Little Green Soldiers in a Pageant

When I was a little kid, of about oh 6 or 7, I used to love playing with those little green soldiers- you know the ones. Except that I've never enjoyed violence, so instead of having them fight, I would make pageant formations and parades with them.

Now settle down my gays and gay-friendlies! I didn't dress them in drag and make them win a crown, or anything of the kind. I just enjoyed switching them from straight lines into circles or feeding them in between diagonal lines into new formations. They were still soldiers but sometimes they were marching in a parade while other times they were in training and I was their commander ordering new positions.

A couple years later, when I discovered my "leadership" skills, i.e. became a bossy child, I would do this with my neighbors and cousins. I would've done the same at school but that was Mr. Garcia's territory for Spring Festivals, and the HAM (Humanities, Art, and Music) department's for our seasonal assemblies. Around that same time I started loving beauty pageants, for the glamour, sure- but these girls got to strut around a stage from formation to formation with their only intention being getting to their next spot. I LOVED IT!! They were my own little army of little green soldiers, except prettier, and in standing without a rifle, and in fierce sparkly outfits with big hair and lots of rhinestones. (Okay gays and gay-friendlies- have that one.)

Soon enough I found a place that allowed for formations and formation changes...actually that encouraged them and existed because of them...THE MUSICAL! Besides the fact that I finally understood what singers were singing (yeah, I don't understand most pop/rock singers so I make up my own version of the lyrics), they actually broke into song and dance to express their feelings and, you guessed it, formation into formation into formation. It was my own little heaven; cause in heaven angels move about in perfectly choreographed routines!

Sitting at my desk today and working through the overall movement of a choreography (formation to formation), I found myself wanting a set of little green soldiers so I could work it out. And I caught myself thinking: "gee, among all the stress and uncertainty of this career, the constant financial hiccups and the wondering how it's gonna work out, I get to do exactly what I always wanted to do."

This is Tony...and gratefulness is what's going on!

Courage. Faith. Love.