I drove north from San Luis Obispo to Paso Robles today. First, I stopped by the Clayhouse Tasting Room to pick up a couple of boxes of extra postcards and envelopes from our Ad Lib wine promotional mailing. Coincidentally, that mailing should be arriving in mailboxes beginning today. So, if you're on that promotional mailing list, look for the opaque red envelope!
Anyway, I opened the boxes and had a quick look at the cards. They really are very cool. The set, together in a red envelope, is pretty special. And I felt a sense of pride. Despite not designing the labels, not directing the design of the labels, not designing the postcards, not deciding they should go in an opaque red envelope, and not having anything to do with actually mailing them. I did decide that we should have postcards featuring Ad Lib label art, and I did provide a good, clean mailing list of 2,500 qualified addressees. But why did I feel pride?
From the Clayhouse tasting room I drove back south to Highway 46 West, and headed west. Right on Arbor, left on Live Oak (hey - I used to live on a street called Live Oak!) and on to the unmarked gateway that would take me to the Austin Hope winery, and the new tasting room location for Treana and Austin Hope. They'd converted a barrel room, part of their understated-design-but-high-quality-materials-fit-and-finish winery, to be part barrel room, part tasting room. They'd carried an oak tank motif off nicely to divide the space, and they'd cut some cool asymmetrical windows in the building shell to create interesting pictures of the oak trees, vineyards, and landscape horizon. They did a nice job. I had nothing to do with it. And I felt neither pride nor envy.
I did feel proud that I could walk the long lane with Kari, back to my car, without feeling winded.
I'm proud of three recent theatrical ventures. And of those I'm really proud. I created and directed an a capella musical version of ALICE IN WONDERLAND a few years ago. I directed a production of Lanford Wilson's BOOK OF DAYS that was totally and completely satisfying. I was proud of that. And I was proud and satisfied by directing the musical URINETOWN two summers ago. So, my performing arts pride doesn't include anything I've performed in.
Wait, though, now I think about it. I was pretty proud of SIDE BY SIDE BY SONDHEIM in the early 2000s. And I'm actually pretty proud of ARE WE ALMOST THERE? -- a very silly musical revue I was in almost exactly one year ago. And I performed in those. Huh.
Well, for a moment, I was thinking I was only proud of things where I was the boss but not the actor. Those last two musicals sort of horse up that theory. Here's a new one: I'm proud of things where I'm a primary force in a group accomplishing something special. That feels true. Cool.
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