An Essay On Stars

I was born during Game 7 of the 1972 World Series in which the A's beat the Reds for the pennant. I guess in 1972 the husbands didn't really go into the birthing rooms because my dad was watching the game and eating a turkey sandwich in the waiting room. I'm sure he was cheering for the Reds because Johnny Bench, a native Oklahoman, was on the team. That sounds like the start of a sports story, but it's not.

My birth announcements were hand-written by my dad and said "A Star is Born." It went on to list my parents as the "producers" and the doctor as the "director." (hmmmm...now I actually can't remember....my dad may have listed himself as director, because that's what directors do, right...sit around eating sandwiches?) I found it in a box in the closet once. Anyway, that birth announcement is kind of my favorite thing on the planet and I don't even know where it is. My parents have since moved and who knows what is where anymore.

I have a feeling I'll spend many hours searching for that box when I'm at my parents' in December.

The star/actress theme has run throughout the course of my life. Both my parents were theatre majors in college and my dad was my high school drama teacher. I've always been an actress. When I was too young to audition for roles in school and church plays, I was usually given the part...probably because they knew my parents would help me learn my lines. Most poems that my dad writes me reference "the boards." My mom wrote me a letter once telling me I was her star. When I graduated from high school, they bought a yearbook ad and wrote "Even if your name is never in lights on Broadway, it is in our hearts." They have been so supportive my whole life long. And I am forever grateful.

So, today, on the anniversary of the day of my birth, I would like to celebrate the two people who made that event happen: my two guiding stars. Mom, Dad, I love you!

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