it's showtime, folks

The script is written.  The props are prepared.  The performer knows his lines.

And at 5:00 this afternoon, the curtain will go up on the only live performance of "A Mexican Mosaic." 

I told you this day was coming in i am not a camera.

Next week it will be Steve Cotton's turn in the cross-cultural barrel.  And, if everything comes together, I will sprint through the high points of Mexican history, talk a little about Jorge Castañeda's cultural contradictions in Mañana Forever?, and then have some fun with local place names.  All in one hour.

That was what I wrote a week ago.  And, amazingly, I am still on course to do exactly as I promised.  Usually, when I volunteer to do these gigs, I end up changing my entire focus about an hour before I hit the stage.  I guess that could still happen.

You may recall, before I retired, one of my favorite work duties was being part of a troupe who presented a quarterly legal update to our company's attorneys and adjusters.  Sort of a Saturday Night Live at the Supreme Court. 

The substance was important.  But finding a whimsical theme was just as necessary.  I loved being center stage.

And I have discovered nothing has changed after five years of retirement.  I probably have a catalog of circumstances that could derail this presentation at any time.

But none of them has entered my hard head.  I am too busy getting ready to have another great time on stage.

The reason I do not worry?  I intend to have a great afternoon -- no matter what.  And maybe, just maybe, the co-conspirators in this bit of fun (AKA "the audience"), will enjoy it as much as I will.

As Lincoln is purported to have said: "People who enjoy this sort of thing are going to find it is the sort of thing they enjoy."

Or, I could just leave you in the hands of Bob Fosse.