Hello, my name is Steven Boothe. I am a father, husband, son, nephew, cousin, friend, volunteer, and co-worker at Cuesta College (computer technician), who practices living as art. Being a friend of artists, leaders and students alike, I eventually wind up among them and seemingly become part of their adventures.
"pool '63" is just the latest example. If we go back just four weeks ago, I would have had no idea I was going to be joining together with this extraordinary group as they travel to what I now know as FITU2014 at UNAM in Mexico City.
Don't get me wrong, I love the arts, I love plays, I love the faculty, students and staff of Cuesta College, but our little family does not have the kind of discretionary funds or a surplus of time for me to spend both money and time documenting such an extraordinary story. My immediate hope was that I would be able to source someone who was both all of those things in addition to being talented enough with recording and telling a story that I could be happy enough to know someone was going to be dedicated to this cause.
Well, as it would wind up, I would be the one who goes. Not that I would be unwilling at all, but that I know of how big a job this would be for someone who has not attempted to do anything like this in a very long time. Yes I have some cameras and technical skills, but this story is one that I cannot help feel is much bigger than any one of us actually.
So I can and do celebrate the fact that I have become a part of this story. It has all happened very very fast -- overwhelmingly fast at times, and profoundly emotional all over the place at nearly every step of the way. Now we are back and the challenge is still there for me to recall this story. How all 24 of us gathered to catch a bus one late afternoon and become part of a pan Latin American theatre festival at the flagship university in Mexico City for the next week, well is just bewildering and glorious.
It all happened so fast. I swear it feels like a dream and yet here I am, awake and aware that this is real, that we did go down there and we did meet all of those incredible people, that we did work our asses off and we did feel great about it, and that we do want to come back and that we do have close ties with these beautiful people and that we do love and look forward to our next involvement again. I personally hope we can provide a bridge of sharing and connecting. I'd love to be here and let others know of the beauty and love of those we met and worked with around Mexico City, and I would love it if we could some how make the same invitation for our dear friends to visit here some day too!
That's all for now. I am really excited and yet I must balance time energy and thought with the other responsibilities and matters of necessity too as well. So I will sign off of this new and rambling long-winded first blog post for now with the affirmation that I will be back to add more tomorrow.
