On the Banks of the Sandy River

Since being invited to join this blog conversation, I’ve been waiting for my compatriots to go first. It's as if we’re standing on the banks of the Sandy River on a hot summer day, daring each other to jump, forgetting that the current is swift, the water is cold, the hidden snags are waiting and we’ve put away a 12-pack of Bud apiece. Yeehaw!

I’ll plunge in with an introduction: Our blog host and I enjoyed tenures at Portland Center Stage (PCS) that overlapped by three years in the waning days of the 20th century. As we’ve aged (ripened?) gracefully over the intervening decade, our paths have continued to cross as friends and colleagues, with shared interests in the arts, ideas, politics, martinis and more.

I’ve spent my post-PCS career as a fundraising consultant and writer, with a focus on arts and culture in Portland. I recently set aside most of my freelance work to re-immerse myself in the nonprofit arts management world as managing director of a large children’s theater company. None of this qualifies me as an opinion-leader, or even an opinion-sharer, but here I am.

Now, about my chosen moniker, MightyToyCannon:

Last year, the Oregonian’s Sara Perry concluded her interview of a local bartender with a recipe for a drink called "The Mighty Toy Cannon." At the time, I was struggling to concoct a good name for a band (a story for a future blog entry), and liked the ring of it. Thanks to Google (or The Google, according to John McCain), I learned that "The Toy Cannon" is the nickname of former Houston Astros centerfielder, Jimmy Wynn (batting average of .250 over his 15-year career). I was also reminded that when I was a kid, loving parents could purchase a "Mighty Mo Cannon" if they wanted to delight an arsenal-obsessed male child on Christmas morning. (I believe Supreme Court rulings at that time prevented its sale for use by girls). But I digress ... which is the nature of the internet.

I’ve decided to adopt MightyToyCannon as my CultureShock nickname because it conveys a sense of ambition (it’s MIGHTY) and power (it’s a damn CANNON), counterbalanced by meek playfulness (it’s a TOY). Thus, a Mighty Toy Cannon is an instrument capable of generating noise and smoke and spewing confetti all about; yet, in the end, it has little effect. That, my good friends, may be my contribution to CultureShock. And, if I hold true to all of my past efforts at journal-writing, you may never hear from me again.

Enjoy this glorious Portland day.