Musings by Tulis

I had a revelation the other day That WOULD have changed my life if I had remembered it. I did not. I have forgotten it. Continue reading Revelations Saved and Lost ~ Monday, October 9, 2023 at Musings by Tulis.

What about you? Have you been visited recently by the Covid team? I would love to do a totally non-scientific survey. In the meantime – wash your hands. Continue reading Covid – The GIfts That Keeps On Giving ~ Monday, October 2, 2023 at Musings by Tulis.

My first grade teacher was Miss Beatty and her room was the center of my universe. She was a short woman – even at 5 years old I knew she was closer to my height than my parents. On the first day each of us was ushered in by our mothers as if we were passengers on a gangway headed to an outbound ship. Which was kind of true. That grammar school ship was sailing and although we would return, we wou...

This school with the brown linoleum hallway floors and the globe lights and the pencil sharpeners and the long wands that were topped with window latches for opening and closing the windows, and the cloak rooms and the chalk boards. This was the place I returned to every September for nine years. From age 5 to 14. I loved it more than my own home. Continue reading School Days ~ Monday, September 1...

Danny, was 11 on 911. He had been, for a few hours and without knowing it, a child in danger of losing his parents. And there he was, standing at the bar, having traveled though 20 years, sharing his story with me, a stranger. Something that happened 20 years ago had come full circle and placed me and Danny at an intersection of immense specificity. An 11 year old boy whose parents dodged a bullet...

Labor. Never been in it – the baby making part. I have, however, spent plenty of time in the labor for money part. As to the baby making – all I can say is that, I was involved in it in the sense that I was born. Which when you think about it is an odd word for what happens, or what I am told happens because I don’t remember one bit of it. Continue reading Labor Thoughts on Labor Day ~ Monday, Sep...

For every 1-2 minutes that we are given in an audition, we spend 3-4-5 hours working on that monologue, conjuring, sifting, adjusting. Continue reading Anatomy Of An Audition ~ Monday, August 28, 2023 at Musings by Tulis.

Losing two dear friends does not make me special, although I wish it did. The sting of their loss is making me look at the entrances and exits of my life and those around me. We arrive after the party has started and leave before it is over. Continue reading Exits and Entrances ~ Monday, August 21, 2023 at Musings by Tulis.

There is, however, something sticking to me about these deaths. Something about where did these expansive, funny, snarky, irreverent spirits go? Surely they have gone somewhere, transformed into something – right? Didn’t Neil DeGrasse Tyson say that or Einstein say that or Brene Brown or maybe it was Cher. “Energy cannot be created or destroyed, it can only be changed from one form to another.” Co...

Continue reading The Lure of the Lake ~ Monday August 7, 2023 at Musings by Tulis.

August is right around the bend, and it is one of my favorite times of year. There is something about the light that has softened. It has changed from the baking hot heat light of July into a mellowed tone. August light has been around the block. It knows a thing or two. Continue reading Get Ready For The Gift of August ~ Monday July 31, 2023 at Musings by Tulis.

Somehow it doesn’t seem fair to turn Monday into an albatross. Like I said - it is the Moon’s Day and as such is connected directly to the celestial, to dance of the planets that, no matter how we crap up this planet, keep on keeping on. Continue reading What’s Up With Monday? ~ Monday July 24, 2023 at Musings by Tulis.

And that is exactly the role of a production studio – although some might not see it that way. Some would say as actors and writers you are hired to do a job. Period. But on the other end of that handshake is the production company who you have hired to take care of you, to protect your rights as the owner of your art, to guarantee your benefits and assist you in securing your future. That will ho...

Welcome to whatever the heck it is that has taken over my container, or as some of you might call it – my body. I think “container” is more apt. Because this collection of astonishing parts has little to do with me personally. Continue reading Molting as Medicine ~ Monday Musing July 10, 2023 at Musings by Tulis.

Welcome to the Norovirus which has knocked me down three times in the past two weeks. The good news is that I have lost about 6 pounds – maybe 8 if I could depend on my scale. Continue reading Monday Musing Postponed ~ July 3, 2023 at Musings by Tulis.

Every week as the deadline for Monday Musings approaches I go into a panic about that week’s topic. What is on my mind? What is relevant? What will listeners find engaging? Well, all of that went out the window this week because the topic of the next six weeks will be CLUTTER. Continue reading Clutter ~ Monday, June 26, 2023 at Musings by Tulis.

The deed is done. My day job has ended – although they still have me on the hook as a consultant for six months. I have one toe tethered and one foot in the free zone. Going forward I will be aware of this new relationship with time, give my cats their treats when they want it, and indulge in watching them take naps when satiated. It feels like a good start. Continue reading Feline Guidance ~ Mond...

I don’t know if we were all in semi-denial when the sky went orange. After all we knew what it was and that it would pass. Quickly. Is that grounds for ignoring what was happening? Continue reading Smoke vs. Smoke Screen ~ Monday June 12 at Musings by Tulis.

Dusk and Thunderstorms. I suppose every season has parental memories – these summer ones make me pause. Literally. Pay attention, they say. Slow down and look, and listen. Continue reading Dusk and Thunderstorms at Musings by Tulis.

As Thomas Wolfe said, “One belongs to New York instantly. One belongs to it as much in five minutes as in five years.” In this case that would be nearly 50 years. Continue reading Memorial Day 1976 Move to NYC ~ May 29, 2023 at Musings by Tulis.

You commit and sit. And wait. After awhile, all the thoughts that you have been storing up as if you were a squirrel on uppers, leap up like skinny sophomores who are only on the team so that the bench is full. Continue reading The Skinny On Writing ~ Monday May 22, 2023 at Musings by Tulis.

... there are two kinds of mothers – the one you are born to and the ones who choose you, or visa versa. Continue reading Mother’s Day ~ May 2023 at Musings by Tulis.

I was not raised to be hopeful. I was raised to be Catholic. Life as a Catholic kid was a minefield of what was wrong and what was right, not because of any moral issue but because one path was loaded with sins that would get God pissed off, and the other path was leading to Heaven and God’s love. You pick... Continue reading To Hell And Back ~ May 8, 2023 at Musings by Tulis.

Let’s imagine you were standing looking at a garden full of artichokes. Would your first thought be, “Wow that looks delicious!” or would it be, “This is the perfect weapon for clobbering the guy down the road." Continue reading World Peace And The Artichoke ~ May 1, 2023 at Musings by Tulis.

We had no idea how important we were to one another or that the memories of four-part harmonies, spring evenings and the peepers would stay with us for decades. We had no idea or vision of the future, and the thought of being 70 or so and looking back was not on our agenda. Being there, leaning against one car or another, no one smoking or drinking, sharing gossip and the tiny markers in our lives...