Single White Nerd: In the Eye(s) of the Storm
.
a blogumn by Michael Kass
This weekend Theatre and I were out on a date. Our reunion has been far from smooth. We’ve fought, we’ve thrown things at each other, we’ve cried. But at this point, we’re spending time together regularly. Four nights per week, 7 PM until 10:30 PM or so. Relationships take work!
So anyway. This weekend, Theatre and I were out on a date. I was traipsing all over her stage, waxing poetic about all sorts of stuff. Saying my lines. Acting up a storm. I looked out into the audience and It Happened. I saw something that pushed all thoughts of Theatre out of my mind. I saw
Eyes.
Two of them.
Big ones. Big brown eyes. And they were filled with understanding and compassion. The kind of understanding and compassion you read about. Or see in the moving picture shows. The kind of understanding and compassion that can change the world.
I completely forgot what I was talking about. I wanted to sit down next to those eyes and talk to them directly. Ditch the character I was playing, shut Theatre out, and have an honest to goodness conversation. Would the eyes show that same compassion and understanding to Me in Chair as they had to My Character On Stage?
Of course, I couldn’t do that. The show went on. But when we finished and everyone was clapping like happy seals, I sought out those eyes again. They weren’t looking at me. They were looking at a young man sitting next to them. The eyes had a boyfriend. Well, naturally. Eyes like that always do.
.