LAST NIGHT AT MY "HOLLYWOOD AWAKENING" EVENT (AND THE OSCARS)

Me and my friend, poet Rachel Diken, doing our Hollywood poses in our Oscar outfits (my tie has bleeding, or crying, hard to tell, books flowing down it) as we step onto the red carpet in Orange NJ for my pre-Oscar reading of poems and telling stories about finding my way (after losing it) in "Hollywood"...great event that I am so grateful to have done (and received a standing o for, with the organizer, author and scholar Mindy Fullilove, asking for the gathering's approval for giving me "the lifetime achievement award" (thanks Mindy))...later watching the Oscars two things hit me, first, that the expansion of the academy with newer members worked because I don't think I ever heard the announcer before say so repeatedly "first time Oscar nominee" and the other was that old people get thrown easier than younger ones (a la Warren Beatty's confusion when given the wrong envelope with Emma Stone's name and La La Land on it, obviously for her best actress win, and didn't know what to do for several minutes finally announcing La-La Land as the winner and then after they were on stage accepting the award people ran out to tell them it wasn't theirs, that the best picture winner was actually Moonlight, further proof the addition of younger members and more diversity in the membership has paid off....the best picture of the year definitely won this time...)...