A STORY-WORLD MADE OF MUSIC On first sighting it seems surreal – a massive structure parked recklessly in the middle of nowhere. Nobody knows who built it or why – it simply is. The battered sign says Hotel Earth. We approach the Front Desk and ask to sign the register. We’re informed we’ve already checked in. In fact, we’ve been living here for a very long time. Memory blurs, the mind stammers. Suddenly it doesn’t matter. We’re standing in the lobby and it feels like home: that crazed blend of elegance, hardship and cosmic theater. Now the characters are recognizable. Doormen and bellhops, political operatives, mystics and street dancers. Every guest a story, every room a song. And the Hotel doesn’t judge; the doors stay open at night. And every morning sunlight pours down through a thousand windows. Despite trial and tribulation, it’s hard not to fall in love again… and again. One thing becomes clear. Our home is in trouble… and time is running out. A quest begins. Somewhere, buried beneath all the madness, the Hotel harbors a secret. Something that can heal, something that can unite. So we track… look for lost light and reasons to hope. Then there’s you and me. Somehow, in these strange, bewildering times our paths have crossed. Even for this brief moment while you read these words, you and I are connected. From across the hallway or somewhere outside of time, I raise my glass in your direction… We’re down the Rabbit Hole. Welcome to Hotel Earth! (to be continued )