THE RUMPUS: the definition of success
We all stumble, don’t we?
Sometimes, there are things we can’t say, can’t do, can’t… feel?
But what if we could? What if we did? What if?
Perhaps, we would try to waste time better. We would write a book, a real book, about all of our little traits that make people cringe. Reality.
And what if what we wrote was interesting—worth closer study—to other people? What if what we wrote was other people?
Perhaps, we would write The Adderall Diaries and start sending out overly personal emails under the authority of our circumstantial child, The Daily Rumpus. What if?
What if we were Stephen Elliott?
And we are, aren’t we? As we root for him, which we do, even if he isn’t in the room. We root for him, and we smile when he succeeds even in his absence, though we know that it’s impossible for everybody to be that successful. It is impossible for everybody to have an Isaac:
One night, Evan and I were talking about the spirit of Quiet Lightning and its connection to Litseen. We were talking about success and what that might mean. He stared into the table next to my drink, smiled and said, “you know, Nicole, really, what success is, to me, is to know that my project can run without me, successfully, and I can watch it from some other city, doing some other thing, and smile, knowing that it’s true to me still. That is success.”
I heard a number of people say that this Rumpus was one of the best they had seen despite Stephen’s absence, and I agree. The performers killed it—absolutely knocked the crowd off its feet (many pairs of which had waited in line patiently with prepaid tickets for upwards of a half hour to see the show).
Success:
Music by the Slow Motion Cowboys
Cheers Stephen. I hope you found what you were looking for in LA. We all look forward to seeing whatever comes next. We’re rooting for you.
This has set a very high tone for the rest of my day! Nicely said.
yes, yes and yes.
Great job Nicole. Capturing this particular evening of words, for future enjoyment,
again points out how important Litseen is. I was so full of awe listening last Monday! It’s nice to “go back!”
Funny…that’s the definition of success used for 16th & Mission waaaay back in the beginning. Miguel said he’d consider it a success when it could run itself without us. Here’s to success!
The last event I’d attended was 1 year ago exactly, and so attending this one woke me up to exactly what I was missing.
It was a significant experience.
[…] literary nights-on-the-town. Last month, my friend and Litseen colleague Nicole McFeely celebrated the success of The Rumpus, pointing out that it functioned beautifully even in Stephen’s absence. She’s […]
[…] McFeely‘s writeup of the last time Cheryl was at The Rumpus is so spot-on. Give it a read for perspective on the passage of time and The Definition of […]