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If it's raining it must be theater night.

I'm getting more sympathy for people who will not commit to firm acceptance of event invitations.
"We will if... (fill in this blank with any lame farfetched excuse that can't be ridiculed face to face).

  • I have to check with my kid's schedule.
  • I think that's the day I have to dust my houseplants.
  • We'll be there if my husband/wife's parents don't show up without calling first.
  • Tim looks a little sickish. Let me see how he feels in a couple of days.
It never fails. If you factor in past performance, the believability of their excuse, and the weather you still you don't know if they will show up. The way to assure a high turnout percentage is to settle on a low number and plan your menu for that amount. In this case, everyone you invited will show up, the food and refreshments will evaporate two hours after the first guest arrives and the couple that left everything in the air because the in-laws might show up, they did arrive and they bring them along. Of course, they showed up late and hungry enough to eat the ass out of rag doll. Fortunately, you've cut the lawn so there is always something for salad.

But what if you're cursed? We bought season tickets to the local theater group. Attic Theater has been in existence for over fifty years. Currently, they are performing  their usual summer schedule at UW-Fox Valley. You might remember, I wrote about having to leave the theater at the first performance because of tornado warnings. We had tickets, the second of three plays, last night. Well, the sky opened up and dumped it's treasure upon us in generous amounts, all afternoon, into the early evening and finally quit as the sun went down. So the lesson here is, if you are in need of rain, say a farmer needs it to feed his crop's; or say you're dying to close the roof on your stadium, the thing to do is buy us tickets to Attic Theater. If you want to really show your appreciation the cookies cost fifty cents each.

I've Made a Decision.

Many of you know that for about twelve years I rode a moped. It was my pal and one of the things I really looked forward to for traveling in the city.
One of the things I noticed during this time was the reactions of automobile drivers. My favorite was the expression of drivers who were initially angry that I felt I could share the road with them. Once they realized I was an old white man, their face went into an "OMG" look.

The second reaction was, 'Jesus H Christ I can't be behind a moped. I don't have to check my speedometer because I just can't be going as fast as I want if I am behind a moped. I have to get in front of the moped. (Sigh) Thank God, I'm in front of the moped. OMG, I'm going 60 in a 40mph zone. I can't slow down because the moped is on my ass. I hate mopeds. Oh look, the guy driving the moped is an old white guy. Maybe I should get a moped. They look like they would be fun. Oh shit. I'm going to be stopped for speeding. Why didn't he stop the guy on the moped? Oh, I know. Mopeds can't go fast enough to break the speed limit.'

The End of an Era

That kind of fun is in the past. The moped died. For the last couple of months, I have been trying to decide what should come next. Should I buy another moped or do myself and my body a favor and buy a bike. Next time you park your car on a street, please look before you open the car door. the cyclist you "door" could be me. 

I tested my ability to ride a bike, that isn't sitting immobile on the floor at the gym, by renting a Bublr bike in Milwaukee. I can't say it was anything but an assurance that with some practice I will be two-wheeling around Appleton with confidence. The bike was delivered about two hours ago. (Friday 7/1 12:30pm). It's still in the box, but I'll have it put together by the end of this weekend.

Maria and Jeff at the Symphony

If you were in Appleton last night (7/1). You may have heard some real fireworks out at the ball park. It was the big finish to the annual presentation of the Fox Valley Symphony, Beer, Brats and Beethoven. The program included classical and pop music. Everything from Copeland's, Fanfare for the Common Man to John Williams Music for Harry Potter.

The big finish was that piece of Russian Music, that according to our conductor, is played at almost every Fourth of July event, "The Eighteen Twelve Overture". This music includes the only known music notation calling for the sound of a cannon. The cannon sound was supplied by the fireworks producer who detonated the explosives in time to the music and as the orchestra closed out its rendition, the celebration transitioned into a fireworks display. We will definitely go to this next year





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