What better thing to do on Christmas day? A blog, of course.
A Merry Christmas to all!

As I was drinking my coffee this morning I was thinking of writing about some of my diversions. You see, when one is under stress, one needs diversions. Those of us who are “creative” can escape for a while into our own heads while the world around us spins. I know the spin well: it leads to vertigo, anxiety, migraines. I am learning to hold in less, speak up more and live in the moment. Sometimes.

One of my biggest fears is the “call.” The end. My mother. And all that goes with it. This has been hanging over my head for ten years. Actually more. Part of my anxiety shtick.Can someone practice for this call? Memorize the lines and keep it together?

Sometimes a cringe when the phone rings. Other times I call my mother and she sounds good, her voice is familiar. Other times her ideations are reflective of fear and paranoia. Sometimes she makes me SO angry. Sometimes I think this will be the last time we will speak. I told her I had joined Ancestry.com and asked her a few question about relatives. Her response was an encouraging: “Why do you want to rake that up?”

Because I am interested and it fascinates me.

I have gotten very little encouragement over the years, from my mother. Yet, the other night, on the phone she told me how proud she was of me, that I was a teacher, that she could brag that I was a teacher.

So, I am sitting here with a blinking cursor in front of me and wondering where to start.

Here is where I divert myself from the world around me. Here is where I find solace. Here is where I collect myself. Here is where I can face my thoughts, translate them to words and figure things out. Here. Beyond this desk, this room, there are diversions to share with you:

As a cinema lover I say: go see this one!
Three Billboards Outside of Ebbing, Missouri

If you need something bittersweet to chew on, read this:
The New Yorker cartoonist, Roz Chast’s, Can’t We talk About Something More Pleasant?

If you love photography, read this:
Vivian Maier A Photographer’s Life and After Life, by Pamela Banos
When I saw an exhibition of Maier’s work years ago as Mass MoCA   I was blown away. Her work had just been discovered, she had died shortly before and she became my idol.

Media. OK, here is my eclectic stay-at-home mix, some on HBO-

• Bob’s Burgers is delightfully adorable and light
• The Late Show with Steven Colbert  keeps me laughing through my tears of disbelief
• The Big Bang Theory : I’ve probably see every re-run 100 times
• Dr. Who: All I want for Christmas is my own Tardis so I can get the hell out of here
• Orphan Black: If you’ve never seen one actress play a gazillion roles, you must! Kudos to Tatiana Maslany, who was also in …
• Woman in Gold
  
• Don’t forget Game of Thrones. OK so there is violence, but it ain’t real, it is better than real, the effects are fantastic, start from the beginning and watch twice to “get it.” You might need a score card to keep track. Trust me, the “real world” is far scarier.
• Better Call Saul , the prequel to Breaking Bad, sports Bob Odenkirk. Both are genius. Notice how I get into the dark side?
• Westworld: now here is a cool and creepy show!
• Last Tango in Halifax is a delight on PBS. Anything about finding love late in life or reconnecting with lost love, calls to me

As a subscriber to Amazon Prime, I thought I’d give the “fire stick” a shot. (The stick is a streaming device and the Amazon series are well worth it to see:

• Mozart in the Jungle
• Fleabag
• The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel
• Catastrophe

Recently seen, recommended shows include:

• The Play That Goes Wrong  (we all need this!)
• Come From Away  (something fabulous that came from 9/11)
• The Band’s Visit : heart warming movie became a play starring Tony Shaloub (also in Mrs. Maisel) Saw him after the show during a “talk back” and told him how much I enjoyed his work. My photo, below.

s. kalish/portrait of Tony Shaloub

Whatever your situation, find your passion, find your diversion and keep on keeping on.

This series starts here:
Part 1: And The Band Played On … a mother’s life, a daughter’s journey

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