My mature adult brain seems to have re-entered a period of accelerated learning as I try simultaneously to master the intricacies and nuances of several important social media platforms as fast as I can. As I figure out how to link and post efficiently to Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, LinkedIn, Google+ and YouTube - just for a start - I can almost feel the impulses whizzing along neuronal pathways and embedding new concepts in my already crowded memory filing system. It's exhausting!

VANCOUVER, B.C. - I remember with absolute clarity the most emotional moment I have ever experienced in the theatre. It was in the 2001 Vancouver Playhouse production of Margaret Edson's stunning play. Joy Coghill, played E.M. Ashford, 80 year old Professor Emerita of English Literature and Seana McKenna played Vivian Bearing, once Ashford's most brilliant student, now a 60 year old Professor of Seventeenth Century Poetry, totally dedicated to her work, socially isolated, and terminally ill with ovarian cancer.