It's Showtime
January 12, 2000
Once upon a time in a kingdom far away, there lived a man named Bill Brown who owned a company called Bill Brown Realty. He had a salesman named Neal Henry whose mom was the Relief Society president when I lived in Denver. When I needed to buy a house in Utah, I called Neal because I knew his mom.
Bill Brown is married to Marilyn—who was introduced to her by Neal Henry! TALK ABOUT COINCIDENCES!!! (I thought it was kind of amazing.)
So, anyway, Bill Brown moved to Springville and bought the Villa Theater from Don and Jean Harvey, who is my visiting teacher, and spent a ton of money remodeling it and bringing theater to Springville.
My son, Clay, was at the bottom of a long list of kids at our house who all had their thing. Some where good students, some were good athletes, and all were older, some much older, than him—and you know how older always looks better when you’re younger.
So, one day Claybie read an article in the paper about auditions for “On Golden Pond” and he said, “I can do that!” He auditioned for the part of Billy, the young boy in the play, and got it! Suddenly Claybie had “a thing” that he could do. Bill also very generously showed Claybie and his friend Bethany Poulsen how to run the lights and sound and let them work alone with what must be hundreds of dollars worth of equipment. And their confidence in themselves grew and Claybie began to think of himself as an actor and, more importantly, as a somebody.
Do you think this all would have happened if I hadn’t bought my house from Neal Henry, the son of my Relief Society president who worked for Bill Brown? Maybe—but maybe not.
Lets’ say I didn’t buy the house. Instead, I bought this house up in Provo that had just been completely refinished by the owner with cute wall paper everywhere. It cost more but we wouldn’t have been living up here in the wilderness like we were at this end of town when we moved here.
My older kids would have gone to Provo High and I wouldn’t have met my husband so I would have finished college earlier and not had anymore kids. (This is based on the sound assumption that no one else would have married me once they saw how much I hate to vacuum, how much I love to spend money—and how fat I turned out to be.) I would have gotten a job as an English teacher somewhere and probably never even met anyone from Springville.
Meanwhile, let’s say Bill Brown just couldn’t sell this house, and pretty soon, word went around that he couldn’t sell houses. People would have stopped coming to him.
Neal would have never introduced him to Marilyn because he would have been too ashamed. Bill would never have made enough money to renovate the Villa and it wouldn’t have mattered anyway because Claybie wouldn’t have been born because I would have been some tubby little English teacher up in Provo.
Gees, it would be just like “It’s a Wonderful Life.”
Another decision: let’s say I decide one night coming home from Mapleton that instead driving through town, I’m going up 400 East. It’s cold out and on the slippery hill just after 400 North I slide on the ice and the partner of some guy who’s just robbed a house takes off in his Ford truck because he sees me coming. The thief runs out of the house, sees his partner has gone, jumps into my car, turns it down hill, holds his gun to my head and tells me to shut up.
By the time the police find us, because I have secretly dialed 911 on my cell and they have realized from my cleverly orchestrated conversation where we are. I don’t get home until after midnight.
Because I come home so late, I’m not here to hear the phone ring. After my husband Clay goes to sleep he doesn’t wake up for any more phone ringing. Claybie has called to say he’s decided to go to Las Vegas with some friends and when no one answers…well, you get the idea.
Anyway, at the Villa this month, until Saturday, February 5, is “Into the Woods” with Claybie as Jack—and some very good other actors and a terrific director. It’s gotten great reviews and it’s so good you really need to see it even if you don’t like plays. It’s on every Friday, Saturday and Monday.
Of course, it’s your decision, but if I were you, I wouldn’t miss it.
Once upon a time in a kingdom far away, there lived a man named Bill Brown who owned a company called Bill Brown Realty. He had a salesman named Neal Henry whose mom was the Relief Society president when I lived in Denver. When I needed to buy a house in Utah, I called Neal because I knew his mom.
Bill Brown is married to Marilyn—who was introduced to her by Neal Henry! TALK ABOUT COINCIDENCES!!! (I thought it was kind of amazing.)
So, anyway, Bill Brown moved to Springville and bought the Villa Theater from Don and Jean Harvey, who is my visiting teacher, and spent a ton of money remodeling it and bringing theater to Springville.
My son, Clay, was at the bottom of a long list of kids at our house who all had their thing. Some where good students, some were good athletes, and all were older, some much older, than him—and you know how older always looks better when you’re younger.
So, one day Claybie read an article in the paper about auditions for “On Golden Pond” and he said, “I can do that!” He auditioned for the part of Billy, the young boy in the play, and got it! Suddenly Claybie had “a thing” that he could do. Bill also very generously showed Claybie and his friend Bethany Poulsen how to run the lights and sound and let them work alone with what must be hundreds of dollars worth of equipment. And their confidence in themselves grew and Claybie began to think of himself as an actor and, more importantly, as a somebody.
Do you think this all would have happened if I hadn’t bought my house from Neal Henry, the son of my Relief Society president who worked for Bill Brown? Maybe—but maybe not.
Lets’ say I didn’t buy the house. Instead, I bought this house up in Provo that had just been completely refinished by the owner with cute wall paper everywhere. It cost more but we wouldn’t have been living up here in the wilderness like we were at this end of town when we moved here.
My older kids would have gone to Provo High and I wouldn’t have met my husband so I would have finished college earlier and not had anymore kids. (This is based on the sound assumption that no one else would have married me once they saw how much I hate to vacuum, how much I love to spend money—and how fat I turned out to be.) I would have gotten a job as an English teacher somewhere and probably never even met anyone from Springville.
Meanwhile, let’s say Bill Brown just couldn’t sell this house, and pretty soon, word went around that he couldn’t sell houses. People would have stopped coming to him.
Neal would have never introduced him to Marilyn because he would have been too ashamed. Bill would never have made enough money to renovate the Villa and it wouldn’t have mattered anyway because Claybie wouldn’t have been born because I would have been some tubby little English teacher up in Provo.
Gees, it would be just like “It’s a Wonderful Life.”
Another decision: let’s say I decide one night coming home from Mapleton that instead driving through town, I’m going up 400 East. It’s cold out and on the slippery hill just after 400 North I slide on the ice and the partner of some guy who’s just robbed a house takes off in his Ford truck because he sees me coming. The thief runs out of the house, sees his partner has gone, jumps into my car, turns it down hill, holds his gun to my head and tells me to shut up.
By the time the police find us, because I have secretly dialed 911 on my cell and they have realized from my cleverly orchestrated conversation where we are. I don’t get home until after midnight.
Because I come home so late, I’m not here to hear the phone ring. After my husband Clay goes to sleep he doesn’t wake up for any more phone ringing. Claybie has called to say he’s decided to go to Las Vegas with some friends and when no one answers…well, you get the idea.
Anyway, at the Villa this month, until Saturday, February 5, is “Into the Woods” with Claybie as Jack—and some very good other actors and a terrific director. It’s gotten great reviews and it’s so good you really need to see it even if you don’t like plays. It’s on every Friday, Saturday and Monday.
Of course, it’s your decision, but if I were you, I wouldn’t miss it.
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