Admittedly, this was not Neo taking the blue or red pill of Matrix fame. Something that my teenage self may have connected more with, if it hadn’t come out a decade or so later. No, this was the fictional story of a Bay street stock broker who packed it all in, sold the house, and bought the farm. Literally, bought a farm that is.
Walt tells his story through a series of letters that he writes to a friend, who is also the fictional editor of the paper located in Persephone township where Walt attempts his new life. Written by Dan Needles, and brilliantly brought to life by Rob Beattie, this one man show imbues each letter with a charming cast of characters who weave a tale of Walt’s adventures.It always struck me as a great way to tell a story – through letters.
And so, as I kick off Mediocre Mama, that’s what I’m doing. A series of letters to characters – some fictional, some not – who have have made me think, connected with me or who I just plain liked (or hated) as I explore my own life transition. And who better to be the recipient of my first letter than good old Walt himself, from who this idea sprang.
My dear Walt:
I’ve been thinking a lot about transitions lately and what we go through when we face a life transition.
In particular, I’ve been wondering, what in the hell made you buy that farm? What chutzpah and fearlessness would have gripped you that you decided to radically change a well established life path? To go from Bay street to back country? Spread sheets to pig pens?
You see, as an almost pathological risk averse person myself, I find it hard to imagine the mindset that lets a person take that leap of faith. In my world, there are contingencies for contingencies. Everything is lined up, as many possible scenarios as I can dream up are explored and the chaos inducing monster known as ‘risk’ is bundled and bound.
Yet what happens when our life circumstances put us on the precipice of altering our established course? How does a notoriously risk averse person take the lid off that bundled risk and release it in order to clear the way to step into the void?
Facing my own life transition (more on which undoubtedly to come), I have an image of Indiana Jones facing an abyss and tipping himself into a void. If you’re a child of the 80s, you’ll know the scene I’m talking about. It’s in the Last Crusade – Indy needs to cross a cavern in order to reach the Holy Grail and his father (Sean Connery) is whispering “leap of faith” along with Indy who has perused his father’s journal. And then he tips…
Sure, it’s a risk, but somehow he has contained the monster enough to take that first step. Ok, admittedly, he didn’t jump with unrestrained gusto, but maybe the tip is all we need.
And so, I’m poised to tip. And let’s see what comes of it…
Median Mama 