In November we think about giving thanks, but there are other important days on the calendar. November is election month. Our local election was on the 7th, and Republicans in Virginia took a trouncing. I will give thanks that our governor, now without any legislative support, will not get to track women’s menstrual cycles. Nor will he get his abortion ban. Democrats now control our legislature, and that is a fine thing. Voters across America realize that this election was between the party that wants to take away our rights and the party who wants all citizens to have the right to control their -own lives without governmental interference. Most Americans know that we, the people, should be in charge of what we do with our bodies and who we love, not politicians. Another - often overshadowed by the others - holiday in the November calendar is Veteran’s Day. It used to be called Armistice Day, to celebrate the end of WWI and pay homage to the many who gave their lives in that war. W
The Shenandoah Valley is blessed to be home to The American Shakespeare Center (ASC) in Staunton. As a retired English teacher, I delight in having access to Shakespeare’s plays produced by consummate professionals. The ASC players can be hilarious, profound, and wise, and their performances are a conduit for some of the most beautiful language ever spoken. Or written. But make no mistake, there is raunchiness in the plays, and man, when the ASC encounters it, they milk it for all it’s worth. Because it’s FUNNY. Bad puns, physical comedy, slapstick, and double entendre are funny. It’s partly why the plays have been popular for centuries. Enlightened people recognize the mirror they hold up to life’s bawdiness, beauty, miracles, and foolishness. However, through the centuries, Shakespeare’s plays have been banned, outlawed, and censored by people who fear them. Just this month, Republican-led Hillsborough County in Florida has decreed that the plays, particularly Romeo and Juliet, must