Good faith gifts and the reactions they elicit....

I'm a snob.

I suppose that's not easy to admit; but it's certainly true and I'll own it....because you have to go through life down your own road.

So.  I'm a snob.

I recently received a good natured gift from a friend.  A coffee mug, which is one of the strange things that wind up collected.  I have a few dozen of them in various places of the house; some in the kitchen for practical use, and a few on a top shelf in my office to serve as decor.....the rare, retired ones.

I thought about creating a whole "retirement ceremony" for the coffee mugs; a ceremonial last cup, followed by the hand washing while a dirge like version of the Folgers jingle played on a single bugle.

But I digress.

The mug was a simple white one, and I believe that this person did actually go to pains to procure it...it looked liked something purchased from CafePress or some similar place.  Functional, to be sure.

I objected to the slogan on the side.....

"I'm not crazy.  I'm an actor."

God, do I HATE that.

First of all, yes, I get it.  From the outside, it would seem that the career choice is one based entirely on a fractured mental state:  hard work, little pay, no hope for long term success.  Even writing it down seems crazy.  And I did it for a long time.

But I'm not crazy.  I've never truly been crazy.  And if anything, the vocation actually contributed more to my sanity than it did steal it.

Yes, I have my peeves about actors.  I despise actors that treat the rehearsal process cavalierly, like it was some kind of inconvenience prior to getting in front of an audience.  I despise actors that do not give proper respect to the text, as if their words are better, somehow, than the ones created by the Wright.  I despise actors that spontaneously break into unbidden or unwanted song at dinner, or on the street and justify this behavior by stating, "It's okay, I'm an actor."

Seriously....my Father never broke into spontaneous Engineering in public.

It smacks of the need for attention, and although I acknowledge the need for attention is one of the reasons people do what they do......there is a place for grabbing attention, and in the line at McDonalds while waiting for your McChicken isn't it.

Being involved in a creative, performance-based PROFESSION is not an excuse to act like an a**h**e.

I'm not crazy.  I AM an actor.  Even when I'm NOT acting.  It's what I do, it's ingrained in my soul.
And I wear my adornments upon my soul, and not like a peacock.

I thanked the giver for the gift.  It was personal; it was thoughtful; and it was nice.  And I will put it in a place of honor on the top shelf in my office, among the retired mugs.

But I'm not crazy.  My Mother had me tested.