by Donald Hancock

Created on: July 23, 2008

KEEP ON LEADING, MOSES!

Moses was a leader of the Israelites in bygone days. And this is a story about Moses. But not THE Moses. This is a "modern day" Moses. This Moses has a tuxedo and a top hat and a cane!

Now the Moses I am talking about leads his children, but not across a desert - just across a stage. Moses Lambert has six children - all in step down fashion like the Osmond Brothers or the Jackson Five. And they all "strut their stuff" dressed exactly like their Dad - even to the fake mustache that even the youngest, a little girl, wears proudly , to the glee of the audience.

Moses is one of those who, in the tradition of the theatre, rears his children "on the road". Mrs. Lambert - Liza - no longer joins the group on stage because of debilitating arthritis, but she cheers them from the wings and tends to all their needs as wife and mother. And, of course, home schooling is diligently administered.

The unusual thing about Moses' story is that he has Aids. It came about several years ago as the result of a transfusion during surgery. This was before preventive precautions were observed.

Now the family lives by a routine similar to this. Since they travel on a circuit that usually places them in a town for three or four days, they begin by moving into their hotel rooms - usually a suite with kitchenette - in the morning. Moses usually feels fairly good and he takes the kids for a walk while Mom fixes the place with a few pictures, personal items, etc. to make it homey, and then unloads all the clothes into the appropriate closets and drawers. When Moses gets back with the children from their walk, which is usually a learning experience into nature if nature is available or architecture or buying procedures at the grocery or something that will enrich their lives, they all sit down and "appreciate".

This is an exercise they began after Moses got back from the hospital that first time - that time when they thought he wasn't going to "make it". They spend about ten to fifteen minutes with each member of the family expressing something they are thankful for that God has given them and then something they appreciate that some one has done for them. That can be something the immediate family has done or perhaps a member who has "passed" - "I appreciate Granny teaching Daddy how to 'shuffle' when he was five years old", or it could be something a hotel employee or someone in a theatre audlence has done. Moses says this "appreciatin" is good for the soul.

After

• 1
• 2
• Next Page >>