My first weekend in Coos Bay, I was faced with a quandary: Had I found a new home, or was I just passing through?
I had made my way to St. Monica Catholic Church and the Rev. Angel Perez completed the Mass by asking if there were any visitors in the pews. They were told to raise their hands to receive a rosary. I kept mine in my lap, but afterward I told Father Angel that his question had left me unsure.
He smiled, gave me a hug and said “You are home!”
The past four years have proved him right. Both in my work and in my free time, I’ve never felt so connected to a community. I’ve cheered the boys on Friday night at Pete Susick Stadium and performed in Mingus Park with the Bay Area Concert Band to open the Oregon Coast Musical Festival. My job has allowed me to become friends with innovative youngsters, opinionated activists and a man who valiantly battled lung cancer.
But nowhere have I felt more at home than in the theater community.
A fellow St. Monica choir member, Kay Pace, suggested I audition for my first play, Anything Goes. Little did I realize she was inviting me into a family. The actors in this community are a talented bunch, but their theatrical abilities pale in comparison to their generosity. I’ve never spent a holiday by myself and know a home-cooked meal is only a phone call away.
These friends and the many others I’ve made make my decision to leave all the harder. By the time you read this, I will have left The World and will be in the process of moving to Davis, Calif., to study law.
I’ve enjoyed my time at The World, just as I relished playing Billy Crocker, Joe Hardy, Lucas Brickman and the Scarecrow. But actors can’t play the same part forever, and I’m ready to try on a new role.
That doesn’t make leaving any easier.
It’s appropriate, though, that my last two shows at Little Theatre on the Bay featured characters faced with having to bid farewell to friends. So I hope you will forgive me as I end my final column by borrowing a line from The Wizard of Oz:
Good-bye, Coos Bay. I’ll think about you always.
