New Beginnings

What is going on in the King household this week? Well, Lindsey and Linda spent the night in midnight madness Black Friday, shopping. Not me! I was sleeping!

Linda and I are in the middle of rehearsal for what, I guess, will be called, "Control-Assault-Delete". This is a 55-minute, two person show that tells Lisa's story of the nine year walk through a violent relationship. Linda and I take the parts of various people and it is really testing our memorizing skills.

The director, David Barker, is a great guy, who is a Professor of Theatre at ASU. He has his own one-man show, entitled, "Dodging Bullets". This is a story of his sister's walk through and out of a violent relationship. The Dodging Bullets title is exactly what happened at one point, except the sister didn't dodge as well as David. "Dodging Bullets" will be performed at ASU on January 14. I think there are a few tickets left.

In any event we are excited about this one, and hope it is as well received as "Domestic Violence, The Musical?"

We are involved in trying to get the next play in the typewriter at this time. It will be called, "I Have This Friend." It is dealing with teen dating violence and will be designed for high school students.

So you see, Linda is as busy as usual while John loafs around.

We will keep you posted as we move forward.

John says, "Some people try to turn back their odometers, not me. I want people to know why I look this way. I have traveled a long way and some of the roads were not paved."

Back from Iwakuni

I truly don't know where to begin . . . . . the Japan adventure was incredible! Wonderful friendships were forged and it was amazing to see our Marines and Sailors preserving our freedoms in a distant land.

From the moment we boarded ANA until we left the Japanese influence behind, we were treated with kindness, respect and total hospitality. Never have I seen such accommodating people. They anticipate your every need and meet it to the very best of their ability.

We arrived in the middle of the night, found our rooms and tried to rest a little after a grueling 22+ hours on the road and in the air. DJ was the first one ready to sightsee the next morning . . . anxious to get his co-cast members out and about in Hiroshima. I spent the day in the Family Service Center with Betty, LaNita, Gina and Ellen and with NCIS Supervisory Special Agent Scott Vousboukis.

I managed to get away for a day of sight-seeing with DJ, Danielle, Miciah and Jori. We had a great time and enjoyed the beauty of Iwakuni, and a very interesting dinner. (Glad I am a vegetarian, because it seems everyone except Danielle and I ate horse.)

The three performances at the theater were well-attended and enjoyed by all.

The return trip had its moments. First, DJ and I lost our passports, but fortunately mine was returned the same night by the cab driver. DJ's luck was not immediate, however, and we spent many hours fretting over his ability to come back to the US with us. All worked out in the end, and we traveled home together.

Yesterday, the Evening of the Arts Volunteer team met at the Broadway Palm Dinner Theater for a run through of responsibilities of the upcoming fundraising event on November 9. Hope everyone will tell their friends, co-workers and family members to support this joint effort between FTH and Bravery Project. You won't be disappointed.

Upcoming TV/radio interviews to promote Evening of the Arts include Mesa Talking with Scott Anderson and Channel 12, noon show, Nov 2.

Maybe by Christmas I will catch-up on my sleep.