GQ

 

 

Out in the jungle

 



Very pleasantly stranded

On deck

But Your Honor......

Reading between the lines (Deeper into you)

I was reading the side notes you wrote
in some of your donated scripts
softly
touching & tracing all the pages you once felt
with my fingertips

movies, plays and TV shows
going back many years before
some to a time when I was only five or six
in 1973 and 74 


folded over page corners 
and rusted paperclips
still holding your place after all these years
in packed away Hollywood scripts

while fanning through the pages
of a script from one of the plays
I suddenly stop and randomly land on two words
buried in the center of one full page

"Hi Kathy"

the two words had obviously been there 
throughout all these years
but I happened upon them by sheer chance
how lovely!
my eyes were filled with tears


and so I've been reading between the lines
from Death Wish, Flashdance & Shakespearean plays
cherishing each new precious find - gems!
and yearning for a long gone time and place

your side notes may only be glimpses
far between and few
but still they are some of the puzzle pieces
that make up the entire picture
and take me deeper into you

 
-OneMeditator

August 27, 2012

My own side note about Steven's side notes:  His notes show what a true professional he was and how much time, care and thought he put into creating each character. He made notes and asked questions about both the stories and the characters that I never would have thought of.  He's not only a great actor but a great example and teacher as well.  

Steven and a sweet silver lining

Since this is a dedication page for Steven, I don't make any posts about myself.  I save those for my personal blog 'OneMeditator'. In this case though, I'm gonna stray from that. 

On August 4, my storage unit was broken into and robbed. The thieves stole most everything I ever owned - including my guitar, camcorder containing all of my music videos and photos, boxes containing every single CD, DVD and VHS tape that I had ever owned, TV, VCR/DVD player, radios, CD players, personal family photos, boxes of banking info and personal journals, etc.  You name it, they took it - and cleaned me out good.  They ransacked the entire unit and left it in ruins leaving only a heap of a mess.  This last week and a half, I've been going through what was left.  At the bottom of it all, I found a silver lining having to do with Steven.  

I have always kept Steven's movies & TV shows (VHS & DVDs) in a big bag separate from all of the others.  I also kept the journals and notebooks I wrote about him in, in a bag separate from the others as well.  I found those two bags underneath the huge mess a couple of days ago!  Like I said, the thieves stole every DVD and VHS I'd ever owned - save Stevens!  All of my notebooks are gone - save Stevens.   Also left behind and sitting on the storage floor, was one of the two shiny pennies I'd found a day after having two vivid dreams of him a while back.  The penny was on the storage floor right in the center of it all.  

Nothing I owned having to do with Steven, was stolen!  It was somehow missed and overlooked. 

A lovely silver lining in light of what happened.  This find meant a lot to me since Steven lifts my spirits, inspires me and makes me feel happy. I can't explain the connection I feel to him but its a river that runs deep and so I just wanted to share this here on his blog. 

Sometimes in the center of something dark and devastating, a ray of light can shine though.  This was one of those instances.  A sweet silver lining involving Steven Keats.

Steven speaks / 1970s

A few quotes:

"When I'm performing a role just right, I get a feeling of perfection, almost ecstasy.  It doesn't happen very often but when it does, it makes it all worth while."


On wanting to become an actor:

"I didn't know there was such a thing as agents, auditions and interivews.  I just assumed you walked down the street and an agent sees you and says, "I'm going to make you a star." 

Early life, on God:

"I didn't believe in the idea of a supreme being.  Somehow in my young mind, I concluded that if there was such a thing as God, it was inside us."

On his two sons whom he adores:

"I enjoy being in their company more than anything."
"They're curious and adventurous like me."   

On spending "two years too many in the combat zone of Vietnam"

"I went over to Vietnam politically unaware and returned a pacifist.  I came back knowing that war has nothing to do with good or bad, right or wrong.  It simply has to do with economics - and the big bosses make us do their fighting."  

"For some guys, it was the end of their life either figuratively or literally."   



In 67:

After his discharge from the Air Force, he decided to major in speech therapy at Montclair State Teachers college in NJ.  He chose teaching because it meant he could work with children - which he loves.   He chose speech because it was part of the theater department. 

Sushi by the pool

About six months ago, I purchased the episode of SNL that had the skit 'Sushi by the Pool' with Steven.  The brief skit stars many; Carrie Fisher, Desi Arnaz, Jr., Hal Holbrook and a few others.  It is Steven and Hal who steal the show though and the close-ups should have been on them the entire time.  I enjoy the other actors but those two were the funniest.  Steven shows time and time again he can not only play drama but is also brilliant in comedy.  Its a short skit but well worth the $1.99.  Go to Amazon and "own" it/online.