Can I tell you about someone I met in New York?
She hesitated to even sign up for the singing competition. It was in a mall. And she knew they were looking for a voice that wasn't like hers. After all, she did opera. And she just knew they were looking for pop.
As it turned out, first place went to the pop singer and she took second.
But in the mall that day, someone happened to be listening. And the song she'd sung was perfect. It was a song from Phantom of the Opera – and not a simple song.
But she had hit every note, and killed it. So much so that the whole mall, not just those standing close, had gone silent to hear her finish the song.
As she hit her last note, people broke out in applause. Thrilled for what they'd witnessed.
One person spoke to another. They talked to her. And soon a phone call was made – to the agency that has been representing and finding talent for Broadway shows for years.
Shortly after that, this 20 year old from Northeast Ohio was doing a performance for a couple folks in New York.
A couple weeks later, she sang for a few others – all connected to the same show – The Phantom of the Opera.
And not long after that, I was meeting her after the show when she had finished singing the lead part of Christine.
My family spent 12 days in New York and DC, and one Thursday afternoon (two weeks ago), we went to see the afternoon show of Phantom.
We donated some money and were offered a backstage tour, which my family loved.
And we met Kaley Voorhees, the alternate who does 2 shows a week in the lead role.
Can I tell you about someone I met via Clarity?
For over ten years he's worked with WordPress. But it wasn't until 3 and a half months ago that he wrote a blog post.
He initiated a call with me via Clarity, the service where I give advice on the phone.
When we connected, he started telling me about a product he was working on, and he had some questions.
It was a great call. And at some point, as I pushed into some of the details of his company, he replied,
“We're just three guys…working on a plugin.”
Until Brian Krogsgard interviewed Jason, maybe folks hadn't heard about them, but I'm sure Post Status changed that.
What are you thankful for?
Today is Thanksgiving in the US, where I live. It's a day where we take a minute to slow down and be thankful.
I'm thankful for so many people in the WordPress community. I'm thankful for so many friends and family.
But most of what I'm thankful for is that amazing things can come from anywhere.
It keeps my eyes open to amazing folks like Kaley Voorhees & Jason from Postmatic.