A Beautiful Send Off
In my wildest dreams I didn’t think I would ever wake up one day with a song stuck in my head written about me! But that’s what happened this morning, after a beautiful send off last night from the awesome people of the Bindlestiff Family Cirkus and my excellent City Tech Entertainment Technology colleagues. Since it was my last show as a full-time Professor (as I explained here), I thought they might mention something in passing, but Keith gave me a beautiful and eloquent acknowledgement, and then Ellia led the crowd in a sing along of an amazing song she wrote for the occasion. As someone very uncomfortable in the spotlight, I did my best to absorb the beauty of the moment as I was brought on stage and presented with a lovely cake. A bunch of our graduates and retired and current colleagues attended, and as I was blinded by the spotlight trying to walk back up the stairs to the mix position without tripping on my broken foot, I could see that many were standing. It was surreal and humbling and I’m so glad we have the video so I could experience it again this morning when I wasn’t so exhausted.
The Bindlestiffs know how to “make show”, as Keith always says, and this great night was a fitting way to wind up 24 years of teaching at the school and over 300 performances of more than 100 productions. The students on my crew this semester (most of whom are in the picture) really killed it with yet another smooth run. Keeping in mind that many of our students do their first-ever live shows with us, it’s always amazing to me the beauty that so often emerges from the chaos, since we put these shows together only with a quick tech and no rehearsal. I’ve been so overwhelmed with the semester that I haven’t thought literally beyond giving my final, final exam tomorrow, but I am planning a gathering sometime after the holidaze.
While this chapter is ending, I hope my career in show business is far from over. This has been my passion and my avocation since I saw Led Zeppelin (my first concert) in 1977 and wanted to go on the road with them. I was 13 at the time and too young for that to happen, but last night was proof that choosing this family was a great decision. “See you down the road” is what circus people say instead of goodbye, and I’ve always loved that. See you down the road, my friends and colleagues in Bindlestiff and at City Tech. Thanks again for an evening I will never forget.
