Violet

Various and sundry, but nothing interesting until a Skype call from Mike, during which I was able to see adorable little Violet.  When we first connected, she was dressed in a beautiful little white dress, long and with flowers at the waist.  She looked like a princess.  I learned that Paula was having her try on clothes to see what should be kept and what not.  Of course, she ran back and forth showing me her "Baba" (a somewhat worn, partly stuffed animal that corresponds to Vivian's "Ma" and that she takes to bed) and other items.  That was the high point of the day after our 7 am walk.
Speaking of which:  Susan has various commitments today, tomorrow, and Sunday, so I won't be walking with her until Monday morning.  That's okay and I'm going to skip myself today, as it's raining and windy.
Got a call from Naomi P.  They sold their house in Sunrise Bay and are living in a condo her husband owns in Tall Timbers right around the corner on Center Street.  Naomi is a big talker and always has a lot of derogatory things to say about her stepchildren, who seem never to have reconciled themselves to their father's marriage.  I heard about some of their antics and once again, as has happened so many times before, marvel at my luck in my children.  They're saints compared to other people's kids.
Will pick Aline up today and go to lunch, notwithstanding the lousy weather. Actually, I'm glad it's raining, as a helper is coming on Monday to dig out and bundle the huge weed bushes growing under my bedroom windows in the back.     

Free Pretzels

Bestirred myself to do some work around the house and before our walk, put half the bathroom rugs in the wash.  After breakfast, I did the other half, mopped the floor, scrubbed the shower and tub, and cleaned the counter tops.  Pulled the sheets off my bed, re-made it, and otherwise performed housework in the morning.  Looks good.
After lunch, I went over to interview Pat and Bea A., who have been married for--gulp!--sixty-two years.  I had known them only casually and never thought we had much in common.  However, I was pleasantly surprised to find them an interesting couple. 
My big excitement for the day: I went to Acme for few things and picked up a big container of pretzels. Sign said they were on sale for $4.99, but at checkout, I was charged $6.99.  Went to the office to point that out and was cheerfully given back not the two dollar difference, but the full $6.99.  Ever honest, not to say outstandingly pure, I mentioned I was owed only two.  Was told if a sign is left up in error, Acme refunds the entire cost of an item and you get it free.  WOW!  GEE!  LUCKY, LUCKY ME!  Free pretzels--what a bonanza!   
Now to find a car dealership that follows the same system.

Bouncing Back And The FBI

Okay, I'm bouncing back. 
Called Aline, but she had impulsively decided to go to Manhattan and was on her way.  We made a date for lunch on Friday.
Went to B.J.'s and picked up pumpernickel, cottage cheese, and a big bag of golden, delicious-looking oranges.  I'll give some to Susan and Aline, too.
Finally, I finished up arrangements for rehearsals with all ten people involved in my two plays for the June 15 show.  We'll get together at Stockton this Saturday for Hell On Wheels and next Tuesday at Shalom House for Telephone.  I hope Joey (that's actually what he uses; he's older than I am!) is an okay choice for the husband.  He seems a little lackadaisical to me.  I offered to send the script to him last week and he asked, "Do I have to print it out?"  Well, yes, that's the idea.  However, he declined, saying "I'm a fast read."  Can't imagine why he wouldn't want to see it ahead of time, but oh, well.
Talked several times and at length to Betty about the disturbing and incomprehensible e-mail I got from a relative.  I wrote an angry response and the relative answered that--with a gushing and insincere e-mail worse than the original.  It pretends to be an apology, but is actually a treatise on why she's entirely innocent and I just don't understand or have trust issues or don't want to "share feelings" or whatever garbage she could dream up.  I'm sure she thinks the second was conciliatory, but it definitely isn't.  Guess it's that old sub-conscious at work and her words reveal what she really means.  She also called twice, but I won't speak to her.
Picked up my new glasses, which I hate, but I always do with new ones.  Considering the cost, you'd think the frames would be lined with diamonds.  Made a date to see Pat (Pasquale) and Bea A. today to do a profile for The Breeze.    
WIDER:  This latest manifestation of the Fascist state is enough to chill you to the bone.  What's going on?  How did we get to here?  I'm beginning to think this latest horror is part of a huge, unseen (but there are bits and pieces we can glimpse) tsunami of terror we're all going to be living in before long.  The FBI seems to be emulating the Gestapo and we'd better be docile... 
http://www.monbiot.com/2013/06/03/innocent-until-proved-dead/

Nothing Much

It rained while we walked, then it stopped, then it rained again, and that was about all that happened yesterday.  I did talk to Betty at length, and we discussed a highly offensive e- mail message I received out of the blue and for no reason I can fathom.  Because of that, I'm just too dispirited to write much.
Finally rounded up everybody in the two plays I'm directing and set rehearsal times.  Think I'll see if Aline wants to hang out today.

"The Boyfriend"

After the serious excursion on Saturday, yesterday was light-hearted fun.  Aline called to ask if her sister, Susan, could come with us to the show and yes, of course.  They arrived a bit before 11:00 and Louise a tad after.  We chatted for a few minutes, then set off.
Went to Buckalew's and had a tasty and leisurely lunch, then drove around the corner to Surflight.  (It would never occur to me to drive such a short way, but Susan has difficulty walking and I didn't want to suggest we do.)
I was taken aback when we went to the ticket office and were told tickets were $45 each.  Guess I had assumed this was an Our Gang production and they'd be ten or twelve bucks.  However, I managed to negotiate it down to half that--$22.50--and we settled in.
What a fabulous show!  The Boyfriend is a little piece of fluff, but so much fun to see.  It featured a half dozen each of young males and females and their singing and dancing were a sheer delight.  My friend, Jeanne S., had a small, non-singing part as the male lead's mum and did a credible job.
At intermission, I pleasantly surprised to see Jeff and Georgia G.  Jeff and I had performed together for LETCO in Our Town and Night Must Fall and we greeted each other with hugs.  After the show, we waited in the lobby until Jeanne had changed (Surflight performers are asked not to mix with the patrons in costume), then greeted her with compliments.
I drove the others back to my place and we said goodbye.  I was relieved to see a Facebook message from my nephew, Jim B's, wife, thanking me for the prints I had sent.  Hope my other nephew received them, also. 
Capped off a pleasant day with my weekly Skype call with darling daughter in California.   

Fort Meade Two

Okay, Jim, you asked for it:
Left the house at 6:00.  Got to the Absecon train station and, about an hour and half later, 30th Street Station in Philly with plenty of time to spare.  The bus was due an hour later only a block away, so I got coffee and ate for breakfast half the sandwich I had brought.  Went out to the designed corner and in a few minutes, saw walking toward me two grizzled old guys wearing tee shirts with the legend: "Vietnam Vets Against War."
Oh, joy!  Al and John were my first kindred spirits of the day and we were quickly joined by others.  I had been apprehensive about being the only--uh, mature person--on the trip, but in fact, at least three-quarters of those on the bus looked to be over--say, sixty-five.  This is a little scary.  Where the hell are all the young people we need to oppose the scourge of militarism?  Happily, there were many more younger people coming from other points, but still--.
I sat with a women named Karen N. and we became instant friends; more about her and future possibilities in another post.  Foolishly, I ate the rest of my sandwich and grapes before we got there, along with two granola bars somebody passed around, so I had nothing left for the rest of the day.  However, I wasn't hungry at all until I got home.
Got to Ft. Meade about two hours later to join the crowds already there.  There was a huge sign, maybe seven feet high and nine long propped with others at the entrance. (Naturally, the gates were locked.)  Participants were invited to write personal notes to Brad on it and, of course, I did.  Also spent every penny of the cash I had brought to buy a "Free Bradley Manning" tee-shirt.
More people gathered, coming by bus and car.  There was lots and lots of police coverage, most in cars with "U.S. Army Police" on them, and a helicopter nosily hovered overhead the entire time.  About 1:00, the crowd--I'd say about a thousand strong--congregated in front of the main gate and we heard speakers from various pro-peace organizations.  Medea Benjamin from Code Pink was there, along with about a dozen others wearing their signature pink and bearing signs reading "Make Out, Not War."  (Doesn't scan as well as my favorite, "Make Peace, Not War.")
There were a multitude of signs, both professionally printed and hand-made, all with pro-peace and "free Bradley Manning" sentiments.  We then started the march. 
Gee-willy, it was hot.  Ninety degrees had been predicted and it may have reached beyond that.  The march was in the street, of course, and there were a few trees on one side, but for the most part, we walked in the broiling sun.  As we did, we chanted and shouted the pacifist slogans and demands for Brad's release we knew too well could be voices crying in the wilderness.
We had first been told we'd walk from the main gate to the next, about a mile away, but that was extended to a third gate, another mile on.  That meant four miles there and back and even for me, it was pretty intense.  What was more uncomfortable was the fact that there was no place to sit throughout the long day.  Others sat on the grass under what shade they could find, but I knew I wouldn't be able to get up if I did, so I was on my feet for roughly six hours.  Incredibly, I have no aches or pains today.  At the third gate, there was music and notably, the introduction of Daniel Ellsberg and Lt. Daniel Choy, who gave inspiring talks. Then, a few at a time, we started walking the two miles back to the main gate.
Had to wait an hour or so until the bus got there at 5:30, but we made good time back to Philly and I was happy to see there was a 7:57 train to Absecon.  It got in at twenty after nine, I drove home without incident, and was in by 10:00.  Immediately, I jumped in the shower--so, so delicious!--washed my hair, then heated up some macaroni and whole made sauce, which I avidly devoured after having had nothing to eat since about 11 am.  Fell into bed and oh, did I sleep--until 7:00, in fact, practically the middle of the afternoon for me.
How wonderful to be in the company of kindred spirits!  It isn't just me, I'm not a weird, practically unhinged nut for believing it's unnatural and abnormal for human beings to slaughter each other.  Those who agree to do so are not heroes, and aside from the scum who profit from war, they do not "serve" their fellow citizens.  I will never, never, and shoot me if I do, "thank a soldier," but I'll forever admire and revere those who stand in support of peace and justice.  I saw lots of them yesterday and it was the thrill of a lifetime.     
 

Fort Meade

A half hour from now, I'll get in my car, drive to Absecon, board a train to Philadelphia, get on a chartered bus, and travel to Fort Meade, Maryland.  Finally, I'm demonstrating--apt word--my moral convictions with more than talk.  And it feels good.