Wednesday Forum

Here's what's going down in the mad world of Ben this week...

The Poor Tigers...

After starting off 5-0, there was no place for the Tigers to go but an SEC Championship...or down. And boy did they go down. It's amazing how quickly people will turn on a team. But I will say this for this Auburn team....they CAN score. A lot. In a short amount of time. And they can fight back from a half time deficit. We'll be lucky to make a bowl game. But you never know when the Chris Todd who threw 5 TD passes will come back. Now, if our defense could just control that A-Gap...However, there is always one bright side to any game. And her name is Abby Loren Culberson. Pending Cubby (her dad) 's permission, she'll be here for this so called "Navy Nightmare", and we'll have a blast.

Brighton Beach Memoirs

This is without a doubt my most difficult acting challenge to date. I'm used to musicals, where you sing your feelings....or playing an 11 year-old Mozart in an imaginary world called Nocturno. As you can imagine...getting in touch with the 18 1/2 year old Stanley Jerome is proving to be quite the challenge. But this is really my favorite type of show. These characters are a real family, with real down to earth problems that everyone can relate to and learn from, which is what theatre's all about. Now, at this point in my career I'm trying to figure out how to effectively partner and bring truth and intention to the stage...but I'm still struggling to remember lines like I did in high school. Go figure.

Doing the Gosh-Darn Dishes.

I really like my roommates. Every now and then we have great moments and great laughs (usually revolving around x-box live) and I don't have to worry about them coming home smashed or bringing home a nasty hooch. However, a certain Goon Poon who shall remain nameless is continuing to neglect doing the dishes...meaning I am left to clean up his mess in the sink. And I have too....It's nasty, it's moldy, and I need the silverwear and cups. So, here I sit on my bed having done his dishes for something like the third week in a row. But I am content with my honor and the knowledge that the thankless jobs are the ones that we get rewarded for (Though I think according to God's standards if I complain in a blog I defer my reward to the present.)

Just how many can they lose?

My NFL team...The St. Louis Rams....continue to be consistent in their losing ways, have still barely managed to score in each game, let alone compete. I would say they can't possible lose them all...However, they are on something like a 15 game losing streak, and the Detriot Lions have already proved that losing your way through an entire season is a total possibility. The one plus side to all this...Sam Bradford, heisman trophy winner and record setting QB for Oklahoma, has had a successful shoulder surgery and should be ready for the draft.

Dear St. Louis,

Thanks for not allowing Rush Limbaugh anywhere near our team. Now, if in this upcoming draft, you could realize that Marc Bulger is not a real quarterback and draft our mutal friend Mr. Bradford, we might actually have a franchise. That is all.

-Ben

The Jester's Tale

Once upon a time, in a far away kingdom, there was a fool who entertained in the King's court. He could sing, he could dance, and most important of all, he had a funny hat with dangling balls! This Jester was a great friend of the King and the Minstrel, and his performances gained renown across the land....

He was a happy Jester. Poor, but not in spirit, and rich in mirth. The Jester had his court, and the love of his King, and he was content. But one day, there came a visitor to his performance. As he took his bows, he noticed from the corner of his eye a beauty the likes of which he had never seen. Pushing his way through the crowd, he met with the young maiden. To his great surprise, the maiden gave him a courtesy, and proclaimed that she was a great admirer of the Jester. But to his greater surprise, he learned that she was a young princess, and one who's hand was quite out of his reach. As she road away into the sunset, his heart broke for her loveliness. In his despair, the Jester set off on a quest to become a great performer, one who might win the hand of so fair a princess.

So the Jester began his perilous quest. He settled in a new land, far from his friend the minstrel and the King. In time, he grew to forget that fair young face, much to his misfortune. The Jester sought to fill that hole in his heart with hard work, hard play, and the faces of other fair maidens. But in time, he would remember the young maiden who looked on him with a smile, and his heart reached out to her once more. It had been years since his eyes had rested on the young maiden, but her face was just as lovely as he remembered. But the maiden too had forgotten the face of Jester, and was pledged to a knight of stately bearing. Despite a nearly broken heart, the Jester did not leave the maiden's side. When the maiden's hour of need came, it was the Jester who stood by her side and kept her safe from harm. She now saw the Jester for who he was: someone that would stand by her side through many dangers and bring a smile to even the most tear-wrung eyes. She now pledged herself to the Jester, and the Jester to his maiden, and they rode off into the sunset to live happily ever after.