Quints

Got to the Barnegat Recreation Center about 8:30, plenty early enough to set up for the Dionne Quint program.  The handyman, Rick, set up the room with the projector and tables and  I asked him to add two tables in the front so I could set out my artifacts.
Geez, I have a lot of them.  I had brought tablecloths and plate holders, so I could make a tasteful display and it looked good.  After a little trepidation at the beginning--they couldn't get the disc with pictures to advance--Rick saved the day and I got rolling.
The audience, all elderly and about 90 percent women, were very attentive and appreciative.  It was fun to again go through the sad saga of the quints and I was glad the essential points came back to me (considering I hadn't boned up very well beforehand.  Said my goodbyes and left.
My home phone is still not recording messages and I got a cell call from Aline on the way to Barnegat.  Dear friend, she just called to wish me luck.  We also made a date for lunch tomorrow--why waste a call?
Rehearsal last night, which went well.  Tonight, Chris (my "sister") and I have a night off, as we're not in the segment being gone over.
   

Lunch With B. and L.

Picked up Barbara D. and Leslie for lunch and we went to the Olive Garden.  Very pleasant talking and eating with my two neighbors.  Barb and Frank are leaving again for North Carolina this morning.  Their daughter is with the foreign service or some government agency and has to go the Nigeria (I think) for a week.  Little Harper is about six and her Dad works, too, so Frank and Barb, my next-door neighbors, go down to N.C. fairly often.
Other than that--not much.  Boned up on the Dionne thing and put a lot of my artifacts on them in the car.   Must leave by 8:15 or so today.

Exercise And Other Stuff

Oh rejuvenated day!  Or something.  Finally, at long last, I went back to exercise.  Turns out it's a new video, although still Leslie Sansone.  I can't say I like it as much as the last one, but I'll do it.  One annoyance is that she doesn't use the extension cords, which I have.  In fact, attention to the upper body seems much intense than before.  Also, she no longer announces the time spent incrementally, i.e. by fifteen minute segments.  Third--geez, I have all kinds of complaints--she incorporates moves that are like dance steps, which I find precarious, so I modify them.  On the plus side, this is considerably more vigerous than her earlier routines.  I really worked up a sweat and was breathing fairly hard during it, which is all to the good.
Decided to finally get myself a new winter jacket, so I went to Macy's and got one.  Of course, it was greatly reduced, but even so, the price was pretty heafty.  And--darn--after I put it on at home, I decided I'm really don't like it and think I'll take it back.  Also stopped at Kohl's and got a new scarf and glove set, plus a few other things.
Rehearsal last night, which went well. Now I MUST turn my attention to the Dionne Quintuplet program, which I present in Barnegat--gulp!--tomorrow.

Dine Around

Slow day until the Dine Around dinner in the evening.  I went with Ed and Betty W., who also picked up Anna P.  It was at Lefty's in Barnegat and for some reason, was called for the ungodly hour of 5:00.  The W.'s picked me up at--get this--4:13.  Luckily, Bea and Pat A. and Jay and Marilyn P. were already there and at the bar, so I hung with them for a bit.
Had horseradish-encrusted salmon and it was good, if not spectacular.  We had Judy's usual weird question and answer session and the even weirder "prizes" she gives out.
Got home before 8:00 and Skyped Ellen.  She and I had a lively chat about my trip there in March/April--didn't realize I had arranged to leave on Easter, but oh, well. 
Rehearsal tonight and I'd better bone up. 

Terrific Day

Glad to see the roads were dry,  I picked up Aline at 12:15 and we drove down to Ventnor.
As ever, the Players & Playwrights At the Jersey Shore gathering was great fun and very absorbing.  Before it started, I announced that Aline and I were going to Italian Gourmet for dinner after, and invited any and all to join us.
I submitted my first "telephone play," Telephone (#1) and it was performed by Lynne and Louise. I cast myself in a supporting role as the telephone bell.  (Joke--I simply rang it at appropriate times.)  It went over well, and in the discussion, some valid points were made, but I'm not entirely happy with it.  Guess I'd give it a B-.  Later, I was cast myself as an African-American attorney in the first act of Jim T.'s play (it's a work in progress) and it was fun to read.
It was an excellent session, although there were some trying moments with a woman who has irritated just about every member at most meetings and yesterday was no exception.  I was surprised to see an e-mail from her this morning, more or less apologizing for her words.  I wrote her back complimenting her in her courage in writing it and suggested we start over. on a friendly footing.
It was a pleasure to get to know better a guy I've admired (in the thespian sense) for some time.  "Gray"--his middle name, but that's what he uses--was cast yesterday as an attorney and happens to be one.  He's been in Arsenic, playing the sinister Jonathan, and must have been a terrific one.  No, no, there's no hint of romantic interest there--he's gay and I'm at least twenty years older than he is.
After, Aline and I were joined at Italian Gourmet by Louise and leader John, two of my favorite P & P friends.  We had a wonderful theatre/literature/arts-in-general conversation, ranging from the courses John teaches; to the original production of  Oliver (1963); to Shakespeare Uncovered, a program Louise had found on PBS; to Aline's many excursions to Broadway; to the books we were currently reading.  What a delight to be with like-minded people who share your intense interest in the subjects you love!  Much as I like my friends and neighbors, it gets wearing to hear them earnestly discuss reality T.V. shows and current movies as if they're what's meant by "culture." 
We said goodbye to our companions and drove immediately to the Stafford Arts Center in Manahawkin for Beans, Biscotti, and Broadway.  This Our Gang fundraiser was another pleasure to attend. It was a loosely hung together show which incorporated song and dance from bygone Broadway productions.  Very enjoyable, although Aline and I were both mystified by the inclusion of rather obscure numbers from Broadway bombs, such as Annie Warbucks, an ill-conceived sequel which sank without a trace several years ago. 
No matter, it was still fun and during intermission, an array of cakes, cookies, cream puffs, tarts, and yes, biscotti, was offered, along with coffee, tea, and hot chocolate.  I was pleased to see a number of Sunrise Bay friends there, including  Mary and Don S., Carol L, Lee S., and others.  Was also glad to meet other members of the Arsenic cast, who hadn't been called to rehearsal before.
Didn't get home until after 10:00 and to bed at 11:00, but it was worth it to experience such a terrific day.
   

 

Snow

The snow started about 4 pm and by the time I was due to pick Aline up at 6:15, about an inch had fallen.  I dressed for the Beans, Biscotti, and Broadway show, but wasn't at all sure we'd make it.
We didn't.  It took me several passes before I even found Aline's house--and I've been there dozens of times--and I reluctantly decided I just didn't want to risk driving to Manahawkin.  As  long as I was there, I stopped in for a cup of tea and pound cake and we had a good chat.  Aline was very understanding about scrubbing our excursion, especially as I suggested we go tonight instead.
So that's our plan: We'll go to Players & Playwrights in Ventnor at 1:00, have an early dinner after at Italian Gourmet, then go to the show at 7:00.  Let's hope nothing more comes drifting down from the sky.

Show Biz, Comcast, and Kerry

Rehearsal last night.  Once again, everybody was late except me and once again, somebody failed to show.  So far, we haven't even run through the whole thing; hope it comes together soon.
Desi e-mailed that he's having a preliminary meeting for Hedda Gabler on February 1.  That's LETCO, of course, and isn't scheduled until October.  I'll attend, as I've already been cast in the play.
Aline and I are planning to go to the Beans, Biscotti, and Broadway fund-raiser tonight and tomorrow, to the Players & Playwrights By The Jersey Shore meeting.  Then I have Dine-Around on Sunday, so I hope, hope, hope the snow holds off.
Heard from the library that the book I requested, The Patriarch, a new bio of Joseph P. Kennedy, had come in.  I high-tailed it over there immediately, started it, and find it superb.  The author establishes the area and the era with meticulous care, is scrupulous about avoiding the temptation to editorialize, and presents the reader with a scholarly and thoroughly enjoyable treat. 
Comcast seems to have gotten my phone back in shape. The guy said my calls were being forwarded to this number: (732) 395-7241. What?! He said either somebody had authorized that directly from my phone--impossible--or I had been hit by a hacker. He advised me to change the password on my e-mail account, which I immediately did. Anyway, crisis is over, I'm happy to say.
WIDER:  On the NYTimes video window I just caught a two-second glimpse--or whiff--of John Kerry's odious speech during his confirmation hearing or whatever the hell it was.  He naturally mentioned "all the good we do," then followed that with excusing the slaughter of innocents (my phrase not his) as what "we have had to do since nine-eleven" (emphasis mine).  How in the HELL people watch this without vomiting, I don't know.   How can people actually take this malarkey and all the rest of the political posturing, prominently including the inaugural address, seriously?  Listen intently and nod and shake their heads?  Ponder it with great gravity?  Discuss it as if it actually means something?  Are they insane or just stupid?  Do they go to the movies or watch television?  Do they think the actors are really getting shot or making love?  No? Then why don't they realize this is theatre?