Do you know how you would respond if you woke up and found someone in your house? This weekend we had the opportunity to find out. Here is our story, and what we learned from it. Saturday morning I woke up to the sound of my dogs barking. It was early, not quite 7 am. I assumed  someone was walking a dog, but the barking didn’t stop.  Then it got more intense. I remember thinking, there must be someone at the door for them to be barking like that. Todd was stirring in bed next to me, but he wasn’t awake, so I got up to see who was knocking so early. When I  opened my bedroom door, I saw a dark shadowy figure standing in my hallway,  right in front of me. My heart stopped. It took only a second for it to register that this person did not belong in my house. I screamed, slammed my bedroom door shut while yelling THERE IS SOMEONE THERE! This got Todd to his feet in a split second looking for his phone and running to the door. Lesson #1 – Know where your phone is and make sure it is charged He looked at me for only a moment and then jumped into action. He opened the door, ready to attack, when a voice from the other side squeaked, “Mrs. Nickels?” Todd stopped in his tracks. It was a woman’s voice. “Mrs. Nickels?”  she said again. We stood there, face to face in our hallway with a short woman wearing scrubs. Todd unclenched his fist and said to her, “You’re in the wrong house!”.  “I’m looking for Mrs. Nickels, she is suppose to be in bed.” At this moment, Todd knew what had happened. You see,...

Today I am heading off for an 8 hour day of tours at Titanic. I will start off shadowing someone else, but by the end of the day, it will be sink or swim for me. No pun intended. I have been doing lots of research on Dorothy Gibson, the famous silent film actress who survived the Titanic. She is who I will be portraying as I give my tours. The “Original Harrison Fisher Girl”, or “Gibson Girl”. She was more than that though. Quite a lady. At the age of 22 she was the highest paid actress in film. Probably why she could afford a first class ticket on Titanic. I am still trying to find her “voice”. Playing a historical figure, is something new to me. I guess if there is nothing for me to reference, then no one else can either. No comparisons! I’m excited. I really love the history side of this role. I have genuinely enjoyed doing all of the research and stepping back in time. It is fascinating to walk through the exhibit and see artifacts that actually came from 2 1/2 miles under the ocean. That were actually on the Titanic. There is money, paper bills, that are still intact because they were in a leather bag. I get goosebumps when I think about it. Maybe I’m just a nerd. And the stories. So many stories. Lives lost. Lives saved. People who became heroes that night. I love to see ordinary people who do extraordinary things when it matters most. So, I’m a little nervous. Only because there is SO MUCH INFORMATION to remember. The tours are about 1 hour 20 min long. That’s a lot of facts to be spewing out. What makes it scary is...

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Tempo She can feel her tempo, slowing down the rhythms of her rage, decreasing the medicinal deliverer distributes throughout.. her anxiety, like her cause, is ceasing. That which comes on like an unexpected storm and feels as comfortable as an old friend has a poisonous bite, like a venomous snake and urges her to fight, and defend The poison spreads out to anyone around Those she touches with mouth or with eyes She squirms beneath the suffocating grip But can’t escape no matter how hard she tries She can feel her tempo, slowing down the rhythms of her rage, decreasing the medicinal deliverer distributes throughout.. her anxiety, like her cause, is ceasing. Beki...