not quite clear on the concept

I went to another (mini) festival this evening.  It was called the Face of the Fort and took place on and around the old Wells Street Bridge. This is a really nifty old iron bridge, now used only for foot traffic. It was worth the walk over to see the bridge but otherwise the event didn't excite me.  Perhaps I just didn't understand the purpose.  There was a band playing soft rock and they were rather good and there were concession stands where one could buy food or beverages. All rather traditional. The bridge was decorated with painted beach balls hung from the top of the two sides of the bridge, while more painted beach balls floated in clusters in the river. The ones suspended overhead on the bridge were nearly all painted with faces, not very well done but then I don't imagine painting on a beach ball can be very easy. Ah well, I'm sure someone more in the know than I am appreciated the significance.

one last play review

Probably my favorite play of the recent Stratford weekend was "Shakespeare in Love", a play adapted from the movie of the same name that was out several years ago.  I remember liking the movie but I loved the play. It was a very funny (fictional I presume) look at Shakespeare as he falls in love with a young lady who is not his wife - she's safely away in the country somewhere - and also works on a new comedy "Romeo and Ethel, the Pirate's Daughter". Eventually the young lady gets to perform Shakespeare's work on stage - a big no no in those days, and "Romeo and Ethel.." gradually evolves into "Romeo and Juliet" which no one can mistake for a comedy.  Frankly, I would enjoy seeing a production of "Romeo and Ethel." One of the stars of the show was a black dog named Spot who seemed to always show up at exactly the right time. One of the actors got to yell "Out, out damn Spot" as the dog cavorted on stage. All in all Shakespeare was not treated with much reverence this weekend which was fine with me.

A Chorus Line in 2016

One of the plays we saw this weekend was the musical "A Chorus Line." I had never seen this musical and didn't really know what to expect.  The dancing was full of energy and beautifully performed but what surprised me was the positive, upbeat feel of the play.  I was told by a friend who had seen the play some years ago that this was a very serious, sad musical but it didn't seem so to me. It did take a hard look at the struggles of chorus line dancers to get and hold jobs, but what I suspect were the saddest scenes when this was first performed in the 70's, dealing with a young man's acceptance of the fact that he was gay, just weren't so startling now as they probably were back then. Our attitudes have changed so much in the last 40 years for the better I think.

Audience Participation Shakespeare

I just got back from a wonderful weekend in Stratford, Ontario, Canada, a weekend of really excellent theater made even more fun by the fact that this year I took my oldest grandchild.  I hope this will be the first of four years spent with my four grandchildren taking one each year to experience truly outstanding theater.  You know they're doing something right when a 15 year old boy comes away from the weekend saying that the Shakespeare play "As You Like It" was his favorite of the weekend. I have seen a fair number of Shakespeare plays in my life, including "As You Like It" but I knew that this production would be special when each patron was instructed to pick up a goody bag on our way in to the theater.  The next clue was being told that the scene for this play was Newfoundland in 1985, followed by a rousing ethnic dance demonstration (which looked a lot like square dancing to me). Throughout the performance, which was the actual Shakespeare play, but with much physical comedy, we were instructed how to use the props in our bags.  The green branches (imagine artificial Christmas tree branches) were waved enthusiastically on cue and became the forest of Arden. The blue folding fans, when unfurled and waved, became the water lapping against the shore.  Some people near the front had little orange glow lights which became the fire over which the actors roasted marshmallows. Some of us were given green crepe paper crowns which became the grassy meadow when we in the lower seats put them on.  People in the higher seats had pale blue crowns - the sky.  They also had stars that they could turn on to illuminate the starry night. At one point a large florescent rabbit was passed through part of the audience to be hunted by one of the actors. Later a similarly glowing whale swam through another section. All in all, the most hilarious Shakespeare I've ever been involved with.  I think the bard would have been pleased.

The best reason yet...

I've been debating recently whether I should keep my land line phone or give it up and simply use my cell phone.  I've considered arguments on both sides. All of my friends know my home number but. on the other hand, most of the calls I get seem to be scams or sales related.  Who needs that?  But this evening a friend gave me the best reason  yet. She said "I will always keep my land line because I use that phone to call my cell phone when I've misplaced it." This is evidently a fairly frequent occurrence for her.  So the best reason yet but I'm still debating.

Watch out for that ball!

I went to a baseball game last week and saw something I had heard about but never actually seen before.  They always warn about the possibility of getting hit by a foul ball (or any hit ball) but I assumed that the high net fence between the field and me would keep the balls away. Not so. I'm sure it prevents some injuries but the ball that hit the white haired lady seated in the next section flew up and over the net. I'm not sure where she was hit, presumably the head, but I'm pleased to say the response from park employees was very quick. EMS types and security guards gathered round and eventually we saw the victim being lifted onto a wheelchair with a brace around her neck and carried up the stairs and away from the stands.  No idea how badly she was hurt but I assume she survived.  Pretty sure we would have seen something on the news if she was killed. I don't mean to make light of it.  I think all the people, kids especially, who scramble to catch those high foul balls would be better off to just get out of the way. I know, I know - where's the fun in that.

Strawberry Moon

I've heard of a Harvest Moon and a Hunters Moon but this one was new to me. When a full moon occurs on the summer solstice (yesterday) it's called a Strawberry Moon.  Supposedly the time when strawberries are ready to pick. The sad side of this is that we are now past the longest day of the year; darkness will come earlier from now on.  I don't think we need to panic though. I think snow is still a long way off.  And thinking of weather related news - the wildfires out west make me glad we only have to contend with an occasional thunderstorm and a very rare tornado. That and the temperature high of 121 degrees in Phoenix yesterday make me glad I live right here in Indiana.

I took the plunge...

I actually did it, put on my bathing suit and went swimming with my granddaughter and her friend. And you know what? No one laughed or stared or covered their baby's eyes, or ran away shrieking in alarm. I think I may have reached that magical age when no one notices me at all, let alone worries about how I look in a bathing suit. That's very liberating. And you know what else? The pool here at my apartment is beautiful, sparkly clean and it felt wonderful. I don't have time to swim every day but I will be back (probably in the mornings when there aren't many people around). I know, I know, I'm still not totally convinced no ones looking.

Happy Fathers Day

to all the dads in my life, son and son-in-law, brothers, cousins and friends.  Hope you all had a good day. I'm blessed to know so many good men.

More Fabulous Fireworks

Last night friends and I enjoyed a beautiful fireworks show after the ball game. This evening while I was watching TV I heard a loud popping sound outside, went out on my balcony to check it out,.and was treated to a 15 minute fireworks show that was just as beautiful as last night's show. It was in the northwest, not too far away (still in downtown Fort Wayne) and as I was watching more fireworks went off in the northeast, farther away and not nearly such a long show.  I was beginning to think I had experienced a brief "Rip Van Winkle" at it was the 4th of July already. But no, the music is still playing st Rib Fest so I guess it's still June 18. I'm greedily wondering how many nights of fireworks I will get to enjoy this year.
Hey, I may have solved the fireworks origin mystery.  They just said on the news that today is the date (200+ years ago) on which slavery officially ended in the US and there was a big celebration here. Since the fireworks seemed to be coming from the general direction of the MLK bridge I'm betting they were part of that celebration.

A beautiful night for a ball game

Went to a Tin Caps game this evening with a group of friends. The Tin Caps are our local single A baseball team named in honor of Johnny Appleseed who is buried here in Fort Wayne. The weather was perfect and we discovered when we arrived that the theme for the evening was Star Wars (one of my all time favorite movie series). We were treated to dancing Storm Troopers, costumed characters roaming around, lots of light sabers flashing and the fireworks finale accompanied by the Star Wars theme.  All very entertaining.  The only flaw in this perfect evening was the final score.  The Tin Caps lost 5 to 13. Ah well, better luck tomorrow night boys. And I do mean boys.  I'm always surprised at how young these players are.

Yet another festival

I don't think I ever realized quite how many downtown festivals Fort Wayne has during the summer. So far we've had Music Fest and German Fest and now Rib Fest (yummmm). Yet to come Greek Fest and Three Rivers Festival and I'm sure a few more.  I'm trying to convince myself that walking to these festivals is good for me, good exercise, keep the weight down, etc. but I suspect that this evening's ribs, cornbread and rootbeer float really don't count as health food.

kudos to the weather man

Lots of jokes are made about inaccurate weather reports but I've noticed that the TV weather casters I watch most seem to have a pretty high degree of reliability. Especially in the summer.  They tell me it's going to be warm and sure enough it is; it's going to rain and it does.  I was particularly impressed this evening though, as I sat eating supper and watching the local evening news.  The weatherman said that the storm that was building in the northwest would be over Headwaters Park at 6:40pm. I looked out from my balcony and sure enough, 6:40 on the dot, the wind blew, rain splattered down and I was in the middle of a fine summer storm. It does kind of take the mystery out of weather though. Ah well, I guess if I don't want to know what's coming I can just turn off the TV.

the teeth are fine but the gums have to go

My visit to the dentist today reminded me of that old joke. I was their to have some sensitivity in the area of one tooth taken care of. I assumed that it would involve capping or filling a tooth or something like that but not so. The whole process involved putting something new (at least to my dentist), an antibacterial agent, in the "pockets" of my gums. Who knew my gums had pockets? Anyway, it was a quick and easy process and we'll know in four weeks if it's working. Stay tuned.

a nice short meeting

There was a movie once, I don't remember the title, but in the opening scene a new teacher is lecturing his high school class. The first shot shows a clock on the wall showing the time as 9:00 o'clock. Then the teacher launches into his lecture, time passes, he makes his concluding statement, the camera pans back to the clock again - 9:05. Nothing more to say and fifty-five minutes to fill.  How embarrassing.

I felt a little like that at a church meeting I was chairing this evening. I went through all the handouts, assigned some reading to be done before the next meeting, led them through decisions on two items we needed to vote on and realized we were only 15 minutes into the meeting. I recapped what we would be doing at our next meeting, scheduled meetings for a few weeks out and I was ready to pack up and go home. Not so the rest of the committee. By the time they talked over generalities of what we would be doing an hour had passed. I guess some people just don't appreciate the concept of a short meeting.

Cannons and Kayaks

It's been an interesting weekend along the river here.  There was a fundraiser to promote river activities and several kayaks were on the water.  At the same time there was an historic reenactment at the Old Fort with lots of cannon shots, and other guns being shot off.  Yesterday I think there was a Polka competition going on because there was lively music coming from the pavilion all day. At one point in the afternoon, from the vantage point of my balcony, it looked like the kayakers were forming up to attack the fort while the settlers were fighting them off with cannon shots, billowing smoke all over, all with background music. It was like a movie.  You may think that I'm spending way too much time on my balcony and I probably am but it's such a lovely place to read a book.

Wiener Dog Races

I like the food, the music and the beer but my very favorite part of Germanfest is the Wiener Dog Races. Not just any old races but the finals of the National competition (at least that's how they promoted it). Swift little Dachshunds racing down long narrow tracks two at a time, their little stubby legs pounding and their ears flopping - it's an amazing sight. We watched to the end and saw Sherman win. Fonzi, my favorite, came in second. I was surprised to see the variety of dogs in this race. I know that Dachshunds come in brown, black and blond, wire-haired, smooth and long-haired but I had never seen white wiener dogs with brown spots until today.  Who knew. After the races I came home and watched the Belmont Stakes horse race on TV. Going from the ridiculous to the sublime. I will admit that the horses are more elegant but they don't have cute floppy ears.

Boxing Day in June

I was watching one of my favorite mystery shows on Net Flix thsi evening, a British one. It happened to be a Christmas episode centered around one family and in one scene the family receives a threat "You'll all be dead by Boxing Day." So that got me wondering, what exactly is Boxing Day?  I know it's the day after Christmas in England and Canada but what's it all about. So I googled it. Turns out it's not, as I first guessed, the day everyone boxes up unwanted gifts and returns them. It seems Boxing Day is the day the people in the grand houses gave gift boxes to tradesmen and servants. So now you know, if you didn't before.

festival season

Last weekend I enjoyed Arab Fest and this evening I went to Germanfest, Very good, interesting food and music at each event but I must admit, because of my ancestry, I feel more at home at Germanfest. I had my beer of the year this evening, enjoyed the music and congenial time with friends. Of course the bratwurst with sauerkraut was also yummy. Beer or no beer I did not dance on the tables or anywhere else for that matter. Living downtown is working out as I had hoped.  Many of these festivals had sounded appealing to me over the years but I was reluctant to drive downtown and search for a parking space. Now I can just walk where I want to go. So, on Saturday I'll be going to the Wiener Dog Races. How exciting is that?

Lunch with friends, 2016 style

A lunch with girl friends used to be a time for silly conversations about the perils of aging, sharing the latest pictures of kids and grandchildren, and generally having a relaxed good time. Not so today.  We didn't come to blows but, as seems inevitable these days, conversation turned to politics.  It was an interesting dynamic. Two of us, who happened to be seated across from each other, were fairly liberal in our outlooks while the other two (again across from each other) were quite conservative. Conversation bounced from pro-choice vs. pro-life, to gay marriage to the consequences to the Supreme Court of the presidential election outcome. The only point of complete agreement was that none of us likes Trump - in fact dislike may be too mild a term.  On the other hand there wasn't much support for Hillary. I think this election is coming down to who we dislike least. I suspect the votes of the ladies who lunched today will cancel each other out. Happily, the food was very good. We ate outside at a new downtown restaurant called "The Golden". I recommend it.

Everything is OK now.

I love it when things work out the way you want them to.  Today I spent a pleasant day with an out of town guest shopping at Jefferson Pointe for things new and a a couple of antique malls for treasures not so new.  We found lots of good stuff but the highlight for me was walking into "Bed Bath and Beyond" finding the coffee maker section and on the shelf marked Mr. Coffee finding exactly one "Mr. Coffee 12 cup replacement decanter". (You may remember I had smashed mine to smitherines two days ago). So OK they called it a decanter not a carafe but it was exactly what I needed. I snatched it up, proceeded to check out and more good news found that the sticker price of $14 had been marked down to $10. What a good day. I can't wait to make tea my way tomorrow morning.

twist my arm a little harder

I have a girlfriend staying with me for a few days and she and I and another friend have been spending a lovely time together, mostly shopping, talking and eating.  And in eating lies the problem.  I have three thawed pork chops in the refrigerator that I had every intention of using as the basis of a lovely supper I was going to cook for my friends last night, but then we decided to explore the park across the street and ended up eating in a restaurant there.  I said I would cook tonight so we could stay in and watch a show we wanted to see, "The Bachlorette" no less. Hey, looking at hunkey men isn't a crime. But then, after a movie and some shopping time in Jefferson Point my out of town friend said she would really love to eat Italian at Biaggi's. One of my very favorite places so the arm twisting really didn't need to be too hard.  Now however I really must cook those pork chops tomorrow night, unless of course someone makes me a better offer.

Arab Fest

My youngest granddaughter and I wanted to go to Arab Fest yesterday but it rained and we decided to go today after church.  No camel rides today but she did get her hand beautifully decorated with henna which was the main reason she was so anxious to go to Arab Fest. However I had neglected to bring much cash with me so by the time I paid for the henna artistry (and it really was lovely) I was a little short on cash so instead of the exotic lunch of Arabian delicacies I had envisioned we ended up having coffee and donut holes from the Tim Horton's truck that was parked there for the festival. Quite tasty actually and I think my granddaughter didn't mind at all not getting couscous and hummus.

doing it the old fashioned way

Every morning I brew a pot of tea in my Mr. Coffee, tea bags in the pot, hot water dripping over, I can make enough tea to have a cup hot for breakfast and iced tea all day long. I've been doing this for some years since I prefer tea to coffee, especially in the morning. Today however tragedy struck. You know how sometimes something seems to be happening in slow motion but you're just not quite quick enough to stop it? I had filled the Mr. Coffee tank with water, pulled the carafe out and set it on the counter so I could put the tea bags in (same as every morning). As I reached in the cupboard above the counter to get the jar of tea bags I accidentally bumped a jar of syrup, as I grabbed for it I bumped the jar of tea bags (a heavy little Ball jar) which dropped on the counter at just the right angle to push the carafe off the counter onto the floor where it promptly smashed into about a thousand pieces.  It could have been worse I guess if the carafe had been full of hot tea or if the syrup had also hit the floor.
I carefully cleaned up all the glass which had spread to quite an amazing distance so now I have some really clean floors.
The problem was how to make tea without my Mr. Coffee? Of course I could make it a cup at a time in the microwave but I really like to have a lot. What to do? Then I happened to glance at my stove and realized that that decorative red item sitting on a back burner is, of all things, a whistling tea pot, so hey presto I made a pot of tea the old fashioned way. Not bad but I will be shopping for a new carafe as soon as possible.

the right kind of check up

My brother and I went out to dinner together tonight and decided, after reminiscing about the time I fell and broke my hip five years ago, that somebody should be checking up on us.  It happens that we both live alone and the thought has crossed both our minds that we don't know how long it would take family or friends to notice if we weren't out and about. Let's face it, it is a question that flits through people's minds at our age.  Like most thoughts it doesn't seem to hang around very long but it has flitted through. So we came to a decision.  Every morning we will text each other with a pithy message like "Are you still alive?" My brother and I love each other but we're not very sentimental. Of course I came right home and put a sticky note on my bedroom mirror in hopes that I will remember.

Where the wild geese go...

I've been wondering - not very seriously but in a vague way - where the geese that I see on the river go when they're not swimming. Today I found out. I was taking one of my favorite walks through the Old Fort grounds over the foot bridge and around Headwaters Park and discovered, nestled in the grassy area by the fort, at least two dozen geese.  I walked quietly and carefully around them not wanting to disturb them but also not wanting to step in any of the droppings they had so generously left behind.  Friends have told me, and it seems to be true, that geese prefer to poop on sidewalks rather than grass.  Maybe they don't like the feel of grass tickling their bottoms.  Who knows?

a sign I promise to obey

I took a walk along the river today, a nice little walk while my laundry was in the dryer, and spotted a discrete sign I hadn't noticed before.  It explained that sewer water and runoff after heavy rains could run into the river and swimming was not recommended.  There's a good chance you will get sick. Nice to know.  I'm happy to report that I have had absolutely no inclination to jump in the river, even on these hot days. Evidently the many kayakers I see going by have also read the sign or just have a good dose of common sense. Our cool blue pool is looking better and better. I checked it out this morning - just looking not swimming - because I want to bring my grandkids sometime.  As I was leaving a man came in, looking ready to go for a swim, and told me that mornings are definitely the time to come when there's no one else around. Good to know.