I've been thinking a lot about the man who was arrested for taking a bath in public in Belvidere. He had been living in his car outside the Warren County Courthouse for several months after he lost his house. Finally, The Express-Times reported he had had enough and tried to get the filth off of himself in public because he thought he had nowhere else to go.
I met this man over the summer, just a few weeks before the incident. So I read the article with interest. He had a sign on his car window that said he was running for Warren County surrogate because he didn't like the way Susan Dickey had handled his case after the last of his parents died. He had a genuine tin-foil helmet in his backseat.
I am not writing to continue the ridicule that this man has surely received since his face appeared on the front page of the paper under the headline, "Naked man arrested." I am sorry if this letter has that effect on him. The real intent of this letter is to encourage readers to be more compassionate to him. I certainly hope his accusations are false, but if some of them are true, I hope the officials who made the mistakes will read this and do their jobs in an exemplary manner in the future. With the economy going the way it is going, one thing is certain: We are going to encounter more cases such as this.
The Fillmore at Irving Auditorium,
15th and Irving, NYC - April 5, 2009
"The Cool Crowd Comes Out on Monday Night"
First Set - Highlighting the Album "World Without Tears"
1. People Talking
2. Overtime
3. Fruits Of My Labor
4. Sweet Side
5. Rescue
6. Are You All Right?
7. Come On
8. Unsuffer Me
9. Everything Has Changed
10. West
11. Well, Well, Well
12. Real Love
13. Tears of Joy
14. Honeybee
15. Plan to Marry
I found a nice spot to dance in the back. Every song was played beautifully.
Erik B. Anderson - Belvidere Cemetery, May 21, 2009
On November 8, 2008, after the Belvidere War Memorial Veteran's Day Ceremony, I saw a small house for sale about 100 yards from this great tomb. I inquired about buying it, even though I was not employed and my income was just a disability check. I also inquired about the story of who was buried at this place. Unfortunately, the house was sold when I returned in December, but I did get this letter:
I think it's pretty cool. Don't you?
Warren County is full of forgotten history.
Warm Regards,
Erik B. Anderson
Independence Township, New Jersey
Established 1782
I posted what I wrote below in the comments section of the Star-Ledger.com and also under the link to the article that The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey posted on their Facebook site.
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It is offensive that this actor plays Hamlet like he is feigning madness. How is the Tragedy of Hamlet not a tragedy of inaction?
Hamlet was the lawful heir to his throne. That was the action that should have been taken before the play started. It was interfered with by Hamlet's incestuous mother and his incestuous uncle. Then it was interfered with by the wretched rash intruding fool Lord Polonius who told his mother that he is mad because he is mad. They are the ones who decided he is mad. Madness is not a medical disease. It is a social position. It allows the one who is labeled mad to be marginalized and removed from his or her proper role in society. In Hamlet's case, his proper role in society was to be King. The few characters who did not interfere directly were Polonius, Marcellus, Rosencrants and Guildenstern, but they took no action. This play is certainly a tragedy of inaction.
I highly recommend that Gareth Saxe read Notes of a Native Son by James Baldwin and The Politics of Experience by R.D. Laing before he goes onstage again and gets more reviews like the one like the one on CentralJersey.com that says he looked like he was poring over his notes and then got interrupted by the "obligatory" to be or not to be speech, in which he is questioning whether to kill himself or to take action to end a sea of troubles.
Get mad, sir! Get mad! Get really mad! Remember the old rule, acting is not pretending. Acting is taking action. I'm not sure, but I think Sandy Meisner said that.
I say again. Get fuming mad! Froth at the mouth if you have to! You're playing Hamlet, for God's sake!
Warm Regards,
Erik B. Anderson
The King of Funny Faces
Independence Township, New Jersey
Established 1782
