It's Good To Be The King...
Goodness Gracious, bloggers it's that time again, so hold on to your proverbial hats! When last we left our hero...me...I'm the hero...anyway, I was in Xian, China visiting unearthed warriors, Wild Goose Pagodas, dumpling restaurants and otherwise having as good a time as possible while being laid off for a few weeks. Well, I was not the only one trying to enjoy myself as most of the cast and crew were also gallivanting about the former capitol of China when a stroke of bad luck struck one of our cast members.
The gentleman playing the King, Jefferson, was on a lovely bike ride atop the Xian City Wall(see last entry for details) with a few others from the gang, when the pedal on his bicycle broke, cutting him very deeply. He received immediate medical attention but the laceration needed nearly 30 stitches, inside and out, and he was quite immobilized for almost 2 weeks. Well, if you didn't already know, I am the principal understudy for the king and, as he was pretty well out of commission for a number of days, that left yours truly to step into the role.
I was fortunate enough to perform the role of His Royal Highness King Maximilian Godfrey Ladislaus Leopold Sidney Frederick John for 4-5 shows during the run in Xian. I'm very glad to have had the opportunity to perform the role and even gladder to report that Jefferson is on the mend and back atop the throne where he belongs. His wound is still healing and it will be sometime before he is fully back to snuff, but he is the definition of a trooper and will have an interesting story (to say the least) when people ask him about his scar
That aside, things were relatively tame throughout Xian and as I write you, I am in a lovely hotel in Zhengzhou, China with one performance left to do this evening and then onto Guangzhou for a few weeks. After that comes Beijing, Shanghai and Hong Kong. After that, I cannot remember exactly where to next, but it's probably for the best as our schedule is in a constant state of flux. One of the joys of touring this part of the world.
One of the exciting things I have done here in Zhengzhou is visit a, or rather The Shaolin Temple where Kung-Fu was born. There was a demonstration of Kung-Fu skills, the grounds were beautiful and I had a bit of a Karmic experience in one of the gift shops, of all places.
Last year in Singapore, I found a little shop in a market in Central Singapore where they sold Tibetan charms, jewelery, etc.. I bought two pendants for myself, one of which was a cross-hatched diamond pattern made of silver that was supposed to be a good luck charm. I happily purchased it and upon returning to the U.S., I had only worn it one other time when I donned the charm and went shopping at one of my favorite places, the Ocean State Job Lot. Little did I know, but somewhere between the car and the store, the charm fell off my neck and was lost. I retraced my steps, but, alas, alack, it was gone. Bummed as I was though, I though it was best to think of it as a sign it was meant to happen.
While in Japan a few years ago, I was visiting a temple in Kamakura and bought a few luck charms made of clay that were expected to eventually break. As it was told to me, when the bell shaped charm breaks, it is believed that something bad which was to happen to the owner instead happens to the bell, causing its' destruction. Pretty neat, eh? Well, I sort of adopted that to mean the Tibetan good luck charm took a Karmic hit for me and perhaps was found by someone who needed it more than I. Good story, right? Well, at the Shaolin Temple, there in front of me at a Tibetan gift shop was the same good luck charm in silver and turquoise and, of course, I bought it and now, more than ever, feel I was not meant to own the original charm I brought back from Singapore, but was meant to "deliver" it into the hands of another whose needs outweighed my own.
At least that's what I tell myself to help me sleep at night.
OK, enough babbling and pontificating. I'll leave you be with the hope that you are well fed, well rested, and well aware of just how lucky we all are, Tibetan charms aside, to have the things and most importantly the people we hold dear.
Zaijian!(Good-bye!)
Gags
The gentleman playing the King, Jefferson, was on a lovely bike ride atop the Xian City Wall(see last entry for details) with a few others from the gang, when the pedal on his bicycle broke, cutting him very deeply. He received immediate medical attention but the laceration needed nearly 30 stitches, inside and out, and he was quite immobilized for almost 2 weeks. Well, if you didn't already know, I am the principal understudy for the king and, as he was pretty well out of commission for a number of days, that left yours truly to step into the role.
I was fortunate enough to perform the role of His Royal Highness King Maximilian Godfrey Ladislaus Leopold Sidney Frederick John for 4-5 shows during the run in Xian. I'm very glad to have had the opportunity to perform the role and even gladder to report that Jefferson is on the mend and back atop the throne where he belongs. His wound is still healing and it will be sometime before he is fully back to snuff, but he is the definition of a trooper and will have an interesting story (to say the least) when people ask him about his scar
That aside, things were relatively tame throughout Xian and as I write you, I am in a lovely hotel in Zhengzhou, China with one performance left to do this evening and then onto Guangzhou for a few weeks. After that comes Beijing, Shanghai and Hong Kong. After that, I cannot remember exactly where to next, but it's probably for the best as our schedule is in a constant state of flux. One of the joys of touring this part of the world.
One of the exciting things I have done here in Zhengzhou is visit a, or rather The Shaolin Temple where Kung-Fu was born. There was a demonstration of Kung-Fu skills, the grounds were beautiful and I had a bit of a Karmic experience in one of the gift shops, of all places.
Last year in Singapore, I found a little shop in a market in Central Singapore where they sold Tibetan charms, jewelery, etc.. I bought two pendants for myself, one of which was a cross-hatched diamond pattern made of silver that was supposed to be a good luck charm. I happily purchased it and upon returning to the U.S., I had only worn it one other time when I donned the charm and went shopping at one of my favorite places, the Ocean State Job Lot. Little did I know, but somewhere between the car and the store, the charm fell off my neck and was lost. I retraced my steps, but, alas, alack, it was gone. Bummed as I was though, I though it was best to think of it as a sign it was meant to happen.
While in Japan a few years ago, I was visiting a temple in Kamakura and bought a few luck charms made of clay that were expected to eventually break. As it was told to me, when the bell shaped charm breaks, it is believed that something bad which was to happen to the owner instead happens to the bell, causing its' destruction. Pretty neat, eh? Well, I sort of adopted that to mean the Tibetan good luck charm took a Karmic hit for me and perhaps was found by someone who needed it more than I. Good story, right? Well, at the Shaolin Temple, there in front of me at a Tibetan gift shop was the same good luck charm in silver and turquoise and, of course, I bought it and now, more than ever, feel I was not meant to own the original charm I brought back from Singapore, but was meant to "deliver" it into the hands of another whose needs outweighed my own.
At least that's what I tell myself to help me sleep at night.
OK, enough babbling and pontificating. I'll leave you be with the hope that you are well fed, well rested, and well aware of just how lucky we all are, Tibetan charms aside, to have the things and most importantly the people we hold dear.
Zaijian!(Good-bye!)
Gags
posted by Gags at 3:44 PM
1 Comments:
Daddy, I'm scared. Too scared to even wet my pants.
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