Volleyball

By my best calculation,  I've been watching high school volleyball for twenty two years.  First Priscilla played,  then Vee,  Now grand-daughter Zandrea, who is sixteen, plays second string.

An added bonus of attending one of Zanni's games, is that she always sings the National Anthem, and does a fantastic job!  What a pleasure!

The rules of the game have changed a lot over the years.  The "new rules" are easier for me to follow than the old ones. You'd think after so long I would completely understand the rules,  but I must admit, I do not.  Last night's the games were all very close, one point leads most of the time, so second string did not get to play.  Even so, it was exciting to watch.  Bench warming is an honorable occupation. (better there than so many other places!)

I have no idea what it would be like to parent a boy.  I have four daughters and three grand-daughters. When I was having children, it used to make me so so angry when people would express sympathy when I gave birth to a daughter, as if some sad mistake had taken place!  Nothing could be further from the truth!  

Parents who have raised one or more of each, all attest to the reality that boys are "easier".   Having raised four daughters should qualify me for some sort of  "expert" status.   Was it hard?  Yes, indeed?  Was it fun? Most of the time?  Was it rewarding?  More than anything!  Am I blessed?  Enormously!

Nothing could be better than having four daughters, all unique, beautiful and smart!  (Am I perhaps a little biased?)  Absolutely.

Theater Buffs

In the past week, we have seen three noteworthy performances.   That is quite a lot for us.  I guess sometimes good things all happen at once.

We enjoyed the Garrison Keillor show, as mentioned previously.  Then, since Gerry had not seen the NYC version  (I had) we decided that he needed to see The Lion King.   We attended the performance in Syracuse, which was every bit as good as any Broadway production could ever be.  It is a spectacular production, and a significant life experience to see this musical,  with the most out-of- this-world costumes of any production ever!  We saw the matinee, which makes the driving so much easier, especially since we are not familiar with all the buildings and parking lots in downtown Syracuse.  

This afternoon we went to Auburn to see the musical comedy The Marvelous Wonderettes.   It is a hilarious, high energy, non-stop musical featuring popular music from the fifties and sixties.  When I read the description of it, I thought it sounded a lot like one of our favorites---Forever Plaid. And indeed, it was a very similar female quartet version.  We've seen Forever Plaid three times---twice with youngest daughter, and once locally.  Youngest daughter V was plucked out of the audience and pulled up on stage for an unexpected 'song and dance' number.  The four young female singers in this show used the same device, though they recruited an elderly gentleman.  The crowd roared.

Many of the songs from the fifties were familiar to Gerry, and those from the sixties, familiar to me.  Even if we had not known them previously, you could understand every word---perhaps the best part!

By the way, Act Two was their class reunion ten years later.  One of them was pregnant.  Her 'pregnancy bump' was the most outrageously hilarious thing I've ever seen.   You don't know what you have missed if you have not seen a singing and dancing gal, with a baby bump as big as the rest of her!

Belly laughs for sure!!

Honk for Peace

There was a demonstration on the downtown street corner this morning, as I drove past to the library.  Half a dozen people carried placards, and they were all surrounded by numerous signs of various sizes.   It was a Peace Rally, of sorts.   One of the signs said Honk for Peace.  Another:  Bring our Troops Home.

But there was one sign that so aptly expressed what I have felt for so long.  It said:  Peace is Patriotic.  My observations as a citizen, as a preacher, as an American, lo these meany years would suggest that largely, that has not been the prevailing sentiment!  Certainly during the years following 9/11, it seemed to me that to speak of peace was almost considered treasonous.  The notion that Peace is Patriotic got me to thinking.

Certainly, in my memory,  war has always been perceived to be much more patriotic than peace.  We are reminded often, (and rightly so) to support our troops.  As a nation, much of our economy, and definitely our politics, is based on readiness for war.  Our national identity is as the most powerful military force on earth. Presidential candidacies have lived and died by military service.

Peace has more often been associated with the radical fringe--hippies, liberal preachers, mothers.  It is not generally our national mantra.

I heard a presentation recently by a man who grew up as a young (German) boy in Nazi Germany.  He talked about how much he wanted to join Hitler's Youth.  They had exciting toys, guns, flashy ornaments, badges.  It's easy to see how a kid could be attracted to that  (without really understanding what comes with it).

Peace is never that flashy.  You can't really produce it in the economy.  You can't package it, or buy or sell it.  It doesn't come with rank or status.  It's more likely to get one crucified.

But at least for today, on that street corner, there was lots of honking.  That's worth something!

Keillor's Show

We went to a performance by Garrison Keillor last night.  The stage was set with one stool and a microphone. In today's high-tech, fireworks world,  it was hard to believe that was all that was needed for a ninety minute performance. It was also hard to believe that the microphone had a long cord.  I am sure they could have provided a cordless microphone if that had been requested.  I quickly determined that his interaction with the long cord, and getting his feet tangled up in it, and constantly moving it out of his way, behind the stool, in front of the stool, behind his feet, in front of his feet--was all part of the act.

Equally as hard to believe, that one person and a stool and a microphone could hold his audience in rapt attention for ninety minutes, (which really turned out to be two hours.)  He is a one of a kind, funny guy, no doubt about it, albeit, a little weird!

One remark struck a cord with me.  He said:  "I grew up in the age of self-denigration. With Facebook and Twitter and all,  nowadays, the younger generation is into self-promotion."   I don't think I would ever have thought to articulate that,  but I can certainly identify with growing up with self-denigration.  [i.e. "don't get too big for your britches"].

When I try to figure out which is the preferable way, I can only conclude that it must be somewhere in between those two extremes.