New Orleans.
The night was Julian Sands in ‘A
Celebration of Harold Pinter’.
This was the first time I heard Pinter’s
poem, “I know the place”. Sands explained that even he didn’t quite understand
it the first time he read it. He even misspoke when reading it in front of
Pinter and turned “corrects” into “connects”. I, in fact, understood the poem
instantly and it immediately became a favorite. So much in that it was the poem
that I read to my fella at our wedding and it was included in the sugar skull
paper art.
I
know the place.
It
is true.
Everything
we do
Corrects
the space
Between
death and me
And
you.”
~ Harold Pinter
The evening was
perfect. Mr. Sands even recited the shortest poem and since I was in the front
row (front and center… the first one seated! Among an audience who was twice my
age. I was so close that I could see him sweat!), he winked right at me.
Photography was
prohibited but I asked the manager if I could please take a picture of the
empty stage to remember the moment. These are my favorite colors. The evening
was perfect. He cried reciting the last poem. We cried receiving it.
The New Orleans trip was
perfect. It was exactly what I needed
before getting married. I believe it may
have been the single best trip I’ve ever taken… everything was exactly how it
needed to be. I just didn’t realize how important the trip was until after… and
until now.
Ahhhh The Julian Sands! I know a little of your excitement! I am going to call him The Julian Sands now! He is a fine figure of a man and great in historical gear!
ReplyDeleteThe best part/ saddest part is that when I would tell people who I was going to see they didn't recognize his name. He is such a privitaI point in my life that I just can't imagine it. I had to name practically all of his movies including Warlock for folks to say, "oh, him". Sigh.
DeleteAwesome... :-)
ReplyDelete