The Circle of Life

This little town has a community theater, and my 8-year old daughter Mona has been wanting to be on stage. She auditioned with "Remember the Alamo" and got a part, there you go. My 10-year old son Jacob said, he didn't want to try out because he had stage fright, he said, which is hard to believe because he was born a stand-up comedian.

Anyways, Mona is going to sing and dance in three scenes in a junior production of the Lion King, and we all are excited, of course. I actually got a role, too, as an advisor for props and the set. For example, a baby lion was needed that is going to be held up high in the air during the Circle of Life song. With this on my mind, I recently went to my favorite thrift store and saw little Simba right there sitting on the shelf - in the form of a gigantic Elmo. I knew it was him.

My fabulous friends Anna and Johnathan, who are involved in the theater in many creative ways, shared my vision, and so we spent a few evenings helping Elmo give up his red fur and his eyes and morph into a baby Simba. He turned out quite amazing, I'll say, thanks to Anna's and Johnathan's imaginative painting skills.

I really love knowing Simba's alter ego. I know, that, when they will perform the Circle of Life next week, I am going to see both Simba and Elmo being held up high. And I am going to think of his puzzled eyes that have become part of my stacks of supplies in my studio.