Dreams and Destiny

It's December 24, 2024 and Christmas is tomorrow. The end of the year is always a mixed bag. I appreciate all that's happened, good or bad, and look forward to what's coming next. Given my last three posts I'm putting my whole trust and faith in God. Thank God.

This post won't be political. I tried to stay away from it as much as I could this year and will try next year too. Not an absolute promise but a promise to try. I do want to mention I deactivated my Twitter (because I'll never call it "x") due to ownership and it's nefarious tendencies. I opened an account at Blue Sky (@alistairmckenz1.bsky.social). If you want to follow I'd love to have you. I've committed to making it a "vessel of good news."

Our church is a haven of ridiculous talent. Many, if not most, are part of the biz and we can put on a show! Last weekend, the final before Christmas, was the, you guessed it, Christmas show. (I think it's streaming on YouTube on the WestPres Burbank channel). For years I've avoided joining in because of the rehearsal schedule and my commute. If we aren't the farthest away we're in the top three. The Southland is notorious for its traffic and our little corner of it is no exception. Basically, I didn't want to drive and drive and drive.

But, this year our friend and the director gave me a personal invitation. I was about to say "no" when my wife chimed in. "You should do it. I'd love to hear you sing." So, I said yes. On one condition - I could do one of my songs. "Great," Helen (the director) said. "As long as it's a Christmas song." Well, I didn't have any Christmas songs which would have been a handy excuse to beg off. But, as I was sleeping one night a little girl sang the first line of a tune to me. It was perfect and I said so. Then I woke up and realized God had given me a bit and piece and it was up to me to finish the job. Lo and behold, Heir Apparent was born.

So, this last weekend I did Heir Apparent twice. Once for each performance. After, of course, one (or more) for each rehearsal, and dress rehearsal, and tech rehearsal. Basically, the cast heard the song a bunch and, man, were they supportive. It sure pays to have a gracious, collaborative community at your back. So different from the biz where, by and large, everyone's out for themselves in some capacity or other. I mean, they have to be. It's their living. Which isn't to say show biz people are selfish or mean spirited. They're not. They're just trying to make a living.

I digress. Show is a tradition at WestPres. The community and, sometimes, far flung visitors frequent them. The house is always capacity. The laughs are always full and the joy is always ubiquitous. It was fun and, dare I say, the song got a pretty good reception.I'll be putting it up on Bandcamp.com soon and the performance on my website. FYI.

All this on the heels of two really good days in December where I was booked on a feature as a lawyer and a dubbing project for Netflix. For anyone who frequents this blog it will come as no surprise I can't say more right now. Confidentiality and all. But January 2025 is looking pretty darn good.

I continue to massage the sequel to my novel The Girl Who Was Allergic to the Cold called The Girl Who Liberated the Cold. Come January another season opens for agent inquests and I'll be steeped in finding a good one. Hopefully these and other novels I've written will be on shelves soon. Because BOOKS ARE BACK, BABY. (I borrowed that from a recent article touting the return of the neighborhood bookstore and Barnes and Noble's expansion agenda. Yay!)

Thank you for stopping in this year. Hope to see you next. Have a blessed Christmas, prosperous New Year and distinguished 2025. Blessings everyone.