On Tour

It is now May 8th and I have been home in Texas for nearly a week, but was so busy at the end of the tour that I didn't have a chance to talk about all the fun things that happened in my last week in North Carolina.

Our tour took us to some fun and interesting places, including the Smoky Mountains. Beautiful! and there was lots of gambling as well as Indian gift stores. I didn't buy any gifts. But my friend bought four knives. Sorry everyone, no gift knives from me.

I went to Roswell and Atlanta GA with Amy and we had such fun! Her parents took us out to eat for every meal and it was awesome. We also saw a laser light show on Stone Mountain which, as it turns out, is like a little miniature confederate Mount Rushmore. The show lasts about 40 minutes and the song list includes many country faves, and patriotic medleys. Amy knew all of the words to all of these songs, which made me feel very un-American. She was appalled that I'd never heard the song "Rockytop." I tried to think of regional songs pertinent to the New England Area that she wouldn't know.... Rock Lobster? no..... I guess that old "Spirit of Massachusetts" song that the tourism board used in the 80's doesn't count...

Come to think of it, the South has a TON of regional ballads! How come we don't? Let's get on that!


While we were there eating dinner one night, there just happened to be a huge bicycle race that went right by our table! It was such fun!

We just got to sit there and eat fried chicken while a slew of international cyclists circled our dinner for 80 minutes. It's very gratifying to eat fried chicken whilst others exert themselves. It makes you feel like part of the action, except that you are the part of the action that's eating fried chicken. We all have to play our parts.

On the Road Again

We have just commenced a tour of Pirates which will last two weeks and take us to remote small towns in the far reaches of North Carolina. I fondly recall my tour of rural Louisiana... My favorite part of touring is finding local restaurants and unusual tourist attractions and, of course, the requisite roadkill watch. Some of you may remember accounts of the prison rodeo in Angola,LA and eating fried Alligator in Crowley, LA "the rice capitol of the world." I can't wait to see what we'll discover on this tour!

Amy and Keith and I tried to go to "The Strangest House in the World" in Kernersville, NC. Unfortunately, it was nowhere near us, but it sure had an interesting brochure, and the concept of a 7 level 22-room home built by a "dapper gentleman interior designer who became famous as a painter of bulls across the south" and who intended the house to be "a combination bachelor’s quarters, artist’s studio, office, billiard and ballroom, carriage house and stables" was intriguing. Keith suggested that in addition to the portraiture of bulls we might find a series of interesting nudes above the "15 fireplaces of differing designs of American Encaustic Tiles." A missed opportunity indeed.

Hoppy Easter!!

This Easter has been wonderful. Amy and I made the Southern Living Carrot Cake with Buttermilk glaze and Deluxe Cream Cheese Frosting.... sooooo tasty. Also, it has 42 grams of fat and 750 calories per 1/18th of a 9 inch cake.

Amy made a ham, and we had a potluck. We ate blue cheese mashed potatoes, and green beans with almonds and lots of shrimp and yeast rolls (not to worry, they're just rolls--they sound gross because of the word yeast. As I understood it, the presence of yeast in bread was understood, and I don't know why they feel the need to put it in the title of the food, which makes it sound gross. But in any case they were tasty.)

This picture is with some of the cast from Pirates, we all put on Easter Pirate tattoos! They were out of the 12 disciple tattoos at the grocery store, apparently. Tatts!!!

Spanish Spinning

I've been going to gym every day, in an attempt to get ready for this year's Danskin Triathlon. I am determined to beat the swimmers who are using pool noodles this year.

To that end, I decided to go to spinning class this week. I was 5 minutes late (which I HATE. I really don't like showing up late--I don't like people noticing me in any athletic situation.) The instructor wasn't wearing a microphone, and I thought at first that I just couldn't hear her, but as it turns out she was speaking Spanish. In fact, everyone in the class seemed to speak Spanish except for me. So there we are in the dark, with our towels and lint glowing purple from the black light, and a crazy rainbow discoball, AND she was playing really bad techno, and screaming in Spanish. I would catch the occasional "andar le" (is that how you spell it? Senora MacKenzie, my spanish teacher, would be so disappointed.)

Fortunately now and then she would point at me and scream "FASTER!" Her mouth was open so wide I could see all her bridges. She was vicious and wonderful. Nothing motivates you to really push up those "hills" like screaming Mexican ladies at a disco.

When the class concluded, everyone gathered around her and they were all talking very fast and rolling their r's and slapping their own butts with an appreciative body-weariness. I would like to learn some Spanish and return again next Wednesday.

Tuesdays with Pirates....

This job is so much fun...

Tonight at rehearsal we spent the whole time going through the "With Cat Like Tread" encore--which uses Chorus Line choreography including gold shiny hats. I can't tell you how hilarious it's going to be, though I'm sure you can imagine it. If you can't I've created this image here to give you an idea. (Please note the tiny parrot.)

Know this, however. We are SERIOUSLY dancing. It's still funny, but mainly because we're Pirates and men (except me.) But as for the dancing, there's nothing funny about it. We are dancing it out here, people.

We all look pretty much like these young people here. We all have svelt dancer's bodies. But we add to it a Pir-attitude which is unprecedented. We put the "Argh" in "Chorus Line." And how.

Carolina-fication

So I have arrived in Charlotte North Carolina for a production of Pirates of Penzance. It should be great fun, my colleagues are quite excellent and the schedule is wonderful. We get free memberships to Bally's while we're here, and our day doesn't usually start till 1pm, so I have no excuse not to go.

The chorus members at Opera Carolina have been wonderful so far. I've gotten very many restaurant recommendations, including a sushi place which has named a roll after one of the chorus members. Of course, I will have to go and try eat his namesake, no matter how raw and fish-y. When in Rome after all...

I am enjoying learning another southern dialect. Carolina is different from the strains of the Texas accents I've learned so far.