Monday, March 30, 2009

Back to the blog!

Time to sneak in a blog post before March of 2009 vanishes completely. I am happy to share with you that the spring musical was worth all the effort poured into it -- the show was a huge success with our audiences and the young cast and crew members all managed to get healthy enough to make it through all four performances.

I don't know if this is just in Ohio or is happening elsewhere -- you tell me. We've had the most obnoxious germs and viruses showing up at school this year, far more than I can ever remember. Kids and adults have been out for days at a time, suffering from lingering fevers or nausea, wracking coughs and even bouts of dizziness that some have labeled the "vertigo disease." It wasn't simply one disease manifesting itself in different ways. Some had influenza B, a very contagious virus, and then went on to catch the next nasty bug going around. It took a dreadful toll on our cast members, particularly those who resided in the castle. The villagers were pretty much spared. It reminded me of Poe's Mask of the Red Death, as one by one the actors playing castle characters caught "the plague" and vanished for days on end. Opening night was the first time in weeks we had everybody there and in a relatively healthy state!

So no more long weeks of rehearsals after school. It was a thrill to leave at a normal time today and to see the sun shining and feel the earth basking in its glow. I was happy to take a walk around the garden this afternoon and note all the signs of spring. Forsythia blooming already and the tulips sending forth tall leaves. The lilac bush is noticeably active and already there are weeds trying to take over beds. The chives are a brilliant shade green in the herb bed. I bought some peas and spinach seeds to put in the garden. They need to be planted now while the ground is still cool and the temperatures are just right.

Spring break is almost upon us. I'm going to take a nice long trip in my smart car, traveling to upstate NY to visit friends and then down to the city for a few days of intense theatre-going. Will take the laptop along for blogging updates.

Until then, it is spring cleaning time here at the Village Green. Sweeping out the debris of winter and letting in the fresh air of spring!

Tuesday, March 10, 2009

Absent with leave

If anyone has been taking attendance here in the Village Green , the blogger has been absent and will be out for a couple more weeks. We're in production mode at the moment, and the spring musical is all-consuming in its demands. Deadlines loom, etc.

Still love my smart car. The night manager at the Kenmore Akron came out to chat in the parking lot with me about, peppering me with questions. Then he came up as the cashier was toting up my bag of groceries and told the cashier all about the smart car in the lot. So she had to close up her register and follow me out to see it.

Everybody wants to know if it is safe. Yes very. And no, I am not afraid. I am a safe driver. No crashes since the age of 16 when I totaled my mom's Falcon. It wasn't some big smash up either. Somehow the brakes locked up as I went over a small hill and had to stop at a light. The car slid into one in front of me stopped at the light. That car didn't get a scratch but my mom's car crumpled right up. I had my brother and a group of inner city school children we'd taken to a picnic in a park. We'd been volunteering in the big city that summer. This was a culminating activity and I got us all in a wreck. Nobody was hurt except for me -- and only just a scratch on my cheek where it hit the steering wheel. It was a slo-mo kind of event, fortunately for all of us. It was a huge lesson and I've done my best to never crash again.

See you when the show is in shape and there's time to write again.

If someone smashes into you at high speed, it doesn't matter what you are driving -- the forces of physics will have their way with you and the hurtling metal.