One of the things that makes my heart glad
is when someone in the audience comes over and says how much they’ve enjoyed the
show. I particularly love the teeny children
who edge up to me, shy and embarrassed, but wanting to say thank you. Sometimes
I almost wish someone would come over and say something critical but I guess
that’s asking too much. It’s really hard
to be self-critical and as I live and work alone I don’t have the benefit of a
trusted person to make positive comment and suggestion.
However that’s not the gist of this blog,
although it might be of another sometime.
I love it when I have good press and sometimes people feel moved to
email me or send photos which I really enjoy receiving. So when I received the
following letter I thought that it was very special and Tom has kindly said I
could blog about it:
hello Mr
Alexander,
you
don't know me, in fact we have never met but I wanted to share something with
you and thank you for changing my life.
In the
80s I lived in chester on Parkgate Road, i was a keen magician and did the
occasional kids show... I was in my teens.
One day
i was hanging around in Chester City Centre, it was a beautiful summers day.
Just outside browns a guy rides up on a unicycle pushing a cart (while riding),
he spread a rope out and began to draw a crowd.... swept the pitch with a
broom, made a hankie disappear, rode a tall unicycle while juggling burning
torches. The show was phenomenal, the crowd was massive and at the end, when he
held his hat out it was full of notes (I actually remember him asking the
audience to make sure that their tip were all folded up nicely). I remember
that the guys name was Mr Alexander, and have remembered that fact for nearly
30 years.
I now
live in North Carolina. During the week I'm a school teacher ( teaching american
history... oh, the irony!) but at weekends I'm a magician, busker, unicycle
rider.
And i
wanted you to know this. I've seen the "best" magicians in the world.
I've seen goshman do his salt shaker routine, seen incredible magicians and
jugglers.... but none compare to the show you did in the 80s on the streets of
Chester.
I still
talk to people about the Mr alexander Show and how it inspired me to perform,
how one day... even now... I hope to do a show as great as yours and...having
found your website thought it may be nice to e mail and say thank you... for
inspiring me to do what I love and do it well.
so there
you go... thank you.... I will remember your show forever.
best
tom
hughes
Now if you
know me (the REAL me, not the Mr Alexander me) you’ll know I’m not really the sort to blow my own trumpet too loudly, but this letter was really special and here’s
what I said in reply:
Hello
Tom
I'd
had a terrible night of stress and the nightmares reflected it. I wont bore you
with all the reasons for the stress but there are many.
I
sleepily turned on the iPhone and read the first of two emails. More stress.
I
almost didn't bother with the second. A name I didn't recognise. Tom Hughes.
But then I do like real emails and not spam so I did. His email gave me hope.
Not that I was completely losing it but I was certainly questioning some of the
basics. As you do waking in a lorry on a cold December Northern European morning.
Tom's
letter retold the story for me of my strange life as a roving entertainer and
of the serendipitous effect of it on the people who have seen it over the
years. Not that I have a huge inbox of praise but I do have a few! And
many people do come over at the end of a show as they did in Portsmouth last
weekend.
But
somehow Tom's letter was special. Not only did it lift me at a particularly low
moment (I do have a few of those) but it reminded me how those 'little, nameless, unremembered acts of kindness' can roll on across the universe, gathering size
and momentum and continue to have such a profound effect for good.
Tom's
letter has reconfirmed why I do what I do. It's about much more than a half
hour of entertainment. It's about a celebration of life, it's about following
dreams, doing something with thought, dedication and joy. And it's about
reaching out, particularly to the watching children, that these values are
worth pursuing. Even if I am not aware at the time how much of all that is
being noticed or understood.
So
thank you. I will your remember your letter forever.
Best
wishes,
Mr
Alexander
And
I guess that’s it all said really. If you’re thinking something nice about
someone, or you have had a good experience as a result of something someone has
done that has made a positive difference in your life, make sure you tell them
about it. Pass it on!
All
the best from a road near you…
Mr
Alexander
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