Postcards from the Moon

I received a wonderful package in the mail yesterday.

It was from a certain Bill Steinkellner in Santa Barbara.

For those who don't know, the Steinkellners are a powerhouse of awesomeness. Bill and his wife Cheri are Emmy winning writers, and they have three talented children. I was privileged to get to know Teddy Steinkellner a few years ago while I was teaching theater at Dos Pueblos High School. He is a fabulous actor, a talented improviser with great comedic timing, an all-around good person, and he is smart as a whip. He was valedictorian. I have also worked with the youngest Steinkellner, Emma. She is an amazing performer, and I would not be shocked to see her on Broadway soon after she graduates high school. Emma also has unbelievable art skills. Kit, the eldest Steinkellner, takes after her parents and has already accomplished a lot with her writing. And they are all down-to-earth and they love each other.

Are you jealous of them yet?

Well I haven't even listed half of their accomplishments or how cool they are. I really look up to Bill and Cheri. They have amazing artistic sensibilities and they support their kids in every way. They inspire me.

So you can imagine how happy I was to receive this signed book.

It is filled with little pictures and short stories that could fit on the back of a postcard.

These stories inspire me.

Sometimes the stories remind me of something I did when I was a little girl traveling in the car with my parents. I would look out the window and see a person driving and I would create a backstory of who that person was and what they were driving toward (or away from).

The postcard stories that Bill writes remind me of a time when I felt freer to dream and to look and to question. They invite me to wonder and to explore and to look at things in a slightly different way. I feel inspired to play with words and emotions.

If you want to know what I'm talking about, you can buy this book from Amazon, or you can visit Bill's blog. For some reason the link on my page is listed as "Don'ts for Husbands," though his blog is called "Greetings from Bill." I'll try to fix that.

Maybe I should have titled this post "A Love Letter to the Steinkellners." Sorry to gush, but they really are a cool family. But I kinda hope they don't read this. Because that might be embarrassing.