On looking ahead to this day—among leaders, and in the audience of "Once"

Today I'll give what I'm pretty sure will be my final talk emanating from LOVE: A Philadelphia Affair. I'll join Liz Dow, the extraordinary woman behind Leadership Philadelphia, and her leaderly contingent. We'll talk about this city we believe in.

The rest of the day will be a father-daughter day. Museums in the afternoon. Dinner. Then my father's early birthday present—tickets to "Once," which won eight Tony Awards, including Best Musical, in 2012.

I. Love. This. Story.

I. Sing. Those. Songs.

And while I gave my father many choices when we were planning out this day, I was secretly very glad when he said that "Once" was his first choice.

So off we will go.

Away, for a day, from here.

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Going to "Memphis" (tomorrow)

My brother, knowing my passion for New York City and the musicals that rock its stages, asked me at Christmas what I'd like to see this year.  After much research and thought, I chose the Tony Award-winning "Memphis," and I chose to see it not at Christmas, but on this first weekend of April.

"Memphis," then, will be how I ring in a new year.  It will be how I don't work.  How I don't think.  How I allow a force quite larger than myself to entertain me.

To the Big Apple.

(And thank you, Jeff, for calling me right this instant, as I was about to press PUBLISH on this blog post.)

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