This Year's Gift

Just before Thanksgiving, I read 36 pages. Then I went back and re-read the same 36 pages more slowly with a highlighter and post-its. Typically, I don't re-read anything - there's just too much to read to re-read anything. For the next 4 weeks, I re-read the same 36 pages, usually every day, although not always. Some days I read those 36 pages multiple times. My husband read the same 36 pages, though he was not as concerned as I with every single page. He was mostly interested in select pages. He was so interested in some pages that he memorized them. My daughter too had a copy of the 36 pages. I'm fairly certain she didn't read all 36 pages, but she became familiar with the content. She could recite large passages of the 36 pages. So, what the heck were we reading over and over and over? A script. All three of us were involved in Long Lake Theater's Ole & Lena's Christmas Carol. My husband played the part of Fred, Scrooge's nephew, my daughter played the part of Urho (one of Ole & Lena's children), and I was behind the scenes running lights and sound. The script was an original play written by one of the theater's owners, Shannon Geisen. Some of the characters and storyline are familiar to you: a grumpy, penny-pinching boss named Scrooge who employs a poor man (Ole) trying to support a wife (Lena) and children (Hilda, Inge, Tula, Urho), including one small child who uses a crutch (Tiny Toivo). Scrooge is visited by "ghosts", but not the ghosts you are familiar with (for the most part anyway) including Lars Marley (Jacob's twin, aka Ole dressed up), a Norse Goddess (Lena dressed up), and Julenisse the Norweigan Christmas elf (Ole & Lena's friend Sven dressed up). The script is wonderful combination of Dickens' original tale and an infusion of northwoods Minnesota. The audiences loved it. But more importantly, for me anyway, what a gift for my family. In the wake of my father in law's untimely death, this production allowed us both a distraction and a joint effort. Furthermore, it combined two of my passions: good writing and supporting a local business (you can't get more local than a local community theater producing a show written by a local writer, performed by local actors, and attended by our community members - well, ok, a family from Colorado did see the show, but I think they were related to the theater owners). Have a happy holiday season and I hope you give and receive the really important gifts we have to offer each other.