In the preceding post ("They say good things come in threes"), I included a pop quiz at the end. So far, in my vast reading audience of maybe a dozen folks tops, two comments have been left on that post. One was from a woman in England and the other was from a woman in Australia *waves to Janice and kylie*. I'm hoping to hear from Emma, another regular leaver of comments who lives in Iowa, but so far she hasn't shown up.
I listed 16, count 'em, 16 things that occur in groups of three. Below are items 12 and 13 from the list:
12. first in war, first in peace, first in the hearts of his countrymen
13. of the people, by the people, and for the people
You can look up the entire list later if you like. I thought it was a very interesting, if somewhat eclectic, list.
At the end of the blogpost, after we had discussed at length the three stars in Orion's belt, I included a pop quiz. Here it is:
Pop Quiz Time:
1. To whom does item 12 refer?
2. In what document is item 13 found?
3. Who starred in Beetlejuice?
Janice didn't answer any of the questions. kylie guessed Jack Nicholson but didn't say which question she was answering. Jack Nicholson is not the correct answer to any of the questions.
I am somewhat disappointed in the lack of participants, but I'll get over it. I suppose my list skewed heavily American, and I apologize (British, apologise) for that. English and Australian folks would not necessarily be familiar with things like Kukla, Fran, and Ollie (a puppet act on television in the 1950s) or Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe (a railway company), I suppose, but I thought everyone would know items 12 and 13.
The answer to pop quiz question 1 about list item 12 is George Washington, the first president of the United States. It was spoken in a eulogy at his funeral in 1799.
The answer to pop quiz question 2 about list item 13 is Abraham Lincoln's 1863 Gettysburg Address.
And the answer to pop quiz question 3, which I threw in because Betelgeuse is one of the stars in the constellaion of Orion (not in his belt), is Michael Keaton, and you would have received extra credit if you had included Alec Baldwin and Geena Davis.
I just hate it when I have to explain everything.
Maybe Emma will still show up. I'm counting on you, Emma.
Tuesday, October 28, 2025
Monday, October 27, 2025
They say good things come in threes
Here are a few groups of three. Judge for yourself:
1. earth, wind, and fire
2. blood, sweat, and tears
3. faith, hope, and charity
4. peace, love, and happiness
5. Kukla, Fran, and Ollie
6. Patti, Maxene, and LaVerne
7. Manny, Moe, and Jack
8. wynken, blynken, and nod
9. Peter, Paul, and Mary
10. a rag, a bone, and a hank of hair
11. a hit, lick, and a promise
12. first in war, first in peace, and first in the hearts of his countrymen
13. government of the people, by the people, and for the people
14. the Kingston Trio
15. Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe
16. Alnitak, Alnilam, and Mintaka.
Whoa. What? Until recently, I had never heard of Alnitak, Alnilam, and Mintaka, even though all of us (in the northern hemisphere, at least) have been seeing them for years. More accurately, you have been seeing them and I have not because they had disappeared from my view after I developed cataracts. Since my cataracts were surgically removed in the summer of 2024 by the wonderful Dr. Hannah Park, I can once again see Alnitak, Alnilam, and Mintaka, the three stars in the belt of the constellation Orion.
My vision had become so poor that before I met Dr. Park I could see only four objects in the night sky—the moon, Venus, Jupiter, and Sirius (the Dog Star). With my vision restored, I shall never take Orion's belt for granted again, and now I call my old friends by their names: Alnitak, Alnilam, and Mintaka.
What people say is true. Good tohings do come in threes.
Pop Quiz Time:
1. To whom does item 12 refer?
2. In what document is item 13 found?
3. Who starred in Beetlejuice?
1. earth, wind, and fire
2. blood, sweat, and tears
3. faith, hope, and charity
4. peace, love, and happiness
5. Kukla, Fran, and Ollie
6. Patti, Maxene, and LaVerne
7. Manny, Moe, and Jack
8. wynken, blynken, and nod
9. Peter, Paul, and Mary
10. a rag, a bone, and a hank of hair
11. a hit, lick, and a promise
12. first in war, first in peace, and first in the hearts of his countrymen
13. government of the people, by the people, and for the people
14. the Kingston Trio
15. Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe
16. Alnitak, Alnilam, and Mintaka.
Whoa. What? Until recently, I had never heard of Alnitak, Alnilam, and Mintaka, even though all of us (in the northern hemisphere, at least) have been seeing them for years. More accurately, you have been seeing them and I have not because they had disappeared from my view after I developed cataracts. Since my cataracts were surgically removed in the summer of 2024 by the wonderful Dr. Hannah Park, I can once again see Alnitak, Alnilam, and Mintaka, the three stars in the belt of the constellation Orion.
What people say is true. Good tohings do come in threes.
Pop Quiz Time:
1. To whom does item 12 refer?
2. In what document is item 13 found?
3. Who starred in Beetlejuice?
Saturday, October 11, 2025
Winston Churchill was right
Winston Churchill (1874-1965) said many memorable things, including something about "blood, toil, tears, and sweat" and "an iron curtain has descended across the Continent" and "I never stand when I can sit, and I never sit when I can lie down", but today I want us to think about and explore a little bit the saying that England and America are two countries separated by the same language.
[Editor's note. Except it probably wasn't Churchill at all who made that remark. It has been attributed to several people including George Bernard Shaw, Oscar Wilde, and others. No one knows for certain who said it first, but in his 1887 short story, "The Canterville Ghost", Oscar Wilde did pen the following: "Indeed, in many respects, she was quite English, and was an excellent example of the fact that we have really everything in common with America nowadays, except, of course, language." —RWP]
Elsewhere in past posts we have mentioned some of the things Brits and Yanks refer to differently, such as lorry (truck), napkin (diaper), biscuit (cookie), cookie (cracker), cracker (noisemaker), lift (elevator), fag (cigarette). The list goes on and on. And we have talked about our differences in spellings and word endings, such as -ise (-ize), -re (-er), -our (-or). At the risk of repeating myself, the list goes on and on.
Today let's explore two more areas, music and money.
Most people in America, musical or not, are probably familiar with musical notation in the form of notes on a staff preceded by a treble clef or a bass clef. (There is also a clef that is referred to as alto, tenor, or baritone clef depending on where it is placed on the staff, but we won't go down that particular rabbit trail.) And most of us know that these notes have names like whole note, half note, quarter note, eighth note. There are even briefer increments of time (that is, faster notes when strung together) known as sixteenth note, thirty-second note, and sixty-fourth note. Okay, so maybe most people in America don't know that at all, but stay with me for a minute.
In Britain, the people don't know any of those names. Instead, their naming system for the very same squiggles on a musical manuscript are breve (whole note), minim (half note), crotchet (quarter note), and quaver (eighth note), and the even briefer notes are called semi-quaver (sixteenth note), demisemiquaver (thirty-second note), and—God help us all—hemidemisemiquaver (sixty-fourth note).
Since there is a semibreve or whole note that equals four beats in 4/4 time, it follows as the night the day (thank you, Laertes) that there must also be a breve or double whole note that equals eight beats in 4/4 time. And there is.
I'm feeling faint. Let us move on to money.
Britain changed its currency to the decimal system more than 50 years ago, and now there are 100 pence to the pound, but I distinctly remember a time when 12 pence made a shilling and 20 shillings made a pound sterling. The pound sterling was worth five American dollars ($5.00 USD) and a shilling was about the same value as our American quarter (a quarter of a dollar). Americans had dollars, half-dollars, quarters, dimes (ten cents), nickels (five cents), and pennies (one cent) and used a cent sign (¢) for all coins less than a dollar; the Brits used 's' for shillings and 'd' for pence. In my tireless research I learned that 's' and 'd'were used to refer to shillings and pence, respectively, because in Roman times coins of similar values were called in Latin solidus and denarius. England also had a half-penny coin which was abbreviated 'ob' for the even smaller value Roman coin obulus.
The pound began losing value and for quite a while its value was about $2.40 USD, which made the shilling worth slightly more than an American dime. Nowadays the pound is worth $1.34 USD, making the no-longer-produced shilling worth 6.7 cents or slightly more than an American nickel.
I also remember that the Canadian dollar was worth $1.10USD for a long time, but today it is worth 71 cents. Another rabbit trail.
Don't even get me started on weights and messures.
I will close by wishing you a Happy Columbus Day or a Happy Indigenous Peoples Day on Monday, whichever you prefer to celebrate.
Blogging can be so educational. For example, this week I learned fron jabblog's blog's comment section that a great many people did not know that such a thing as a digital piano existed.
Until next time, I remain your intrepid roving correspondent,
rhymeswithplague
[Editor's note. Except it probably wasn't Churchill at all who made that remark. It has been attributed to several people including George Bernard Shaw, Oscar Wilde, and others. No one knows for certain who said it first, but in his 1887 short story, "The Canterville Ghost", Oscar Wilde did pen the following: "Indeed, in many respects, she was quite English, and was an excellent example of the fact that we have really everything in common with America nowadays, except, of course, language." —RWP]
Elsewhere in past posts we have mentioned some of the things Brits and Yanks refer to differently, such as lorry (truck), napkin (diaper), biscuit (cookie), cookie (cracker), cracker (noisemaker), lift (elevator), fag (cigarette). The list goes on and on. And we have talked about our differences in spellings and word endings, such as -ise (-ize), -re (-er), -our (-or). At the risk of repeating myself, the list goes on and on.
Today let's explore two more areas, music and money.
Most people in America, musical or not, are probably familiar with musical notation in the form of notes on a staff preceded by a treble clef or a bass clef. (There is also a clef that is referred to as alto, tenor, or baritone clef depending on where it is placed on the staff, but we won't go down that particular rabbit trail.) And most of us know that these notes have names like whole note, half note, quarter note, eighth note. There are even briefer increments of time (that is, faster notes when strung together) known as sixteenth note, thirty-second note, and sixty-fourth note. Okay, so maybe most people in America don't know that at all, but stay with me for a minute.
In Britain, the people don't know any of those names. Instead, their naming system for the very same squiggles on a musical manuscript are breve (whole note), minim (half note), crotchet (quarter note), and quaver (eighth note), and the even briefer notes are called semi-quaver (sixteenth note), demisemiquaver (thirty-second note), and—God help us all—hemidemisemiquaver (sixty-fourth note).
Since there is a semibreve or whole note that equals four beats in 4/4 time, it follows as the night the day (thank you, Laertes) that there must also be a breve or double whole note that equals eight beats in 4/4 time. And there is.
I'm feeling faint. Let us move on to money.
Britain changed its currency to the decimal system more than 50 years ago, and now there are 100 pence to the pound, but I distinctly remember a time when 12 pence made a shilling and 20 shillings made a pound sterling. The pound sterling was worth five American dollars ($5.00 USD) and a shilling was about the same value as our American quarter (a quarter of a dollar). Americans had dollars, half-dollars, quarters, dimes (ten cents), nickels (five cents), and pennies (one cent) and used a cent sign (¢) for all coins less than a dollar; the Brits used 's' for shillings and 'd' for pence. In my tireless research I learned that 's' and 'd'were used to refer to shillings and pence, respectively, because in Roman times coins of similar values were called in Latin solidus and denarius. England also had a half-penny coin which was abbreviated 'ob' for the even smaller value Roman coin obulus.
The pound began losing value and for quite a while its value was about $2.40 USD, which made the shilling worth slightly more than an American dime. Nowadays the pound is worth $1.34 USD, making the no-longer-produced shilling worth 6.7 cents or slightly more than an American nickel.
I also remember that the Canadian dollar was worth $1.10USD for a long time, but today it is worth 71 cents. Another rabbit trail.
Don't even get me started on weights and messures.
I will close by wishing you a Happy Columbus Day or a Happy Indigenous Peoples Day on Monday, whichever you prefer to celebrate.
Blogging can be so educational. For example, this week I learned fron jabblog's blog's comment section that a great many people did not know that such a thing as a digital piano existed.
Until next time, I remain your intrepid roving correspondent,
rhymeswithplague
Monday, October 6, 2025
Rabbit Trails R Us
About a month ago I said that a new era had begun because our oldest son brought over a new computer (a teeny-tiny one) equipped with Windows 11 to replace the Hewlett-Packard All-In-One I had been using that was equipped with Windows 10. Microsoft had informed me that it was ending support for Windows 10 on October something-or-other and after running some diagnostics also told me that my HP could not be upgraded to Windows 11.
Remember?
Well, forget all of that. After just a couple of weeks of learning to use Windows 11 with my new teeny-tiny GEMTEK from Taiwan, the computer apparently gave up the ghost (technical explanation: BIOS couldn't find the hard drive for reasons unknown to me).
So my son took the GEMTEK back and I am once again using Windows 10 on my HP, which I had not disposed of but put in an inconspicuous corner of the bedroom awaiting ultimate disposition. I'm so glad I did that. Apparently there was an uproar among users of Windows 10, who make up over 50% of Microsoft's customers and of that portion over 25% could not upgrade, enough of an uproar that Microsoft decided to offer a free one-year extension of its support of Windows 10. All my son had to do was push a key or two to accept the extension and I'm good to go. Apparently. God willing and the creeks/Creeks don't rise.
In other words, if I had done nothing, I would have remained in good shape without all the stress and strain of the past month trying to adjust to Windows 11. My son suggested I go with Macintosh but I am an old dog who resists new tricks for the most part.
If you ask me, it's proof in our own day that the French are right: Plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose (The more things change, the more they remain the same).
For some reason I cannot begin to fathom, the whole experience brought to mind the song "Try To Remember" from The Fantasticks, a 1960 off-Broadway production:
Try to remember the kind of September
When life was slow and oh, so mellow.
Try to remember the kind of September
When grass was green and grain was yellow.
Try to remember the kind of September
When you were a tender and callow fellow.
Try to remember, and if you remember,
Then follow.
Follow, follow, follow, follow, follow,
Follow, follow, follow, follow.
Try to remember when life was so tender
That no one wept except the willow.
Try to remember when life was so tender
That dreams were kept beside your pillow.
Try to remember when life was so tender
That love was an ember about to billow.
Try to remember, and if you remember,
Then follow.
Follow, follow, follow, follow, follow,
Follow, follow, follow, follow.
Follow, follow, follow, follow, follow,
Follow, follow, follow, follow.
Follow, follow, follow, follow, follow,
Follow, follow, follow, follow.
Deep in December, it's nice to remember,
Although you know the snow will follow.
Deep in December, it's nice to remember,
Without a hurt the heart is hollow.
Deep in December, it's nice to remember,
The fire of September that made us mellow.
Deep in December, our hearts should remember
And follow.
(end of song)
My trivia-soaked mind reminds me that Jerry Orbach of Law And Order fame was the first performer ever to sing that song in the original off-Broadway production of The Fantasticks in 1960. My mind is beginning to fail me, however, because I also remember actor Jack Palance reciting the lyrics but can't remember whether he did it on The Merv Griffin Show or The Jack Paar Show. Also, a pretty lade with blond hair (that really narrows it down) sang the song on television way back when but I cannot recall her name. She later worked as an actress on one of the afternoon soap operas, either General Hospital or As The World Turns or All My Children. I told you my mind was going.
I must try to remember and follow it.
Follow, follow, follow, follow, follow,
Follow, follow, follow, follow.
This is definitely one of the weirdest posts I have ever written, if I do say so myself.
Do not call the men in the white coats just yet, as I have an awful lot of living left to do.
Remember?
Well, forget all of that. After just a couple of weeks of learning to use Windows 11 with my new teeny-tiny GEMTEK from Taiwan, the computer apparently gave up the ghost (technical explanation: BIOS couldn't find the hard drive for reasons unknown to me).
So my son took the GEMTEK back and I am once again using Windows 10 on my HP, which I had not disposed of but put in an inconspicuous corner of the bedroom awaiting ultimate disposition. I'm so glad I did that. Apparently there was an uproar among users of Windows 10, who make up over 50% of Microsoft's customers and of that portion over 25% could not upgrade, enough of an uproar that Microsoft decided to offer a free one-year extension of its support of Windows 10. All my son had to do was push a key or two to accept the extension and I'm good to go. Apparently. God willing and the creeks/Creeks don't rise.
In other words, if I had done nothing, I would have remained in good shape without all the stress and strain of the past month trying to adjust to Windows 11. My son suggested I go with Macintosh but I am an old dog who resists new tricks for the most part.
If you ask me, it's proof in our own day that the French are right: Plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose (The more things change, the more they remain the same).
For some reason I cannot begin to fathom, the whole experience brought to mind the song "Try To Remember" from The Fantasticks, a 1960 off-Broadway production:
Try to remember the kind of September
When life was slow and oh, so mellow.
Try to remember the kind of September
When grass was green and grain was yellow.
Try to remember the kind of September
When you were a tender and callow fellow.
Try to remember, and if you remember,
Then follow.
Follow, follow, follow, follow, follow,
Follow, follow, follow, follow.
Try to remember when life was so tender
That no one wept except the willow.
Try to remember when life was so tender
That dreams were kept beside your pillow.
Try to remember when life was so tender
That love was an ember about to billow.
Try to remember, and if you remember,
Then follow.
Follow, follow, follow, follow, follow,
Follow, follow, follow, follow.
Follow, follow, follow, follow, follow,
Follow, follow, follow, follow.
Follow, follow, follow, follow, follow,
Follow, follow, follow, follow.
Deep in December, it's nice to remember,
Although you know the snow will follow.
Deep in December, it's nice to remember,
Without a hurt the heart is hollow.
Deep in December, it's nice to remember,
The fire of September that made us mellow.
Deep in December, our hearts should remember
And follow.
(end of song)
My trivia-soaked mind reminds me that Jerry Orbach of Law And Order fame was the first performer ever to sing that song in the original off-Broadway production of The Fantasticks in 1960. My mind is beginning to fail me, however, because I also remember actor Jack Palance reciting the lyrics but can't remember whether he did it on The Merv Griffin Show or The Jack Paar Show. Also, a pretty lade with blond hair (that really narrows it down) sang the song on television way back when but I cannot recall her name. She later worked as an actress on one of the afternoon soap operas, either General Hospital or As The World Turns or All My Children. I told you my mind was going.
I must try to remember and follow it.
Follow, follow, follow, follow, follow,
Follow, follow, follow, follow.
This is definitely one of the weirdest posts I have ever written, if I do say so myself.
Do not call the men in the white coats just yet, as I have an awful lot of living left to do.
Saturday, October 4, 2025
Faw down go boom
That phrase from my early childhood popped into my mind the other day when my foot missed the curb (British, kerb) completely and I went airborne. Flailing wildly, trying to keep my balance, I was unsuccessful and landed KERSPLAT! on the pavement, face first.
I am recuperating. I am very thankful that my injuries turned out to be minor. No broken glasses, no shards of glass protruding from my eye, no broken bones in the face or jaw, no teeth knocked out. Just a few painful scrapes and bruises on my hand, knee, leg, and eyebrow ridge. My right side has ached for several days with what I presume are bruised ribs. My right leg still aches from knee to ankle. I couldn't pick up anything with my right hand for a few days but it's gradually getting better. I can make a fist now but it hurt too much to make one when I first tried.
I am alive. In the few seconds I was falling and failing to remain erect, and also at the moment of impact, I wondered if I would be.
Life is what happens to you while you're making other plans.
Today is the 68th anniversaro of the day in 1957 that my mother finally succumbed to the horror of metastatic cancer after a long battle. She was 47.
I am 84.5 years old. I have a wife, children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren. I have a roof over my head, food on my table, and shoes on my feet.
I am blessed, even if occasionally I faw down go boom.
I believe that the Lord protected me even though He did not suspend the Law of Gravity just for me.
I am recuperating. I am very thankful that my injuries turned out to be minor. No broken glasses, no shards of glass protruding from my eye, no broken bones in the face or jaw, no teeth knocked out. Just a few painful scrapes and bruises on my hand, knee, leg, and eyebrow ridge. My right side has ached for several days with what I presume are bruised ribs. My right leg still aches from knee to ankle. I couldn't pick up anything with my right hand for a few days but it's gradually getting better. I can make a fist now but it hurt too much to make one when I first tried.
I am alive. In the few seconds I was falling and failing to remain erect, and also at the moment of impact, I wondered if I would be.
Life is what happens to you while you're making other plans.
Today is the 68th anniversaro of the day in 1957 that my mother finally succumbed to the horror of metastatic cancer after a long battle. She was 47.
I am 84.5 years old. I have a wife, children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren. I have a roof over my head, food on my table, and shoes on my feet.
I am blessed, even if occasionally I faw down go boom.
I believe that the Lord protected me even though He did not suspend the Law of Gravity just for me.
Wednesday, October 1, 2025
Another opening, another show
Today I woke up thinking about concerts, plays, and musical productions I have seen in person during my life. I remember the following, but the list is probably incomplete and the items are not presented in chronological order:
1. Liberace in concert at TCU in Fort Worth. His brother George was there too, playing violin.
2. The First Piano Quartet at TCU in Fort Worth.
3. South Pacific at the Texas State Fair Musicals in Dallas. It starred Mitzi Gaynor as Nellie Forbush and Kay Armen as Bloody Mary.
4. Victor Herbert's operetta Naughty Marietta at the Texas State Fair Musicals in Dallas. I can still hear Patrice Munsel singing "Ah, Sweet Mystery Of Life, At Last I Found You".
5. Amahl And The Night Visitors by Gian-Carlo Menotti at Arlington State College (now UTA) in Arlington, Texas.
6. Man Of La Mancha starring Jack Cassidy at Midnight Sun Dinner Theater in Atlanta.
7. The Rainmaker at Harlequin Dinner Theater in Atlanta.
8. The Fantasticks in 1975 at the Academy Theater in Atlanta.
9. Hello, Dolly! starring Carol Channing at the Fox Theater in Atlanta.
10. Don't Drink The Water, a non-musical play by Woody Allen, at a theater in Manhattan in 1967. It starred Lou Jacobi, Peggy Cass, and Anita Gillette.
11. Evita at a small theater-in-the-round in Atlanta around 1988.
12. You're A Good Man, Charlie Brown, a play based on Charles Schulz's comic strip Peanuts, at (I think) the Strand Theater in Marietta, Georgia.
13. The Great Divorce, a play based on the book by C.S. Lewis, at the Alliance Theater in Atlanta.
14. The Screwtape Letters, a play based on the book by C.S. Lewis, at the Ferst Center For The Performing Arts in Atlanta.
15. My Fair Lady starring Noel Harrison (son of Rex Harrison who originated the role of Henry Higgins) at the Parker Playhouse in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
16. Dave Brubeck, Stan Getz, and Gerry Mulligan all in the same evening at the Fox Theater in Atlanta during an Atlanta Jazz Festival around 1979 or 1980.
The 16 items above were all professional productions. Items 1-5 occurred during the 1950s. I have seen many amateur productions as well, including:
17. Oklahoma! at the Murray Arts Center in Kennesaw, Georgia.
18. Fiddler On The Roof at the Murray Arts Center in Kennesaw,Georgia.
19. Little Women at the Murray Arts Center in Kennesaw, Georgia.
20. Our Town at the Murray Arts Center in Kennesaw, Georgia.
21. H.M.S. Pinafore at Jacksonville State University in Jacksonville, Alabama.
22. Cabaret at Jacksonville State University in Jacksonville, Alabama.
23. Beauty And The Beast at the Murray Arts Center in Kennesaw, Georgia.
24. Handel's Messiah in Omaha, Nebraska; Boca Raton, Florida; and a few other places.
25. Bach's Magnificat in Arlington, Texas.
26. Mendelssohn's Elijah in Atlanta, Georgia.
My daughter saw Cats on Broadway and has seen national touring productions of Les Miserables several times.
Everyone's interaction with the arts is unique. I'm sure my list pales in comparison to what or whom some of you have seen.
Speaking of seeing, I once saw Ronnie Millsap walking down a concourse at the Atlanta airport, and I once saw Angie Dickinson and Burt Bacharach eating dinner at a restaurant in Manhattan, and I once sat in an auditorium not far from Irving Berlin. I suppose those don't count since the people mentioned were not performing their craft at the time. Oh, I almost forgot that I also breathed the same air as Dick Clark when I was 17 and spent an afternoon on American Bandstand at a television station in Philadelphia. Just one more sign of advancing age, I guess; my memory is starting to go.
I would love to hear about your concert- and play-going experiences in the comments section.
1. Liberace in concert at TCU in Fort Worth. His brother George was there too, playing violin.
2. The First Piano Quartet at TCU in Fort Worth.
3. South Pacific at the Texas State Fair Musicals in Dallas. It starred Mitzi Gaynor as Nellie Forbush and Kay Armen as Bloody Mary.
4. Victor Herbert's operetta Naughty Marietta at the Texas State Fair Musicals in Dallas. I can still hear Patrice Munsel singing "Ah, Sweet Mystery Of Life, At Last I Found You".
5. Amahl And The Night Visitors by Gian-Carlo Menotti at Arlington State College (now UTA) in Arlington, Texas.
6. Man Of La Mancha starring Jack Cassidy at Midnight Sun Dinner Theater in Atlanta.
7. The Rainmaker at Harlequin Dinner Theater in Atlanta.
8. The Fantasticks in 1975 at the Academy Theater in Atlanta.
9. Hello, Dolly! starring Carol Channing at the Fox Theater in Atlanta.
10. Don't Drink The Water, a non-musical play by Woody Allen, at a theater in Manhattan in 1967. It starred Lou Jacobi, Peggy Cass, and Anita Gillette.
11. Evita at a small theater-in-the-round in Atlanta around 1988.
12. You're A Good Man, Charlie Brown, a play based on Charles Schulz's comic strip Peanuts, at (I think) the Strand Theater in Marietta, Georgia.
13. The Great Divorce, a play based on the book by C.S. Lewis, at the Alliance Theater in Atlanta.
14. The Screwtape Letters, a play based on the book by C.S. Lewis, at the Ferst Center For The Performing Arts in Atlanta.
15. My Fair Lady starring Noel Harrison (son of Rex Harrison who originated the role of Henry Higgins) at the Parker Playhouse in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
16. Dave Brubeck, Stan Getz, and Gerry Mulligan all in the same evening at the Fox Theater in Atlanta during an Atlanta Jazz Festival around 1979 or 1980.
The 16 items above were all professional productions. Items 1-5 occurred during the 1950s. I have seen many amateur productions as well, including:
17. Oklahoma! at the Murray Arts Center in Kennesaw, Georgia.
18. Fiddler On The Roof at the Murray Arts Center in Kennesaw,Georgia.
19. Little Women at the Murray Arts Center in Kennesaw, Georgia.
20. Our Town at the Murray Arts Center in Kennesaw, Georgia.
21. H.M.S. Pinafore at Jacksonville State University in Jacksonville, Alabama.
22. Cabaret at Jacksonville State University in Jacksonville, Alabama.
23. Beauty And The Beast at the Murray Arts Center in Kennesaw, Georgia.
24. Handel's Messiah in Omaha, Nebraska; Boca Raton, Florida; and a few other places.
25. Bach's Magnificat in Arlington, Texas.
26. Mendelssohn's Elijah in Atlanta, Georgia.
My daughter saw Cats on Broadway and has seen national touring productions of Les Miserables several times.
Everyone's interaction with the arts is unique. I'm sure my list pales in comparison to what or whom some of you have seen.
Speaking of seeing, I once saw Ronnie Millsap walking down a concourse at the Atlanta airport, and I once saw Angie Dickinson and Burt Bacharach eating dinner at a restaurant in Manhattan, and I once sat in an auditorium not far from Irving Berlin. I suppose those don't count since the people mentioned were not performing their craft at the time. Oh, I almost forgot that I also breathed the same air as Dick Clark when I was 17 and spent an afternoon on American Bandstand at a television station in Philadelphia. Just one more sign of advancing age, I guess; my memory is starting to go.
I would love to hear about your concert- and play-going experiences in the comments section.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)