All photos © Nancy F. Little 2009 unless noted otherwise.

 

 

 

 

  FEBRUARY 2009 

 

 

 February 2, 2009

   Punxsatawney Phil (the critter on the left) saw his shadow in Punxsatawney PA this morning so there's going to be six more weeks of winter down in that little western Pennsylvania town. Seeing as those of us in MA instead of PA are a bit further north, winter here will probably end seven weeks from now right around the Spring Equinox as usual.

   "Groundhog's Day" is one of my favorite movies and Bill Murray is one of my favorite comic actors, but this year I decided not to watch it today like I sometimes do. Don't know why. Just don't feel like it. I have seen it a lot of times.

   Throughout most of January, I've been mostly doing promotional stuff work-wise. I expect myself to put in somewhere close to a full work week even when I don't actually have any work (meaning no gigs). So during my traditional winter downtime, I chain myself to my desk and become a secretary.

   The biggest January desk job was going through all my past gig sheets and addressing "teaser cards" (pictured right) that I send to  past clients dating all the way back to 1988. That takes about two weeks. It's a mighty lot of postcards! Technically, it's called "working the back end." It means marketing to those who have purchased from you before. Each year, 40-60% of my work is with past clients. A few of them book me every year, but not most of them. In fact, it may surprise you to know that a few of my 2008 gigs were with clients who hadn't booked me for ten years or more! I strongly suspect that many of my repeat client probably wouldn't book ever me again if I didn't maintain contact like this. But every year, they hear from me because each and every January, I knuckle down, buckle down, do it, do it do it. 

   (You earn 10 points extra credit if you know where that last line is from.)

   I've also started a modest e-marketing program: searching the Web for events I could perform at, finding e-contact info, and sending a marketing email directing them to my website. So far, a week of that has already produced two nibbles! That may not sound like very much but it's actually really good!  A  or 2% response to direct marketing is considered really good. I've probably emailed my info to about 100 potential clients in the past week, so 2 responses is right on target! If I can keep this up, I may make it through this Depression intact.

 

 

 

 

 

 Tuesday, February 3, 2009

 

  "Goofy Lunch"  

 

   Each month at the regular monthly meeting of the Hats Off Performers Guild, we gather together for business and friendship.  After we've gone through the morning's agenda, we share a potluck lunch.
   In the early days of this group a couple decades ago, most of these lunches were pretty bizarre. Imagine a potluck attended by only men: some are single, some don't really cook, some have atrocious diets, and only two have any real standards. Really let your mind go and the possibilities boggle. Even though we've gotten way better in recent years, I still refer to our meal by the appellation my lovely wife gave it two decades ago: our "Goofy Lunch". When I got home from our meeting today, I got to tell her about all the stuff we did except for our Goofy Lunch. So you all get to hear it here:

   I brought the leftovers from the yummy quinoa, black bean, and red & yellow pepper dish my lovely wife made for us a day or so ago. Tim brought soup (chicken & lentil I think), Rob P brought 2 sweet potatoes, an avocado, a big bag of white corn chips, and a loaf of bread. The other Rob is on a very special diet and brings his own food - usually a rice dish of some sort. And Henry brought another big bag of white corn chips, some Triscuit knock-offs, TLC crackers, and some guacamole, hummus, and red pepper dips. Not an unpleasant meal, but definitely an unusual combination. Goofy Lunch indeed! Yum!

 

 

 

 

 

 Saturday, February 7, 2009

 

   "A Big Birthday Party" 

 

   At Dominique LaRochelle's 10th birthday party at the American Legion Hall in Easthampton MA (pictured right) today, there were at least 75 people of all ages... the youngest was only 3 weeks old and the oldest was probably in here late 80's. (I did not ask great grandma how old she is, though. Sorry.)

   Dominique was all dressed up pretty with a swanky red fuzzy top and a sweet tiara that really set off the color of her eyes. She had a little cluster of friends that kept flitting from place to place. Dominique seemed a little frustrated with them at times, but I think she managed to have a good time anyways. At least I hope so because she sure seems like a really nice girl who deserved to be the center of attention at her birthday party.

   There were so many people there. I love it when the whole family is invited to the party because everyone is always so happy to see everyone else. I know they always cluster off into little groups of friends and family, but I just really like it that they can celebrate a 10th birthday like that. Not many families do that, but this one does. Yay!

 

 

 

 

 

 Sunday, February 8, 2009

 

 

   Last month, when I made my list of "101 Things I'm Grateful For" on my blog, something had to be at #13. Frankly, I don't have any problem with that much maligned number... it's the one after 12, the one before 14. But today, when my best buddy Don and his cheerful wife Barbara came to visit, they mentioned that they noticed that a couple of items seemed related to their number in the list and, they noted further, they hoped there was no significance to the fact that they were at #13.

   In fact, a few items actually were purposely put at a specific number; but, no, they weren't one of them. After about the fourth item, most of the stuff was listed completely at random.
   But just for you, Don & Barbara, I went back and changed your number. You are now at #12. In Swedenborg's theology, the number 12 has a really good correspondence, too: it represents completeness, fullness, totality, all there is. So instead of being unlucky friends, we are now total friends, okay?

   So, what's at #13 now, you might ask? Music. (I don't think Music will have any problems with that.)

 

 

 

 

 

 Wednesday, February 11, 2009

 

   Over the past few days, I've been spending most of my working hours typing in a list of all the birthday parties of done in my career. So far, there's 921 of 'em. I'm actually impressed myself! Today, I was planning on finishing the list... I only had about 75 to go, but... and that's a really big BUT...

   I was racing to get it all done by the time my lovely wife got home from the library so I could proudly announce that I'd finished this huge project. As I worked, I was saving it at the end of each year's parties, BUT when I saved it after 2005, I discovered that once again, as I've done on this blog several times in the past, I'd exceeded the size of the page and quite a few at the bottom of the list got cut off. Like gone forever. Like at least an hour's worth of work lost. Like all the 1st birthdays and most of the 2nds. I was so frustrated! 

   Now I have to split it into three lists: one of the adult parties, one of the teen parties, and one of the kid parties. It's not what I want, but it's the only option I can think of that makes sense.

   So, I tried a little cut and paste to put the adults and teens on two new pages, but Firefox is set up so it won't cut and paste here. I have to go in and add some lines of code to my Firefox folder to enable cut and paste. They actually tell you how to do this, but to do that you have to shut down Firefox, so I can't look at the directions while I'm doing it without cutting and pasting! 

   I was so frustrated, I just quit right then and there. Tomorrow, my lovely wife will show me how to copy the directions onto a Word document so I can look at them when I need to.

   921 birthday parties, indeed!

 

 

 

 

 

 Thursday, February 12, 2009

 

 

   I was so frustrated with how my work day ended yesterday that I had to spend time today doing something I really enjoyed. So, since my lovely wife was off working on her schooling, I spent most of the day today on her laptop (thanks, hon!) updating my brand new page on my website: A Cascade of Waterfalls!

   Whereas there were originally 6 photos of 5 waterfalls with very little text, there are now 19 photos of 13 waterfalls with a paragraph or so of text with nearly all of them. 

   And there's still quite a few to go, too. I know my lovely wife has taken delightful photos of pretty much every waterfall we've visited since we got married a little over a decade ago. And we've been to more than thirteen of them, I can tell you that. Off hand, without even trying, I can think of at least four more waterfalls we've visited!

   Pictured at right is the third of the four sets of cascades that make up Chapel Brook Falls in Ashfield MA. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Friday, February 13, 2008

 

 

   Today I spent more time putting even more photos on my waterfalls page. Still more to come.  

 

 

 

 

 

 Saturday, February 14, 2008

 

 

 

Our wedding photo

October 3, 1998

 

   My lovely wife Nancy is the best thing that has ever happened to me... and I know deep inside me that this is going to continue forever and ever! Amen. I've had relationships with women who said that they loved me, but it usually came down to they just liked the way I treated them with respect as women. But this Nancy woman that I married 10 years ago actually loves me.  She loves me for who I am, what I am, and how I am. She loves me without strings or conditions attached. She loves my manhood, my morals, my mind... me. I've never ever gotten this from anyone. Ever. Before. It's absolutely stunning in it's simplicity and in it's complexity.

   And what makes it even more amazing is that I love her totally and without condition, too. Nancy is an amazing woman, an excellent wife, and an all around terrific person. Because of her unassuming manner and her full and unconditional loving, I too am able to give her my all. I would do anything for my loving wife. Anything. Anywhere. Anytime. She is my love. We are attached heart & mind, body & soul. 

   Nancy, I love you forever. You are the only one for me. Thank you for truly being my wife in every way. I look forward to every new day with you, am grateful for every hour we spend together, and am in heavenly bliss every moment of attention you give me. I will always take care of you, always be on your side in times of trouble, and always treat you with the love and respect that you so fully deserve. Thank you for loving me the way that you do. Most of all, thanks for being you.  I love the real you, the woman deep inside. I love you not only just the way you are but also every way that you will ever be in the future. I can't help it. Bless you, Nancy, my loving wife.

 You're the BEST!

 

 

 

 

 

 Sunday, February 15, 2009

 
  "A 3-Show Day!"   

   

   Back in the good old days before the economy tanked, it was not at all unusual for me to do 3-5 shows every Saturday and then another 2-3 on Sunday. (Less in the winter, more in the summer, that's why I put a range. ) But those days died with 9/11. Nowadays, I'm lucky if I have 3 gigs in an entire week. But today...    today, I had a 3-gig day! It felt just like old times!

   First,  I did a 12:00 show at Yankee Candle Co. in Deerfield MA. and then went home for a while and then returned to Yankee Candle for a second show at 3:00. I've done various types of gigs at Yankee Candle 22 times now since I first entertained at their company picnic in 1992. I've done a LOT of stiltwalking inside their huge flagship store here. It's awesome! And now, just in the past year or two, they've switched formats and put entertainers doing multiple performances on their Kris Kringle Market Theater stage doing half hour shows a few times a day on their busy weekends.

   Today, the store was mobbed! There were so many people there. The parking lot was just packed. In fact, when I returned for my second show, I had to wait for a parking spot near the front so I wouldn't have to lug my stuff in from what feels like a quarter mile away at the back of their big parking lot on the north side of the building.

   I really, really love performing here. It's a really FUN store (that has waaaay more than "just candles", by the way); they have a very nice stage area that's properly-lit; and the stage is in a well-travelled part of the store so I don't have to worry at all about gathering a crowd. Plus, the audience is always in such a good mood! People really like shopping here. Both shows today were very well attended, with at least 75 people watching each time... and there's only seating for 40 or 50 people!

   I must admit that I've gotten pretty good at cutting what is usually a full-hour show down to half an hour. I think I've managed to maintain the essence of it and still keep everyone having a good time from beginning to end. 

   I also admit that so far, most of the times I've performed on stage at Yankee Candle, I arrive early "just in case" and there's nearly always a crowd gathered already waiting for the show to begin. As an entertainer, I can't just sit there and stare at them for 15-30 minutes, so I admit that I usually pull something out of my bag of tricks that I don't use in my show and entertain them until show time, all the while announcing regularly: "This is not part of the show, ladies and gentlemen: do not have any FUN yet!" I suspect arriving early probably produces a bigger audience, but I really have no way of knowing this for sure other than to start showing up at the last second and starting the show the moment I arrive. 

 But that's not going to happen.

    Joe-Quan Griffin's 2nd birthday party in Springfield MA was my third show today. His mom called me this morning to set up the show! (You'd be surprised how often that happens.) This was one of those "4:00 until whenever" parties that people are sort of showing up continuously over a five or six hour period. The mom said there's be at least 15-20 kids, but when I got there and set up in their well-appointed playroom in the basement and they sent the kids down, there were only about 12 kids there so far... and about half of them weren't having anything to do with me: a few of them actually just sat there the whole time and didn't respond to anything I did! They were the tough part of the audience. The others, however, had a really good time from the moment they came down the stairs until the dad told me my time was up. They laughed at everything, participated in everything, and had FUN from beginning to end. And, just for a little twist at the end, all of a sudden when I was doing the very last thing, a half dozen kids showed up and were able to join in on the FUN only in the very last game!

   Ah, the life of an entertainer!     ... But it sure was wonderful to do 3 shows in one day again!

 

 

 

 

 

 Monday, February 16, 2008

 

 

   Each February during school vacation week, the Academy of Music Theatre in Northampton MA puts on a week-long children's film festival called KidsBestFest.  Monday-Friday at 2:00 each day they show either a feature film or a group of shorts usually running about an hour and a half or so; and then all afternoon on Saturday there's juried films made by local kids ages 18 and under. And as if that weren't cool enough, admission each day is only $3!
   Each February during school vacation week, I attend every one that I can. Most years, that means I get to go to four of five or them. This year is no exception: I'm there this week Monday-Thursday (I have gigs Friday and Saturday). My wife and I both love this film festival. We go without bringing any kids with us at all and enjoy ourselves immensely. 
   So today's feature was the original film version of "Oliver!" sing-along style lead by Northampton's own Young @ Heart Chorus in the front three rows belting out the songs inspiring the rest of us to join in, too! (They showed it with subtitles on the screen, so you didn't have to remember all the words.) This event was simply wonderful! I hadn't seen Oliver! for decades so I was surprised by what I remembered and what I didn't.
   Tomorrow is Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art Day: there's going to be a documentary featuring the Pioneer Valley's very own world-famous "picture writer" Eric Carle (who's very popular museum is just across the river in Amherst MA), followed by six short films of Leo Leonni's delightful collage-work picture books incuding his most popular one Swimmy. Plus the Very Hungry Caterpillar is going to be showing up in person after the show!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

   Today, I added four very short videos that Nancy took onto my Waterfalls page.  I'm really pleased to be able to add video to my site. It sure is FUN! And I think these Little videos really enhance the experience. (They are called "Little videos" with a capital "L" because they were taken by my lovely wife Nancy Little.) Enjoy!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

   Last Sunday, I oohed and aahed is in this very location about having a 3-show day (thanks in part to Yankee Candle Co),  and today (once again, thanks to Yankee Candle Co) I'm thrilled to be doing a 6-show weekend! Feels like old times! (Or at least more prosperous times, anyways.)

   So a big THANK YOU to Yankee Candle Company in Deerfield MA for booking me for 2 shows last weekend and 6 more this weekend! This weekend, I'm doing 2 shows a day at noon and 3:00 on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Yankee Candle Co is only 10 or 15 minutes up the road from my place, so it's great to be able to just buzz up, do a show, zip home for lunch and a bit of desk work, buzz back up for the second show, and then zip right back home again afterwards.

   Today's audiences were pretty big: about 75-85 people at each one. I got there about half an hour early for the 12:00 show and there were already 15 people sitting there waiting for the show. Like I said last Sunday, I purposely get there early and entertain those who are waiting with stuff that's not in my show. It seems to work. And I just LOVE working here!

 

 

 

 

   Yesterday, before going to my first show at Yankee Candle Co in Deerfield MA, I made an 8-1/2" x11" sign that says: "Shows Today at 12:00 & 3:00" and put it  in one of those clear plastic display stands to leave on the stage along with my brochures for the weekend so customers would know there was going to be shows and who was doing them. Today, when I got there for my second show, there were only 5 brochures left out of about 40 I'd originally left there! Yay! That's really good. Hopefully it's mostly prospective clients that took them (and not all children!)

    Another thing of note today: When I arrived for my second show, unlike every other time I've ever entertained the crowds here, there was absolutely no-one there waiting for the show! Not even a lady just sitting there enjoying some fudge. Nobody resting their tired feet. Not even a mom with 3 kids who just needed a break. Absolutely. No. One.  However a crowd quickly gathered once I began to set up. And it ended up being one of the biggest crowds I've ever had there! Wow!

 

 

 

 

   So this was the final day of performing at Yankee Candle Co in Deerfield MA during February vacation week: 8 shows over the two weekends. Remember how I said yesterday that I showed up for my second show and there was nobody there already waiting for the show to begin and that that had never happened before? Well, me and my big mouth! It happened at both shows today! What gives?!?

   Okay, there actually is a really good reason for this: there was a huge snowstorm predicted for today so a lot of people stayed home. Compared to the other days, there were hardly any people at Yankee Candle today. It was indeed snowing on the way to my first show... but not that much. But on the way to my second show, man-o-man was it snowing hard! And there were maybe half as many cars in the parking lot when I got there compared to the first show. But when it came time to go home, it was hardly snowing at all. And by the time I got home 15 minutes later, it had stopped completely. I understand Boston got hit hard, but the Pioneer Valley of Western Mass didn't get more than an inch of so, and that was mostly slush in places.

   So there were about 50 people at my first show today and "only" about 30 at the second. But let me tell you this: that second show with it's "sparse" attendance had the highest concentrations of adults who actually participated in everything of all 8 shows I did at Yankee Candle this week. The kids always have a blast, but the adults... no that's another story. See, I know that there's adults who won't participate no matter what; and I know that there's a few adults - a very few - who will do everything; but I know this: when adults participate in my shows, they have a total blast!!! At this show, about 90% of the adults were playing along. And by the looks on their faces and the sounds of their laughter they were having as much FUN as the kids. Yay! I love it! And so did they!

   Despite the size of the audience, it was a wonderful close to a very full weekend. It was simply wonderful that so many in the audience were able to relax and have FUN today! Thank you to Yankee Candle Co for booking me once again; and a special thanks to Jim Ovitt, director of sales and operations, for booking me for 8 delightful performances this week. It was awesome to help so many people have so much FUN at what I call "one of the FUNNEST stores in the world!"

 

   Regular readers may recall last month when I talked about having the first of what we decided would be monthly family potlucks with my Western Mass clan members. Well, today was the second one, and it was as delightful as the first! 

   Last month we got together on January 4th. You may recall it was actually a "Christmas gathering" (in January, sorry) and we had a Yankee Swap that ended  perfectly. This time, we had a triple treat: 1. My son Jason and his wonderful girlfriend Kelly joined us from Cambridge tonight. 2. It was my nephew Ken's 31st birthday today. 3. Mike's wife who has been very pregnant for a couple weeks now had her baby at noon today! Welcome to the world Seamus Kenneth! A third kid for Mike; another grand nephew for me; another brother for Kyah and Reilley; and a great birthday present for Ken! (That's Kyah & Ken pictured at left.) 

   Once again, I had a great time with my extended family. Once again, I had a blast goofing around with my grand niece Shirley Positive. And once again, we had a great meal and a lot of FUN just socializing together. This time we spent about half the evening telling jokes. I heard a few new ones, but of course I don't remember any of them now.

   Below is a photo of three generations: grampa Ross, dad Mike, and still just minutes old Seamus!

 

 

 

 

 

 

   I spent time tonight adding a new gallery page to The TREVOR Museum of Real Art called "Funny Photos".  It's a collection of photographs that are either by me or feature me or my family. Some of these photos go back to the 1970's! All of them, I smile inside each and every time I see them.

   There's not a lot of photos up yet, but it's a start. My art museum is definitely a work in progress. Gallery One has been up for most of a year, but it still says at the top that there's going to be more detail added "eventually". I guess I meant it.

   Below is a sample from Gallery Two: Funny Photos.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

   This afternoon I went on a terrific 2-1/2 hour hike with my son Jason and his wonderful girlfriend Kelly and our mutual friend Jim DuBois at the Fitzgerald Lake Conservation Area in Northampton.  My lovely wife and I walk here regularly - it's only a few minutes from our home - but we usually only do the 45-minute walk to the lake and back. But our little group today wanted more than that. We ended up walking from one end of the place to the other and back again, hiking on most of the major trails within the conservation area. 

   We parked at the former Moose Lodge in North- ampton (it's for sale) and walked the Boggy Meadow Road trail 20 minutes through the woods to the lake, and then across the top of the dam that created Fitzgerald Lake in the first place. (See Photo #1 above.) We hung out at "the rock" at the far end of the dam for a while, enjoying the view and the full sunshine. (See Photo #2 below.) Then we plunged on into the woods around the north side of the lake, following the side trail out to the eastern promontory, and then back out again, and then down the next side trail that goes to the western promontory "The Fishing Place" where we sat down for a while and once again soaked up the view and the sunshine. From there, we took the little-known single-track trail that skirts the very edge of the lake all the way to the small board bridge at the far western end of the lake that cuts across a thin strip of bog to the middle of the long boardwalk that goes out over the edge of the lake. There a nice bench at the end, so for a third time we soaked up the sights and the sun. Next, we walked back the full length of the boardwalk to the main trail which we took all the way back to the dam and back along the Boggy Meadow Rd trail to the Moose Lodge.

   What an awesome hike!  Special thanks to Jim for sending me these photos.

 

   After I dropped the others off, I went to the post office and the big fat check I 've been waiting for was there. So I went and did a little retail therapy. I spent $35 on me and $25 on food. Whoopee!

 

   When I got home, my lovely wife whom I cherish and adore had brought me home a really cool free gift from the Springfield City Library where she's been volunteering once a week while she goes to librarian school. It was Peters Atlas of the World. Now I've been smitten by Peters Projection maps since I first laid eyes on them. Unlike the traditional maps ("Mercator" maps) of the world that we're used to that totally skew all the land masses, Peters maps show all land masses in true proportion to each other. In Mercator maps, because they put the equator a third of the way up from the bottom instead of in the center, the northern hemisphere is twice as big as the southern hemisphere! Before Peters came along, I don't think anyone ever took much notice of that little problem. 

   Just a few examples: On Mercator maps, Europe appears to be bigger than South America, when in reality South America is actually nearly twice as big as Europe! On Mercator maps, Greenland looks to be pretty much the same size as China, but in reality China is almost 4 times larger! And Africa, by the way, is not a short, squat continent; Africa is really, really HUGE but you won't ever know that looking at traditional maps.

   The front half of this great atlas is all map grids covering the entire world. The back half is all full-world maps with color coded statistics of everything from population density and average rainfall to which countries produce the most scientific books or have the highest birthrates per woman. These charts are so fascinating that I stood here and looked at every single one of them right now when all I intended to do was to snag a couple of examples of the types of data they show.

   Thanks, my love, for this great gift!

   And you, dear reader, can check out the Peters Map at <www.petersmap.com>.  It's really cool!

 

 

 

 

 

   Back in October, I did a birthday party at Hold the Anchovies! pizza parlor in Pittsfield MA. Well,  Christina Tremblay, the mom who hired me, was so pleased with my work that she referred me to her friends! And I guess she liked it at Hold the Anchovies!, too, because today, thanks to a referral from Christina (THANK YOU SO MUCH!) I did another birthday party at the very same location! YAY!

   So I drove an hour west on Rte 9 from Northampton all the way to Hold the Anchovies! for Savannah Mesdea's 3rd birthday party this morning. Savannah is a very adorable and somewhat shy little girl who was wearing a sparkly blue top that set off her hair color perfectly.

   And although she was a bit shy, I must say that she certainly was brave as well as honest. Here's the brave part: when I asked her to come up in front during the show, she obviously didn't really want to but she did anyways with a little help from her dad. (Thanks Frank!) She was a brave little performer for one silly trick I did. And - here comes the "honest" part - when I asked her if she wanted to help with another trick, she very clearly but quietly said "No" and went back to her seat! It was great! I love it when they're honest when they answer the questions... even when it's brutal!

   So there were about 7 or 8 kids and twice as many adults and teens watching the show. Several of the latter actually participated (I love it when that happens!), but all of them watched the entire show from beginning to end.

   All of them, that is, except the one lady who got up partway through, went into the "party room" that has glass all the way around it, and started eating a slice of pizza. So when two of the kids noticed she was eating already, they also got up out of their seats right in front of me in the middle of a game and went to the party room to get some pizza, too! In about 5 seconds, my entire group of kids save one was gone! It took a few minutes to get them all back. I was upstaged by a lady eating pizza. Sheesh! 

   But despite the distraction (Thanks lady!) everybody had a really FUN time, and I got quite a few nice compliments afterwards from parents and -- here's a surprise -- from several of the teens who were there, too! Cool!

   And little Savannah told me afterwards that she had FUN, too! Alright!

 

 

 

 

top of the page

 

 

   previous month                    next month             

 

 

 

 

 

trevor@trevorthegamesman.com

PO Box 463, Haydenville, MA 01039