Then and Now

Face it, everyone goes into the New Year with a resolution or two -- even if you keep it secret, you've got one. But how many people stop, take a moment to look back at the person they were a year ago, five years ago or perhaps ten years ago and who they are today?

It's a big question and it has a big answer.

A few months back, there was a writing challenge the topic of which was "write an essay: you - then and now." I had this wonderful piece typed up then deleted it. C'mon, we're writers! How many of us have done that? Written something haunting and meaningful, read it and hated it then threw it away only to mourn the loss seconds later...All of us, I am sure. But the summation was the best part, so I'll repeat it here, "Once, I was intelligent, bright and sure. Today, I am merely incandescent."

Why? The same way a mentally savaged soldier and a physically crippled ballerina found perfection, fluidity of motion and union in my first print book, The Ballet. To understand, you'll just have to read it for yourself.