A Fly On The Wall, March 21, 2014

Coming Full Circle
by Jim Murchison

It is amazing to me how greatly things have changed and how little I have. There have been some big changes in my life over the years. I have been married, had children, gotten divorced, made money, lost money. I have also been exhilarated and depressed. I have made good friends and lost them to distance, time or death. 

Those however are individual accomplishments and events that stand out as memories. I have had some illuminating moments but I don’t feel any wiser or sillier than I was 40 years ago. I still daydream a lot, still account myself as socially liberal and fiscally retarded and like the same kind of people. There were times when theatre occupied much less of my time than it does now, but when I think of what I choose to do when I have a choice absolutely nothing has changed.

When I was a young theatre student I went to every play I could and the rest of my time was spent with family and friends or rehearsing or performing myself. I loved most artists, disliked most politicians and always felt that the world was too critical of people for their idiosyncrasies and too quick to judge them for being different.

I am seeing three plays this week, meeting up with my daughters and I have reconnected with more friends in the last five years than I had in the previous 15. So I am more like I was 40 years ago as a young idealist than I have been in a long time. That’s fine with me. The only things I wish were a little different were that I had a little more disposable income rather than income already disposed of, and just a touch more wisdom. I also would like to have the ability to focus on a plan and stick with it a little better and I am working on that one. 

As for the silliness in me, I hope to hang on to that until the bitter end.