July 2nd marks the midpoint of the year — with 182 days preceding and 182 days to follow. Half New Year reminds us to consider what has occurred during the year as well as give thought to our hopes for the months ahead. As we ponder finished and unfinished business, opportunities taken and those missed, words spoken and those left unsaid, it’s reassuring to remember that we still have half a year to move closer to what brings us joy and fulfillment. Cheers!
HAPPY HALF YEAR
by Barbara Eknoian
Procrastinators rejoice,
take stock, start anew
July 2nd, the half year is here.
You’ve had time to reflect,
and fine-tune resolutions.
Now whittle down
the needless,
move forward,
leave time for leisure
in the coming months.
It’s a second chance,
don’t forfeit the opportunity.
You’ve been blessed with a gift
granted by the gods;
enjoy the sweet moments.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Barbara Eknoian’s work has appeared in Pearl, Chiron Review, Silver Birch Press anthologies, Re)Verb, New Verse News, and Your Daily Poem. She has been twice nominated for a Pushcart Prize. Her first novel, Chances Are: A Jersey Girl Comes of Age, and her poetry book, Why I Miss New Jersey, published by Everhart Press, are available at Amazon.com.
On Groundhog Day (Saturday, 2/2/13) the Silver Birch Press blog included several posts about the 1993 movie Groundhog Day and its screenwriter Danny Rubin. I forwarded the links to Rubin and the following day received a reply.
Rubin mentioned that he’d just returned from Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, where he was guest speaker at the Groundhog Club Annual Banquet. According to the club’s website: “Usually on Groundhog Day Danny Rubin spends his day answering emails and phone calls from well-wishers, ‘It’s like my birthday only without the cake’ says Rubin. When asked whether he would like to see six more weeks of winter or an early spring Rubin responded, ‘However it comes out I will dress appropriately.'”
With his email, Rubin attached several photos from Groundhog Day 2013. In a reversal of what you’d usually see — the mayor handing Rubin the keys to the city — Rubin handed the city keys to his apartment. (Love this — so funny!)
The second photo shows the enthusiastic crowd at 7 a.m. in 1 degree temperatures waiting for Phil (the groundhog) to appear. (Rubin said he’d been there since 5 a.m. — so I figure he participated in the festivities in an official capacity to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the movie.)
Check out Rubin’s recent ebook — How to Write Groundhog Day, a must-read for screenwriters or anyone interested in the writing process — at Amazon.com. Visit Danny Rubin at his website, dannyrubin.com, where a variety of goodies await.
Thank you, Danny, for the photos and report about Groundhog Day 2013!
ABOUT DANNY RUBIN: Danny Rubin is a screenwriter, actor, lecturer, celebrity blogger, and most notably the screenwriter of the modern classic Groundhog Day. Rubin has taught screenwriting in Chicago at the University of Illinois, Columbia College, and the National High School Institute; at the Sundance Institute in Utah; the PAL Screenwriting Lab in England; the Chautauqua Institution in New York; and in New Mexico at the College of Santa Fe. He is currently the Briggs-Copeland Lecturer on Screenwriting at Harvard University. Rubin holds a B.A. in Biology from Brown University and an M.A. in Radio, Television, and Film from Northwestern University. He is married to librarian, web-designer, and architect Louise Rubin with whom he shares two children.
Photos © Danny Rubin, 2013, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
Silver Birch Press 