A Fly On the Wall, November 8, 2013

The Time It Is A Changing

by Jim Murchison 
@JimMurchison

Bob Dylan said the times they are a changing. I tend to think that the times are actually cyclical as each generation recoils from the attitudes and mistakes of the generation that preceded it. That being said I am not a total pessimist. In fact, things that I thought not possible  have occurred and most for the better.

What is more clear to me at this moment is that the time has changed. It has done its annual fall back and that means little light for me until spring. I was never affected by Seasonal Affective Disorder when I was a young actor. Some of the reasons for that may have been that I was younger and more resilient, but an even bigger reason I think was that I didn't have a 9 to 5 job and generally loved going to work.

The best of these halcyon days of the young bohemian was when I had a job acting at the Centaur Theatre which was right across the street from the loft I shared with another young artist (Gaëtan Charlebois). 

I would finish working at 10 have a drink possibly with friends and then take the 2 minute walk home where I would smoke cigarettes and have long discussions about how to fix theatre and save the world. The best way to do this if you never have been young and never had all the answers is to have deep discussions on art and people while very formulaic bad television plays in the background. Most nights the show of choice was Emergency which featured the talents of Randolph Mantooth, Kevin Tighe, Julie London and Bobby Troup. It helped that you could follow along and tell exactly where the show was at, just by the cast's looks at each other. Furrowed brows meant this was a serious story.  Raised brows meant everyone thought that the patient was a little wacky. If there were added  sideways glances it was wacky with added emphasis. It was entertaining but never distracting enough to interfere with what we were talking about.

It was comfort TV and good conversation and I would not be tired no matter how early the sun set. The big reason is I was doing what I loved and I was  always mentally active no matter how silly my actual life was. Sometimes all you really need to manage the stress of daily life is to be given the chance to work outside of rush hour. The most serious person in the most responsible job needs to laugh. Take a little time to do that and you won't notice as much how short the days have become.