E  S  S  A  Y    What is it that makes somebody want to be an actor? I’m still processing the idea that I was willing to drop every previous priority in my life and instead spend the last twenty-four hours chasing the dream of a role in a television series. Oh, my agent tells me I have an audition in the morning? Better get to work.

I hardly slept that night between memorizing the dialogue and wondering what if I did get the part and this ends up being a week out of my so-called life where I get to hang with the Big Dogs, or do I need to content myself with the notion that maybe it won’t work out but still “An Actor Prepares” to the best of our abilities and then has to accept the real possibility of being too tall, having too much hair, not enough hair, too good looking, things like that.

I try hard to put the audition behind me after I’m back in the Subaru reviewing ‘how it went.’ It helps that they seemed to have called in a range of types for this part. There was the shaved head sport body presence, the wooly-faced fringe look, the Euro-sleek tailored model, and me who was once previously classified as ‘slightly off-beat.’ The only interview question was ‘How tall are you?’ My guess is that the principal actor is vertically challenged.

I said the lines in front of a casting crew which consisted of three dangerously thin young women who treated me like an alien, as if old guys couldn’t be in movies. Well it has been a while since I worked, but hope springs eternal.

The part was well written, and it’s wise to remember that most of the auditions we do won’t even result in a call back, never mind the outside chance that I am exactly what they think they want for this part, or maybe some other thing where they see my headshot and say ‘Oooh that’s exactly who we want for the grandfather role.’ Keep dreaming, or get out of the kitchen.

But it’s not lost on me that I’m lucky to be living in a place like this where these things are happening, that there are plenty of actors in Albuquerque who didn’t get this particular opportunity, and what if the next phone call is telling me to be on set this afternoon?

Harpeth Rivers is a New Mexico transplant from all over who has in the last year written songs about isosceles triangles, played bass guitar in a band, and declared himself “Retro-eclectic.” His novel-in-progress is entitled Last Year.

E  S  S  A  Y   If you’re not looking down when hiking, you either have super powers or you fall a lot. The point is you’re constantly thinking about where you are going in order to plant the next step and the step after that, and the step after that. The trail could be rocky, muddy, sandy or covered in pine needles (my favorite), but you need to be looking down and making hundreds (maybe thousands) of split second decisions about where to plant your feet.

With all that concentration focused on remaining upright, it can be easy to miss nature’s feng shui efforts along the trail. You will encounter a log or root that crosses the trail at an angle with pine cones or rocks placed strategically in just the right position. You might see a natural step carved from a rock ledge that traverses the path. Even treefalls that block the trail have a natural symmetry that is unmistakably nature’s handiwork.

When viewed on a map, the entire trail can be an example of feng shui in that it conforms to the slope and topography of the land. Hiking trails were usually constructed with a nod towards finding the easiest line or axis. Given feng shui’s history as a forerunner of the magnetic compass, it makes perfect sense that there’s a real astronomical connection between the trail and the stars.

The English translation of feng shui is “wind-water” and both of these elements have a significant impact on the appearance of a hiking trail. Drainage erosion has created new trails and rerouted old trails, while wind blown sand covers up the path or forces the hiker to find a new line or route.

Is feng shui science or mystical pseudoscience? It doesn’t matter to the hiker who just wants to take the correct line or the right steps. Humans may create the trails but nature, and by extension feng shui, performs most of the upkeep. All we can do is try to take the right steps and be on the lookout for millions of feng shui examples one might see on any given hike.

It shouldn’t be that hard to see them. You are looking down at your feet for most of the hike.

Jay Harrison is a graphic designer and writer whose work can be seen at DesignConcept. His mystery novel, Head Above Water, is available on Amazon and Kindle.

E  S  S  A  Y   Great news! Baby boomers are getting face lifts in record numbers, but even better than that, they have spurred a revolution in recliner chair design. That’s right, recliner chairs have gotten their own face lift.

Out of fashion are the big and bulky recliners your parents might have favored. They never fit in with your sleek décor anyway. But now that baby boomers are ready to recline, they want something more aesthetically pleasing and the furniture industry has responded.

A little history might be helpful here. La-Z-Boy (there’s something so perfect about that name) introduced the recliner in 1928. Apparently it was an immediate and long lasting hit with lazy men, and since they were often bought in pairs, there must have been a decent number of lazy women conjoined with their lazy mates.

The new and sleeker recliners not only have a smaller footprint, some are equipped with device charging stations and beverage coolers. They have even begun to motorize them so that the recliner will stand us up when we’re ready to get out of the chair (but why would we want to get up?). It’s not hard to imagine recliners that come with IV drips and other hospital-like features so that aging boomers never have to get up out of their chairs.

Four out of 10 recliners sold in 2014 were sold to baby boomers. Face it. Our generation is ready to get off its feet and stay off. But we want to do it in style. No more hiding the recliner. We want it out in the open for all to see and it has to look attractive. As usual, whatever boomers want, boomers get, as manufacturers clamor to please us.

Still, the old boxy recliner models are not going away. La-Z-Boy representatives say that they will never stop making the traditional recliner. So if you’re not jumping on the latest “sleek recliner” trend, La-Z-Boy can still accommodate your lack of fashion sense.

Either way, boomers appear ready to take this all lying down.

Jay Harrison is a graphic designer and writer whose work can be seen at DesignConcept. He’s written a mystery novel, which therefore makes him a pre-published author.