The Neighborhood

Hey Neighbor! Welcome back to THE NEIGHBORHOOD!  This week’s story is about holding on to one’s child-like wonder.   I like to think that I have been put on this Earth for a reason.  There’s a purpose.  Why else would God put a curly haired girl in the arms of her incredible parents 36 years ago in Philadelphia?  Things happen for a reason.   As a baby, I take a while to actually talk and walk, but boy don’t you know that I am already singing and dancing?  Already saying to my father, “How do you do?”  Already laughing.  I sit in preschool and I am supposed to be concentrating on speech therapy, but there’s a music class down the hall!  The teacher calls my mom.  “Mrs Ostick, we need to change Jackie’s therapy time because she is getting distracted by the music class next door.”  Let me tell you, NOTHING HAS CHANGED.  Come into my work place when Whitney or Britney or Frozen is playing and I am singing along, not...

Hey Neighbor! Welcome back to THE NEIGHBORHOOD!  This week’s story is about finding community during a scary time.   The world is so different now.  We wear masks.  There’s this overwhelming sense of fear.  People are stressed and scared.  I never imagined in my wildest dreams that the world would turn out like this.  Even on March 8th 2020, I never anticipated this.  This new normal.  Please God, don’t let this be normal.   The COVID 19 Pandemic begins in March 2020 and I am still working, so I stay in New York.  It’s odd.  The restaurants are empty.  The streets, which are usually bustling, are quiet.  People that come into the bakery are obviously overwhelmed.  They are distressed but grateful that they can get their coffee and a sweet treat somewhere.   A sense of normalcy.  I’m so happy that I can help.  But like I said, it’s quiet.  The streets are relatively empty.  And then, ...

Hey Neighbor! Welcome back to THE NEIGHBORHOOD!  This week’s story is about one of my favorite Broadway divas, Elaine Stritch!   I remember this day like it was yesterday.  It’s Spring Break during my senior year of college.  My class is getting ready to open our production of Charlotte’s Web.  We end up being able to take a few days off during our break, so I head up to New York City to prep for my eventual move after graduation.  I have an interview and I am going to stay with family friends and try to see a show.  I’m excited to be in New York and pretend I live there before I actually do.  While I’m waiting for the Bieber bus, I see a van drive by and I swear it’s the head of my Performing Arts Department, John Bell. Sure enough it is!  He walks up to the bus stop and we both have a “what are you doing here” moment.  We chat the entire 90 minute bus ride about our upcoming adventures in the city.  I have a job interview and plan...

 Hey Neighbor! Welcome back to THE NEIGHBORHOOD!  This week’s story is about my Grandma and her wonderful recipe for life.   I’ve been thinking a lot about my grandma recently.  Maybe it’s because the holidays are coming up.  Maybe it’s because I’ve had a lot of time to reflect due to the pandemic.  Maybe it’s because I saw a picture of her and her siblings yesterday at their annual Christmas party and it made me miss her so much that it hurt.   She believed in me.  When I was in grade school, I had such bad anxiety that it was hard to face the day’s schedule.  My daily ritual was that I would get ready for the day, have my breakfast and then call my grandma.  We would chat for a few minutes and at the end of the call she would say, “I have you in my pocket.”  I felt safe, supported, heard and seen.  She listened to me talk and we would share our plans for the day.  I never really thought about this until now, but she took...

Hey Neighbor! Welcome back to THE NEIGHBORHOOD!  This week’s story is about making the most of a bad situation.  I like to think of it as taking lemons and turning them into lemonade.   I truly believe that angels can be found in the most unlikely of places.  They don’t even have to be your family or friends.  They can be complete strangers.   I am on a children’s theatre national tour and we are heading out on a travel day to our next stop.  As I head out to the van to put my luggage in the back, I notice that our spot is empty.  I walk around the hotel parking lot and can’t find our thirteen passenger van anywhere.  The police are called and a few hours later they find our van and it’s pretty much empty.  Our costumes, sets and sound equipment are gone.  And we still have a month left for the tour.  The next venue is called and they want us to still perform.  “Ok, we’ll do a concert version.”  “No,” they tell us....