Memorial Day Weekend

Well, I am on day 4 of being off 6 days in a row and I have to say it's feeling just great. I've rehearsed, gone to the gym, had a marvelous dinner with dear friends, and just chilled out. Tomorrow there's a concert on the books, and then Tuesday is another rehearsal and then dinner club. Life is good, I am very blessed.

Of course, that many blessings make for boring writing, and reading! Conflict, upsetment, doubt, rage, guilt, greed, lust, envy, and the other deadly (and not-s0-deadly) sins make for much better copy. This is probably why I am fascinated with reading about the tragic travesty taking place with the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. There are more than enough sins to go around in that situation. Will it all get cleaned up in my lifetime? I'm thinking there's a good chance the answer is "no". The photos of the spill, the oil-soaked wildlife, the befouled coast line, and the audio of the endlessly prattling bureaucrats and politicians and scientists are eerily compelling. It's like slowing down to look at an accident on the highway.

Just finished reading a book about Andrew Carnegie, Henry Clay Frick, and how they became friends & business colleagues, formed the steel industry, fought the nascent unions, fought with each other, and ended up bitter enemies (albeit rich ones). A fascinating story. The personalities are so vivid! I think it's because there are such rich primary sources (letters, cables, minutes of meetings, etc.) for historians to mine. I wonder what kind of biographies and histories of the electronic era will be written when the primary sources are as evanescent as the life of one's computer memory, or the technology with which to decode it.

Thoughts, anyone?

How curious

Did a concert on Sunday night and for the first time in my performing experience I think the audience didn't like it. Or, they liked it but they didn't feel like clapping. I don't know. Arturo and others in the audience who have heard me before said I did a great job, up to my usual standards, and it was the listeners who had the problem. It was such an odd feeling: lots of things that in the past have been sure-fire laugh getters or audience pleasers just kind of fell flat. In one way, it made me work harder, but then at a certain point I realized I wasn't going to cajole or invigorate or cattle-prod them into being "into" the evening, so I just figured, the hell with it. I'll do the best I can for ME and I'll just have as much fun as I can. But it was very hard to relax & carry through with that intent. It was like there was a big wall out there between me and the audience.

Maybe it was too much of a "holy" crowd for the material? There's no way to know. Nobody forced them to attend......they could have just sent a check for the charity & skipped the show. My friend Britt said that everyone seemed more interested in the food than in the entertainment. (The leftover scraps I was able to taste after the performance WERE really good.) I believe she used the word "stampede" to describe the general hubbub when all the food was put out. Maybe everyone had postprandial doze syndrome.

Whatever the cause, it was a very odd sensation. I can see why young performers could take a [non] reaction like that very personally, feel rejected, etc. Thank God I have more sense/ego than that. But it's a feeling, and an evening, I'd not care to repeat.

A woman's work is never done

I have been working like crazy the past few weeks, what with rehearsals, and company, and spring cleaning, and those never-ending yard chores, and (oh yes) my actual paying job, and I think the stress has finally caught up with me, in the form of a massive headache, the "GI Blues", and I think a UTI, too. NOT FEELING WELL.

Diana is off to Mexico on Saturday. Laura is off to Florida on Saturday. My mom is off to China on Sunday. At least Arturo is here to commiserate.

Got the van all checked out today. The "Mom Mobile" is good to go for another few thousand miles. It's a wreck but I do like that car! I took a short ride in a friend's Chrysler Pacifica the other day. If--I mean, when--we have to go car shopping I might look at one of those. There were a lot of sweet features and it looks fairly decent, too. Of course having a new car means caring about how it looks, and then there's the higher insurance cost. Hope we can put off that particular hassle for as long as possible.

In the words of Johnny Mercer: "Not a lot to write/Not a lot to say/Same things happen every day"........so I'll close. For all you uninitiated out there, those are the first few lines to the great song he wrote with Gordon Jenkins, "P.S., I Love You".

It's That Time of Year Again

After a 9-month hiatus (no, I didn't have a baby) I am taking pen in hand--or should I say, fingers to the keyboard?--and writing on the blog again. Don't know who will see this but I do want to make everyone aware that the incredible annual BEAVER QUEEN PAGEANT is taking place again in lovely Duke Park, Durham, NC, and--

*I*
*ME*
*MOI*
*YOURS TRULY*

will be one of the judges this year! I am humbled by this honor. In the true spirit of the Pageant, and in keeping with its motto of "Peace, Love, Beaver", I would like to invite everyone to help sponsor my judicial seat! Just go to:

http://www.ellerbecreek.org/bqp-2010.html

scroll down to the "judges" section, and click on the tab for Beaver Streisand. (She's my--are you ready?--"beavatar"!) You can read about the contestants and use your credit card to buy my influence for your favored candidate. All money raised goes to the Ellerbe Creek Watershed Association, to assist in their goal of protecting Durham's natural creek and its surrounding area. Read about their good work at www.ellerbecreek.org, and remember: all contributions are tax deductible!

Here is a song I've been rehearsing for the pageant. Remember the tune "Memories" from the musical "Cats"? It was one of my biggest hits. For this very special event, I've rewritten the words:

Beavers! Looking out at the sunset!
All surveying the forest
Seeking trees fresh and sweet
As their fur drips
Their teeth are making chattering sounds
And their dam is all complete!

If you want to hear more, come to Duke Park on Saturday, June 5th, 2010, at 4PM. LIVE THE BEAVER QUEEN EXPERIENCE!