Stories from the Stringam Family Ranches of Southern Alberta

From the 50s and 60s to today . . .



Sunday, November 20, 2011

Saved for Greater Things

Tristan and his wife, Jess.

When we were teenagers, my husby and I got involved in theatre.
And stayed involved.
This year marks 42 years for me.
And slightly more for him.
I know, I know. Do the math.
That makes us both . . . old.
But we love it.
We raised our children on the stage.
All six.
Our most recent production, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers closed last night.
To a standing ovation.
Our youngest son, Tristan was singing the role of Adam.
And as I watched him, I couldn't help but remember his first time on stage, at the age of 5.
We weren't sure if he would remember lines, so we made him a mute.
Big mistake.
He hasn't stopped talking since.
Then I thought about all of the roles he has had in his short lifetime.
And other experiences he has had on the stage.
Let me tell you about one.
We were setting up the stage for a production of “I Hate Hamlet”.
Look it up. It's funny.
We were trying different configurations with our set pieces.
One piece, a double glass door in it's own frame, was built by a home builder.
He hadn't understood that set pieces were supposed to drag around easily.
And be . . . light.
He had built it according to building code requirements.
So . . . definitely not light.
We had stood it up and were discussing where it should go in the grand scheme of things.
My son, Tristan was sitting innocently in a chair on stage, waiting for his parents to finish moving furniture around.
We stepped away from the door, intent on another piece of scenery.
And that's when it tipped.
The door, I mean.
Forward.
Towards my son.
It was one of those things that you could see happening.
But were powerless to stop.
For a moment, time slowed to a crawl.
The door dropped.
Down.
Down.
And smacked the back of our son's chair off.
Really.
A large, heavy, wooden chair.
Broke the back right off.
Our son turned and looked.
The door had missed him by a whisker.
I watched him singing last night.
And thought about that wall falling towards him so many years ago.
Obviously preserved for greater things.

8 comments:

  1. Good Lord...heart in your mouth moment...down on your knees after moment.

    ReplyDelete
  2. saved for better things....
    I remember that incident.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Oh geez!!!
    That's enough to stop a heart beat or two and give you nightmares. Thank God nothing bad came of it.
    Glad to hear he is all grown healthy and happy.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I LOVE learning this tidbit about your family! My acting abilities are sub-par at the very best, but my mom was in several plays when I was a kid as well as one of my sisters. My sister has actually directed a handful of plays and loves to put on those murder-mystery dinner parties for her friends. :) She's a hoot and I think you would like her a lot!

    I'm so glad your son was saved from the death door! Yikes! I bet that made your heart stop beating for a moment or two!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Oh, that's wonderful. I just love when people get involved and stay involved in the arts. Good for you for bringing it to your children as well!

    Pearl

    ReplyDelete
  6. AAARRRGGHHH!! And that reaction's NOT about working out your probable age, either!! Great story - that could have ended so differently.

    Have a wonderful day!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Wow! I always enjoy reading your stories - thanks for sharing with NOBH.
    Stefanie

    ReplyDelete

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