It is a hard thing, my friends, to confront your own mental illness. But that’s what I’ve been doing, as I open box after box that was shoved into storage before I went away. What the hell IS all this stuff, and why the hell did I keep it all? And what’s worse, acquire more? Who needs four warm blue bathrobes from Goodwill? I must have been afraid that if three suddenly caught fire, I’d have one more. I would not be cold and naked at night.
I’m getting rid of two of them. It’s not a bad idea to have one spare, is it? I’m getting rid of at least nine second-hand coats. But there remain at least twelve, to cover every eventuality. That includes a vintage floor-length velvet and satin opera coat used in my university drama club’s production of Hamlet in 1968.
Keeping that. I might go to a vintage opera or stage Hamlet some day. And it’s lovely.
There’s a documentary on right now about hoarding, but I don’t need to watch it. I’ve lived it.
Okay, not totally pathological – I did recycle newspapers, and I’ve always given as much as possible away. But I also bought costumes, just in case … in case what? I was cast in a play and there was no money for wardrobe? At one point, I actually considered doing a one-woman show simply because I had such great costumes. A flapper dress with fringe and feathers; a Rosie-the-Riveter one piece outfit; a floaty black negligée and matching peignoir. (Do they even make peignoirs any more? And what does it mean?)
Crazy crazy crazy. Out with the costumes. (Except the negligée. Definitely might need that.)
4 Responses to “totally crazy”
Hey Beth,
Yes, we are still following your blog.
I love this talk about throwing out all your excess baggage. I am not a hoarder but Stan is. We will get to Stan's workbench, and under it, later this year!
Our daughter Susannah, Stan and I had a lovely pseudo French meal with lamb, heritage tomatoes, arugula, baguette, 2 cheeses and a lovely French red wine. Then we watched a funny French film called "Priceless".
Thought of you while we were at it.
Too bad you live so far away, Carolyn. I could have come over for dinner and then helped you tackle Stan's workbench.
On we go. Let's see what adventures are around the corner. Glad you're still with me. (I'm already dreaming of a return to Paris…)
Gee, Beth, are you sure you want to part with your costumes right now? Halloween is just around the corner, you know …
Signed,
The Enabler
🙂
Lynnie, it is a fact that actors, or former actors, do not enjoy Hallowe'en. For most of the western world, putting on strange clothes and pretending to be someone else is great fun. For an actor, that's how they make a living. Even though I haven't been on stage for years, I still feel that way. I had costumes in case I decided to write myself a one-woman show. And who knows, I still may. I'll just find other costumes.
I was at Christmas dinner once with normal people and actors, and the normal people wanted to play charades. A famous actress replied, "Charades? Darling, I don't play, I LIVE charades."