I am at the stage in life where I need reading glasses, and where little things always seem to disappear. I make it a point to track them down immediately, otherwise they are gone forever. I take solace in the fact that I have kept my favorite “rhinestone” glasses for a record three years.

A friend of mine was telling me that my glasses seem to be a Hermetical symbol. She suggested that Hermes, the Greek god of communication and the great trickster may be at work in my life. I always thought of my son Rick as a trickster and was not sure the association between Rick and my lost glasses.

After my son Rick died, as a way to communicate and to keep humor alive, which he so loved, I would ask him to help me find my glasses when I had misplaced them. What’s so funny is that eventually they would turn up in a place I could have sworn I looked just 15 minutes before.

To keep from blaming this on my memory, I decided my glasses had to be slipping into some parallel universe like you see on NOVA and that made me feel better. In September of 07 I went to New Zealand and I specifically remember packing my rhinestone glasses. I flew from LA to Auckland to give a cash award to the best pitch in the DOC NZ film festival.

The chosen winner, Jannette Howe, had the most heart and the most courage of any filmmaker I had seen recently. She wanted to film a group of teen age actors doing Othello. Doesn’t sound very interesting does it? Well, that’s what I thought when she practiced her pitch with me the day before the pitch session. I suggested she bring in the actors when she pitched before the international funding agents and she agreed.

The next day while she was on the stage pitching potential funders, my little voice said, “Give the cash to her.” I was contemplating this idea, when the doors opened and eight beautiful male Polynesian teens exploded into the room, singing Island songs, spouting Shakespeare and clowning with a hand-held video camera. Some played hand-carved native drums and others danced to Maori war chants. They simply stole my heart. I knew I had to give them the award. This was a film that deserved to be made. These young men had won the “best acting” award for their troop, The Browns earlier this year.

The only female on the crew and their fearless leader, said the one part of Othello would be white and all the others players would be brown. The purpose for recording the play was to get the DVD into schools and introduce teens to Shakespeare for better communication skills, and to learn to appreciate the Bard’s work. Who wouldn’t be impressed with this mission?

I knew the judge for the best pitch was giving the DOC NZ award to another person, so I had to write my speech carefully for them to understand why I made a different choice. I wrote my speech, printed it out and practiced it. Going out of the hotel room, I made sure I had my rhinestone glasses so I could read it, but as always I was so caught up in the excitement of the night that I never used my notes or glasses. It seems once I know what I want to say, when its time to speak, someone else takes over. This is exactly what happened on award night. It was so much fun to see the filmmaker’s excitement at winning. The other filmmaker may have had the best pitch at the festival, but Jeannette had the best heart and the most urgent need for the money. It was a great night, a wonderful celebration and the Browns went home feeling like the winners they are.

Early the next day, I flew down to the south island to Blenheim and then drove to Wye Cottage, which is past the Wairau Valley in the Marlborough district, now full of newly planted grape vines. The Chinese are buying all the sheep pasture; digging up the grass, pounding chemically treated posts into the rich soil and planting grapes. It is becoming the Mendocino of New Zealand. The house we use for the writing grant, The Wye Cottage sits amongst two large sheep farms and soon this highway will be lined with nothing but vineyards. The farmers can’t resist the $10,000 an acre for land that was only worth $2000 a few years ago. So they are giving up farming and moving to town for an easier life. You may be paying a lot more for your spring lamb in the future!

Once I settled in, I of course sought my rhinestone glasses so that I could go to work. I could not find them anywhere. I was distracted with ideas for improving the house and busy attacking an over grown English garden so I used another pair knowing I would find my favorites before I left. However, as I packed my suitcase once again for travel, I realized that my glasses were nowhere to be found. So, I said goodbye to my favorite glasses … breaking that thee year record.

Just before I left, Jannette called to ask if she could spend her award money on a good camera. I whole heartedly agreed. It meant she would save a lot of money on rentals and would have the camera handy to capture all the rehearsals, discussions on funding the film and how the actors would survive without jobs while doing this production. I was elated with her decision and asked that she please name the camera Rick (after my actor son) and she agreed.

Getting home to Oxnard Shores was a joy. I looked out at the beautiful Pacific Ocean and knew I was home. I honestly thought six months ago that I could live in New Zealand for the rest of my life, but I belong here with my filmmakers, friends and family.

While unpacking, I opened my New Zealand drawer …. you will never guess what I found. My rhinestone glasses were sitting right in that drawer. Was this a trick? Did they really bi-locate? Did I imagine seeing them in Auckland?

I would rather think that it was a Hermes-like Rick Dean trick, simply to tell me “There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy.” Perhaps the real message from Rick the Trickster has nothing to do with my glasses as an object but as a metaphor, to remind me to keep looking deeper into the heart where all answers lie….