Dear Emily, congratulations on your continued success, I pray that our Lord will grant you even greater success going forward. It seems like years since I last posted (I know it has been a couple or so years. We here in the mid-west are getting ready to engage in the 160th anniversary of the Battle of Gettysburg June 23-25 which will be the start of our Civil War theatre tour ( "Dr. Loves Travelling Salvation Show and Tin Pot Emporium, from, Peoria, Illinois") followed by our "USA-USO WWII" tour. It's taken us almost 3 years to find the right balance but ae think we have found it and hope the reeanactors at Gettysburg give us a good hearing. They are all living historians so we have had to get it right on all points. The public will not be there in the evenings so we knoiw we will face our toughest audiences. Which is good. Our Motto is, "Respect the theatre, Respect yourself, and Respect the audience." Future Plans are to tour both shows for at least a year before wouking out arrangements to join up with a like minded group (unamed due to NDA in effect until ?) in England and continuing the tours. The American Civil War has many reenactments and units well established in the UK. Back to you, your future looks bright and sunny, perhaps someday we may cross paths while touring. We are supposed to sing "the Messiah Refreshed" at Carnegie Hall this December, not counting on it. In 2025 we may appear at The Royal Albert Hall who knows. Still, looking forward to you sharing your future with us. God Bless you. I will try to do a better job of keeping in touch with you all.

Hello, Emily, sorry to take so long to catch up with you and all the wonderful folks who follow you. Love all the new songs and posts. I have been involved in virtual projects and writing and that has taken many waking hours as you yourself are familiar with. Have almost completed my musical paying Homage to all the nurses and forgotten female heroes of WWI & WWII, You will recognize many of the musical numbers from both wars the cast will have 9 females and 4 men. The songs will reflect the women going to war and onto their survival or deaths. I spent a month in Germany filming with my beloved Ann. The whole film is in German (I spent weeks teaching Mein Frau, Deutsche.) Now we are getting ready to sing our annual Christmas concert with our choir. Our Carnegie Hall concert has been cancelled, we were to sing with 400 other choristers from all over the world, the "Messiah" refreshed. However, it has led us to form a group (non-union, non-paid) of tech and actors, from all the genres, film, TV, radio, theatre, concerts, opera houses to band together and produce stuff Like Podcasts, shorts, Live Radio shows, musicals...everything and anything. We are all agreed we are tired of doing little or nothing. This will keep up our hopes, prayers, and spirits. As we pray and wish you well, may I call upon you to do the same for us. So be it.

Mine is T’was Christmas Eve in the year 1950 and Kilkee was painted in snow. Beautiful lines of low rock walls created a giant puzzle for the eye to see. The fields coated in blankets of white with not a mark or footsteps to bestir them stretched out to the coastline. Not a speck of green was to be seen. The Atlantic waters sparkled with early morning sunlight that appeared as stars that made the eyes squinch tight, the brilliant blue sky gave hope that the day ahead was to be special. As indeed, it was. Down the road, came the travelers. The sound of children’s laughter floating in the air, ahead of them. These were the outlying farm families coming into the village for the Christmas Ceihle (dance/party) bringing with them a variety of foods, fruits, and musical instruments with which to make merry the celebration. As they approached the outskirts of the village a fiddler would up and play a lively little piece to start the heart pumping like mad. Windows would be thrown open, greetings exchanged, Irish laughter ringing like bells in the crisp morning air. “Hullo! Murphy! Which way are ye’, set. ‘Tis a wild man, ye’ are. Play away, man. Play away.” Good day, to you. Mrs. O’Connell, may you and yours have a grand day, altogether!” And from every part of the village the people would yell out at each other Christmas messages, well wishes, and foolish nonsense. it mattered not a bit, which or what the words were, for it was my people joining together for a moment of peace and hilarity. None were left out for each was a part, it mattered little to us whether, or not a body had anything in the way of food or drink to offer the group. I t was not the ability to sing or dance, or the money thrown into the village fund by which they were judged. Not at all. It was their fellowship, their very existence, their common good that bonded them to us, and us to them. There were no I have, and I have nots in the village. There were only the Irish folk themselves who asked each other this one simple enduring question that often separates the Irish from the rest of the world in times of need. “Have, you enough, darlin’, dear. If not, what can I fetch you?” . What's yours?