1. Maintenance
2. Dog-sitting
3. Theatre
I. Maintenance
Up at a reasonable hour — thank you, you evil cats who prod me every morning — and as soon as I was done with breakfast I wandered down the sidewalk, around a corner, and into the front office, where all my favorite faces greeted me.
Kenny was checking in with Dudley, and Larry was in the other office. We discussed the ceiling and the leaking, and Larry and Kenny have differing opinions as to the cause, but the long and the short of it is that people will be out soon to take care of it.
Fine by me.
II. Dog-sitting
Then I was on the road, south half an hour to forty-five minutes. The drive was pleasant and uneventful; I basically just engaged cruise control and kept and even pace.
Ms. S.’s parents are out of town (NY … Broadway …) for the week / weekend, and we’re house/dog-sitting … but Ms. S. has the production and regular work, so I’m taking over these first few days. There are also construction dudes doing renovation work.
There are five dogs to attend to. They need let out, but must also be kept out of the path of the workers. They need morning and evening treats, as well as supper in the afternoon. They hadn’t seen me in several months, and had never encountered me alone … when I entered I was greeted by barks and growls. More growls and barks … and then some more barks.
By mid-morning we were all fast friends again, of course.
It was warmer outside (though still only low-60s) than inside (20 degrees cooler?). I never took off my fleece jacket; I wish I’d had gloves, but then I could not have typed. Eventually I turned on some heaters and the like and spent if not a toasty at least a comfy morning and afternoon there.
I would have stayed into the evening, but I wanted to be back for the play tonight, so I hit the road, but not before seeing a couple of the feline occupants, one a somewhat tabby Manx, the other something Siamese-esque crossed with one of Marge Simpsons’ sisters …
III. Theatre
Ms. S. should be proud: the production is a success.
She pulled together a small cast of actors, the only ones available to her, cut a tough script, and in limited rehearsals, competing for time and resources against sports and other extracurriculars and jobs, she got her actors to understand the text, the jokes, the story, and present it for an audience.
I saw one of the dress rehearsals on Tuesday and was impressed by how far they’d come, but tonight was a delight, because as actors and as a group they’d come so far in even two days. Are there glitches? Yes. Little lines dropped or even props dropped. There jokes the audience did not laugh at … but there were many others, as the show went on especially, that they did. And if you’ve never read or watched Wilde’s “An Ideal Husband,” you owe it to yourself to get to it …
I get to see it again Friday night. I’ll also be dog-sitting the whole day. And if we’re lucky Larry, Kenny and Moe … I mean, Dudley, will repair the leak, too.
