The CLO’s Little Mermaid was fantastic! All who know me know that I have a love for both musicals and for Disney and am very open about these facets of my personality. All of my coworkers and now anyone who reads this blog will know that the parade of animals at the beginning of the Lion King makes me cry every time, in Toronto, in New York and the three times that I saw it in Pittsburgh. There is something so beautiful about how the music builds, about the homage payed to the new royal baby, and about the words, drawing attention to mortality and interconnectedness. This piece of Broadway perfection gets me every time. So, as it turns out, I am sappy. This is not new knowledge, to me, something that was brought out in college, I guess I went through one to many sorority initiations but, there you go… Anyway, the Lion King, amazing, Beauty and the Beast, fantastic, I will see Cinderella and Aladdin this year. But, back to the little mermaid, this was my second time seeing it. The shear staging of Under the Sea is worth buying a ticket just for that one song. It is so fast pace and while I can really only see flashes of color friends have described the action previously and I can see it in my head every time I see this fantastic story. The stage is alive with flying, skating, twirling, tapping, and Lion King-esk puppetry. It is beautiful and energetic and fun and everything a Broadway show should be. The Little Mermaid herself had an amazing voice that filled the Benedum center with powerful notes and enveloped the crowd, drawing us into the story. Then there were the King, Prince Eric and their strong voices and beautiful ballads, really the entire cast just fit. I was so glad I left my house on a lazy Sunday afternoon. Thank you to the #PittsburghCLO for a great night of theatrical fun!

I just read my blog posts from 2010. Keep in mind I started this blog in order to document guide dog school for the benefit of my students and others that I knew at Miami. In reading them now, seven years later, I see that my writing is similar, that I focus on one or two ideas in service of a larger idea and that I like to read my thoughts. Also, Bethany, while not exactly the best guide dog for me, retains her cute sweet demeanor and sometimes bratty disposition, I.e. ripping a toy from another dog’s mouth is so Bethany… She did it to Randall, she does it to Bear. She is just not a dog who likes to share. I am also a person who likes to accentuate the positive, glass half full or, perpetually positive, if you will? That well alliterated name still sticks. Thank you JS Bragg. Even today, I am happy to have those words attached to my name.

The other day, on my way home, a kid got on the bus. Rounding the corner and walking a few paces ahead of his Mom, he saw Bear, who by the way was as tall as he was. The only words to escape him were, “what the…” My thoughts exactly, kid. #bigdog #busfun #lifeasabear

So, to blog or not to blog, that is the question,… Pros of blogging: I like it. It is creative. Cons of blogging: I am not consistent. I get board with updating it. I get to busy with other things. Why I am restarting: I was talking with one of the Trust’s fellow’s Lily about blogging and I realized that I kind of missed it. In addition, my friend Anne was writing her own blog post for a national organization. While my plans are not that grand I will send out some thoughts into the world and we will go from there. So, lets jump ahead, anyone who follows me on Facebook knows that A. I was not pleased about the results of last year’s election and B. I have been trying my best to shine light on the actions of our elected officials and others who reside in the public realm because I truly believe that knowledge is power and the more that we all know and read and question the better. After all, knowledge can combat falsehoods and dangerous group think. I truly believe in the goodness of people and try to do my part every day to include, reach out, remove barriers to participation and generally promote social justice in all that I do,. Some of you may be gagging on the syrupy sweet naivety of this statement but, I mean it. So, once again this blog is coming back, I will not make promises of it being a daily weekly or monthly read but, I do invite you to read on...