26+ Degrees Between My Cousin and Al Pacino

Today's Spanish word was inspired by a cousin in Panama, who I've reconnected with through all this Quarantine madness. Gracias Prima, y Senorita Hoch en Isla Larga, y Google Translate, and plate tectonics. I always knew that Long Island was a woman. Look at it, the right way, from above, turned quarter clockwise. That ain't no tail of a fish.

SUNDAY, APRIL 19, 2020

Random Highlights:

• Meditation, light, hydration, ventana, movement, completed by 4:50am

• Well, this morning's intentional movement was so early that I didn't want t disturb my neighbors. So I quietly made up my own tai chi moves for 14 minutes, to music randomly chosen by my iPad. So I'm fairly certain that I didn't stir Sid and Nancy in the apartment directly above me. There is no way for my tiny iPad speakers to even remotely battle with their TV, which was still on from the night before. Hey, at least they weren't fighting. THAT didn't start until about 12 hours later.

• I had a phone meeting with my partner on The Other Project. We had such a great conversation. I had been participating in an ultra modern video chat about my pantry, but I thought it could wait. And this phone meeting inspired me SO MUCH. My Other Project Partner is motivating me so hard. More so than anything I might celebrate with today. Check the date, kids.

Today's Life Page:

I ran 3.1 miles today, in honor and celebration of a Cousin and a Very Funny Actor Friend.

I was slightly overdressed. It had been cool in the morning. But here I was with my extra layer, in this beautiful April sun above 86th Street, and I really started to get my schvitz on.

And then I received a musical cue from Spotify.

I have pretty much heart this song my whole life, but it was a different version. It was from my chosen "Daily Mix 2" playlist, based on my running fondness for Black Eyed Peas. It was beautiful, familiar, and drove me. And the chorus took me right back to Jimmy Cliff:

"I can see clearly now the rain is gone. I can see all obstacles in my way. Gone are the dark clouds that had made be blind. It's gonna be a bright, bright, sunny day."

I started to get choked up a little, as I turned onto Fourth Avenue. Because my Cousin is sick. And my actor Friend is sick. And today is just a beautiful day. And I'm thinking about the connection between my Actor Friend and my Cousin.

William Shakespeare. The connection between these two men in my life is Shakespeare. I'm sure of it.

I met my Actor Friend, summer of 2000, while working for Willie, on a little play you may have heard of called Julius Caesar. We understood each other's humor, and we have been cracking each other up ever since. He once waited with his daughter for me at the finish line of a 10K in Bed Stuy. He was there so long, they started to take down the signs and decorations, and Actor Friend just assumed that he missed me. He returned to his cafe, as I was the final runner to complete the race. I had the slow poke vehicle right behind me for most of the way, which in Bed Stuy was a police car with the lights going.

10K has not really been my distance. Yet. I'm still just a seven year old runner.

Now follow me, back to my neighborhood, yesterday. As I turned left onto 87th Street, I flashed forward 10 years, to Merchant of Venice. The director had made an offer to an Itallian-American, Bronx actor, that he couldn't refuse. I was warned, while working the stage door, that Mr. Pacino could be quite temperamental. A temperamental Italian actor from the Bronx? It was in my DNA to handle him. The only difference was, about then pounds. And he turned out to be lovely.

Each day he would arrive at the theater and greet me with a quick one-liner.

"Hey Al, how are you today?"

"I don't know, Karen. How am I supposed to be doing?"

You all know that you just did his voice in your heads.

From the bottom of my eight years of Massapequa Hebrew school heart, I respected the hell out of the fact that he had fish delivered from Russ and Daughters every Friday. I simply had to call my mother from the stage door once, just to share this with her. To which her response was, "that's a sixty dollar fish."

"That's okay Mom. I think he's good for it."

The last of the dollar tippers asked if I "took care" of the delivery person. I told her, no, that Al tips the driver when the order is placed.

"How do you tip the delivery driver with Al Pacino's money?!"

Evelyn, may she rest, was an old school bookkeeper, who trusted math. Remember?

And when he was backstage during the show, and he had his costume on, there were several times when I turned around. And I swear to you, all I saw was my Massapequa Hebrew school principal, Reb Klein. It was crazy. Reb Klein had been gone for decades. What a nice man he was, very stern, but honest and beautiful, down to his soul, may he rest.

Mr. Pacino complained to his assistant several times that he didn't think he looked Jewish enough.

Rebbe Al, you sure did. And I thank you, for your one of a kind performance each night. Just for me.

And thank you, for connecting all of yourselves through me:

• Prima N

• Senorita Hoch

• Sid & Nancy, as well as my Upstairs Neighbors

• Other Project, Writing Partner

• Black Eyed Peas

• Jimmy Cliff

• Grace VanderWaal

• My Other Cousin

• My Funny Actor Friend

• William Shakespeare, and my college Shakespeare professor BaBo. Who coined the phrase, "Fredrick's of Buffalo, the finest in Flannel Erotica"

• Julius Caesar, you gotta watch your back, 33 times

• Director, Dan S

• Mr. Al Pacino

• Mom, Evelyn

• Reb Klein

@Spotify

@russanddaughters (Since 1914! Same family! )