A few years ago a friend told me that without a cause she wasn’t herself. The remark struck me then as the plain truth about myself, as well.

When I was a young dreamer it seemed I had limitless time for supporting causes that appealed to me. But in recent years I’ve used the excuse of being beaten down by poverty to avoid such pursuits.

Like that friend, now I have to admit that being personally involved in some effort to make the world a better place, in some way, is probably necessary for me to be me. Still, today there are so many situations that cry out for attention. Should I try to reform heath care or save Haiti?

Well, I don’t know much about heath care. I’ve been too poor for that, too. And, Haiti is a long way from the Fan District. So, for 2010 I’ve decided to keep it local and go with something I know about from personal experience:

Accordingly, be it resolved that in the year ahead I will do whatever I see fit to help convince the City of Richmond’s powers that be its show biz-stifling, living in the past, seven percent admissions tax should be 86ed, pronto!

For background on this issue please click on the links – one; two; three.

If you are on Facebook you can become involved right this minute by clicking here and joining the Facebook group called Stop Taxing Tickets. Soon there will be news of an event to focus the public’s attention to this worthy effort to unshackle the entertainment industry in Richmond.