2 more movies, 1 more carolyn!

Here she is, smiling from dinner last night!

I'd suggested OD Crab House after our movie and, as neither of us had been there in about three years, that's where we went!

We could have walked from NCG Cinema, but it truly was too cold for that...

truly!

The temp had already dipped to the 40's.

She loved the prices, by the way, and said she'll be back!

Her shrimp and flounder plate was about $7 less than over at Carey the H.

I was thrilled with my 15-piece fried shrimp basket - such delicately floured seafood, not caked on batter!

I ate every bit of it, too!

Yes, even though I'd gotten the free popcorn for National Popcorn Day!

Carolyn was not yet a member, so she missed out on that.

We have that situation rectified now.

See, she could have had reward points for her ticket and drink purchase.

She'll make sure she does next time!

Like me, she plans to hit all seven in the Rom-Com Film Festival.

Last Monday, we watched a young and tanned Elvis Presley crooning all over Hawaii - very nice!

This time, we had a rambunctious "Girls Trip" to NOLA!

Funny, not one single person talked about beignets during the entire movie - LOL!

Honestly, the two times I went to New Orleans, no one talked about them, either.

True, that was more than 40 years ago... but, still, weren't they a 'thing' back then?

Nope, they were not.

Emeril had not yet made the scene. 

Timing, timing!

Timing - that's important with the weather, too.

A few days ago, yesterday and today were both to start in the mid-to-upper 20's, making for a slow crawl to the upper 40's before a fast drop after sunset.

That's not to say it wasn't still miserably cold in the wee hours both days, because it most def was.

But the sun was able to warm us into the 50's range, so I escaped the house again today, as this is Tina Tuesday.

(smile!)

As I've seen everything new at AMC that I care to see, I widened my scope to this little cinema in my 'hood.

Wonder of wonders, NCG had a movie that AMC did not!

Moreover, it was an animated film with Owen Wilson lending his voice!

Let me say, "Charlie The Wonderdog" may have started as a sketch on an Australian TV show, but the movie has a lot of heart.

It's about a human boy and his beloved Golden Labrador retriever...

but also about an alien queen and her beloved space-exploring pet.

By the end, I was wrapped up in thoughts of my Toffee, my dear, sweet, Heinz 57 dog that I'd first fallen in love with in Panama.

Nothing quite compares to the love for, and of, a pet...

and that was the message in this little movie.

Good music from Bryan Adams, too! 

(smile!)

getting my marvel fix at asbury

As I told Kimmi and Deborah, down in Costa Rica, as well as Ryan and Katie, up in New York City, "Where else can I get Marvel at church?"

We were all gathered together on fb for Reverend Billy Hester's sermon, "On The Left", gleaned from his watching of "Avengers: Endgame".

He had advised the congregation to see the superhero movie during the week, just to be familiar with the story.

I had no need to do that.

The movie is crystallized in my mind.

Yes, even six years after seeing it, I remember all the grief undergone by superheroes, mortals, and even gods.

I'd like to say that I paid attention to the sermon, but I had the sound off most of the time.

I would turn it on for the songs: "Cuando El Pobre", "You've Got A Friend", "We Shall Overcome", all favorites of mine. 

I had the video on the entire time, watching out of the corner of my eye as I took care of business on that social media site, cleaning out 'memories', as I have done every day this past year.

Then, a familiar image popped up! 

Even masked in the Captain America suit, I knew that was Rabbi Haas!!!

Sure enough, it was him, and he gave the closing prayer!

Then, when it was time for the final number, suddenly the stage was full of costumed superheroes, both Marvel and DC!!!

All were singing, and pantomiming, along with Cheri for "Here I Am, Lord".

What a fabulous closing number!

I just may have to actually listen to the sermon.... but not right now.

I have "Father Brown" and "Sister Boniface" awaiting me.

Then there's "10 Streets That Changed America", including Woodward Avenue in Detroit, so that should be nice to hear about.

Plus, they need to be viewed so I can clean them out of my "recorder" to make room for more shows.

Comcast only allows me to "tape" so many, and I have "Will Trent" coming back on Monday and Tuesday.

(smile!) 

threesome

I'll wait while you dig your mind out of the gutter.

Hahahaha!!!

I'm talking about A*List movies, over at the AMC, taking advantage of this last warm day out of the next three or four.

Yesterday at that time was only 38 F, making me cancel my lab appointment at the Savannah VA.

Now, I have to wait almost two months for that.

Boo hiss.

I never left the house.

Not so today!

Time to get 'er done!

(smile!) 

By noon30, I was in the screening room for the first of three: "Dead Man's Wire".

A true story about a man driven to distraction by a mortgage company, I could relate.

I'd never heard of Tony Kiritsis, but that was in February 1977, when I was 18 years old and still in boot camp for the Navy.

Nor did I hear of the court case in October 1977, when I was going through "C" School in Pensacola for the Bullseye Computer Maintenance program.

It didn't help that the tale was local to Indianapolis.

I will say that Bill Skarsgard was excellent, as always.

I didn't even recognize Cary Elwes as his buddy, the undercover cop!

In my defense, I'd just seen him last Sunday in "The Princess Bride", where he was 38 years younger (than his current 63 years old). 

Great music in this film, and everything - even the film method - felt just like it had stepped out of the late 70's.

Kudos to Gus Van Sant and company!

 

After a walk, I had lunch at the cinema.

The manager, Trey, told me he "made them with love', and I truly believe he did!

Those pretzel bites were absolutely perfect - crispy on the outside, but not hard.

I saved a few to munch for my second movie, "Greenland 2: Migration".

That was at 3:30, which fit exactly with the time for Carolyn's first movie... the one I'd just seen.

I knew she'd seen the Gerard Butler post-apocalypse movie already, so I'd switched up on her.

See, I'd asked her to meet me for the 1977-era movie, but when I saw I could have a threesome today instead of a duo, I just had to do it, especially as I knew the foul cold weather on its way tomorrow.

"Chance of snow" - no, thanks!!!

Definite chance of black ice, with three mornings below freezing.

That, to me, is apocalyptic!

 

Anyway, when each of our movies were done, off to dinner she and I went to El Potro! 

I'd missed the Friday Fiesta with my brothers and she wanted flan - the choice was perfect!

We discussed our movies as we dined, then, back to AMC we went for the 7 PM show!

Yes, that would complete my trio and give her a double header! 

"Night Patrol" was very well attended, too!

I guess everyone likes a good vampire movie!

This was very good, too, with a group of racist cops cum vampires, who insert metal fangs when they're making a bust.

They're led by Dermot Mulroney, a police captain whose son has just been accepted to the 'elite' squad. 

Mind blown!!!

I last saw him in "My Best Friend's Wedding", which is almost thirty years old.

What a trip!

But here's a bigger one: the guy who his son is Justin Long, who I knew I recognized but I couldn't place him.

That's because I remember him as the nerdy kid that saved the spaceship in "Galaxy Quest" - which was in 1999, when he was only 21 years old.

Mind blown!!!

Carolyn and I both really liked the movie and will likely see it again.

It ain''t "Sinners", but it has some of that flavor, and that was mighty satisfying for both of us.

I'll have to mention it to the bfe, as he likes vampires.

(smile!) 

letters homeward bound

Many years ago, when I subscribed for delivery of the Savannah Morning News, there were certain sections I particularly enjoyed.

Those were the ones with the Jumble, the crossword puzzle, the comics, and that with the two sisters, Dear Abby and Dear Ann Landers.

So, when Andrew Carroll mentioned today that he'd written to them and had them post his letter, I remembered reading that.

The year was 1998.

He had started the Legacy Project, looking to collect and preserve correspondence written by American military during years of battle.

The bulk of those thousands of pieces of mail are now safely stored at Chapman University, in the Leatherby Libraries.

I say "the bulk" because he had a few letters with him for his talk at The Learning Center of the Senior Citizens, Inc., building.

This was my first time attending anything there.

I've had several people talk enthusiastically about their lectures, but the cost ($20 to $30 per hour of the talk) was a bit too much for me.

I could become a member and have those lectures for half the cost, but membership was $75 annually, which meant I'd have to commit to at least five to offset that investment.

My entertainment budget is devoted to musicals, plays, and movies.

And, yet, I found myself attending "War Letters: Extraordinary Correspondence From American Wars", even cutting short my luncheon.

That's because the fee was being waived for veterans!!!

I saw that notation posted on fb yesterday, so I'd tried to register online, calling the center when that proved futile.

The director of the center, Roger Smith, called me back to assure me that I would be on the list - hooray!

And how did I like the lecture about letters?

As a letter-writer for most of my life, even now, I absolutely loved it!

He had letters from the American Revolutionary War, from the American Civil War, from Korea and Vietnam.

My favorite of all was this one, written by Bill Kaiser.

I know there doesn't seem to be anything but mostly empty space between his hands, but look closely.

Those are the edges of a piece of paper that he's holding.

That's because the soldier had redacted the letter himself rather than let the censors have all the fun!

Isn't that just the neatest thing??? 

This one is he called "history in his hands", a big hit with high school students.

They always want to get a selfie with that one!

What's the big deal?

It's from Adolph Hitler's private stationery, taken from his desk by American troops when they raided his bunker.

Wow.

Those two items alone made the whole lecture worthwhile to me.

I had looked forward to sharing my tale with my American Legion mates, too.

Post 36 was meeting at Two Firsts tonight and I was looking forward to this first regular meeting in almost a year.

However, that didn't happen.

I stayed there, in my car, for almost 15 minutes, but no one else came.

I was so aggravated, I even texted our Commander to find out where they were.

As it turned out, I had the time wrong.

They - meaning Doug and Billy - met at the correct time - meaning 1800 - and stayed, by themselves, for 44 minutes before they left.

I arrived at what I thought was the designated time: 1845.

I'd missed them by one minute, because I read the email incorrectly.

I'll just have to remember to mention this talk of war letters when we next meet, hopefully next month. 

That's when I'll be going to another lecture at The Learning Center, too.

Titled "Who's Reading Banned Books... And Why?", it's free.

I'm guessing I'll see Teresa Winterhaven there again.

She was at this lecture and seems to be a regular.

She also hasn't changed a bit from when I knew her at Armstrong in 2012, when both of us were on the same committee.

She was in the same department as Richard Nordquist, though I don't recall seeing her at that ceremony.

I wonder if she has retired yet? 

sisters of the new year!

Not even the cold temperatures outside could keep me in today!

This was the designated day for the Sisters In Faith luncheon and I had volunteered to bring two prizes for the bingo games.

I had to be there!!!

And so I went, bundling up in two sweaters and my Cracker Barrel poncho-coat for the drive to Asbury Memorial, bag in hand. 

Thankfully, I was met with a plethora of others who'd turned out and turned up for this friendship gathering - hooray!

We each had a tinfoil tiara awaiting us, as well as a gilded tooter to blow when we had a bingo - TOOT!!!

Charlene was the first at our table to get a bingo.

That was on the second game, too.

So she was the first of us to get to choose a prize from the gift table!

Soon enough, I had a bingo on one of my two game boards!

"TOOT!!!"

I was the first one to actually do that instead of saying 'Bingo!", of course!

Linda Combs was elated that I followed her directions!

I chose the wire basket of fancy soaps - I know four little blondes who will like those 'eggs'!

(smile!)

I was the third person at our table to win.

I resolved to not take any more prizes.

Then I noticed that Pam was only playing one of her cards, trying to keep up... and I had another b-i-n-g-o about to happen... and when it did, I pushed the card in front of her and said, "Pam, you have a bingo!"

She perked right up and was thrilled!!!

I thought only my tablemates caught what I did.

Nope!

Tim Steinhauser, our bingo caller, saw it, too.

He alluded to how nice it was to see us 'sharing the wealth' instead of being like August.

Apparently, August had won three games the last time bingo was played!

I guess that's why he left today before the games began - Tim and Linda were both teasing him!

I stayed until the ginger ale toast!

First, we all sang "Auld Lang Syne", led by Michelle Meece - I may have been the only one who knew the words.

Then I clinked glasses with my tablemates - Charlene Branan, Pam Kress, Robin Eifler, Shirley Horovitz, Kay, and another Kay - then took my leave before the last round of bingo.

I have a new event, starting at 2.

Better go while I'm out!

(smile!)

definitely not sushi

Imagine a deconstructed sushi roll.

Now, remove the part that makes it 'sushi'.

That's the rice, jsyk.

Finally, roll the other ingredients gently into a ginger salad.

That's what I had for dinner tonight at Sushi Hana.

That's were I met the physicist, for his very first time eating there.

Surprising, right?

After all, he lives and works close to that new restaurant.

He loved it, by the way!

He even had leftover veggie tempura to take home.

Even the appetizer had been vegetarian: Age Tofu.

I know his folks have gone vegetarian, because we talked about how his Christmas dinner with them had been.

I definitely had the much better time with my brothers and the prime rib beat what he had, hands down.

I think I definitely had the better meal tonight, too.

Just look at that beauty!

The menu calls it Tuna Avocado Salad.

I had expected something more akin to Edomae chirashizushi, with chunked up pieces of the fish and fruit.

This was decidedly not that!

It truly was as if a tuna avocado roll had been unrolled, with the rice removed, and then gently placed over a salad with ginger dressing.

Simply gorgeous...

and a delight to eat!

I'll definitely have that again, or maybe the Salmon Avocado Salad...

and I bet the bfe will, too. 

Excellent choice for my second time this year, and third time overall!

Now, time for the new season of "Will Trent" - glad I taped it so I don't miss a minute!

in for a penny, in for an elvis...

"Can't say I've ever heard that expression before."

That's because no one's ever said it before! That's an original from me!

"I see. And just what is the occasion?"

Well, I figured since I'd already gone out once into the cold, I might as well do so again! Hence the paraphrase of the old British adage.

"I see. You were out earlier, so why not go out again. However, what's with the reference to Elvis?"

Well, amazingly, NCG Cinema is leading off their seven-week Romance Film Festival with one of his movies!!! I'm thinking that it's because he just had his 91st birthday last Thursday. Whatever the reason, I'm just glad to see the King of Rock and Roll on the silver screen! Carolyn was happy about it, too! Neither of us have ever seen "Blue Hawaii" anywhere but on TV. She and I were the only ones in the screening room, so I took a few photos, of course. This one is of his girl picking him up at the airport on Oahu when he gets out of the Army. He's just 26 years old here!

This one has him playing and singing with his "beach boys" on the bit of shore near his beach hut. I didn't know that song at all. Surprisingly, I wasn't familiar with most of the songs on this soundtrack. I guess the Elvis Tribute Artists simply didn't choose those for their performances.

In fact, the only song I did know was one of my favorites. "Can't Help Falling In Love" was what he was singing in this scene. Not to his girlfirend, oh no! He was serenading her grandma on her 75th birthday! How very sweet!  

"You and your little camera! Lol!"

Hey, at least I don't distract other viewers, which, as I said, wasn't an issue this afternoon. Carolyn and I had hit the 4:30 matinee, so we could dine after. Carey Hilliard's was practically next door to the cinema, so that worked well! We had a fabulous waiter, Angel, and he took great care of us on this Monday night. When Carolyn's salad came out with cucumbers, which she is allergic to, he took it back to the kitchen. And, listen to this: he was back out with a new fried chicken fingers salad, sans cucumbers, in less than 10 minutes! Yes!

"Very good! And what's that on your plate?"

Grilled redfish! Let me tell you, that was one fabulous piece of fish! Just fabulous! I made sure to tell him to compliment the kitchen on that dish!! The coleslaw was good, too, as were the hushpuppies. However, that pasta salad was not to my taste. That's okay, it was just a side. The star was that delicious redfish, hands down! I'll be getting that again.

"Well, I'm so glad you had another good outing with Carolyn!" 

I did! And she even brought me some cookies for dessert! (smile!)

surprise from pembroke!

"Hey, I'm in town, wanna get coffee somewhere?"

That was the text message.

Here it was, a day that was crazy cold, that I'd already planned to stay in on to avoid the weather dip...

since I can't put a sock on my right foot... 

but this made me think twice abotu staying in.

This text came from a dear friend I'd not seen in years.

Yes, it was cold outside, but this was a special circumstance. 

The text was from my college friend, Rhonda!!!

She and I haven't seen each other since Andy and Sheryl got married.

Not that she was at the wedding.

She mentioned going out with Jeff for breakfast at the Original Pancake House, though I don't recall if that was before or after the other event.

She and I had first met with the Armstrong Masquers, probably around 1985, while I was working on my BA in chemistry.

That's us, sitting on the floor, side by side, front and center. 

The photo shows the huge group of us that worked on "Amadeus", maybe a year later.

What a cat-herding experience that had been for John 'Sooch' Suchower, our noble director! 

Hard to believe all that was four decades ago!

Anyway, to get back to my story about did I stay or did I go: I went!

She and I had such a great visit, too!

She was in town for a doctor appointment and Coffee Deli was close for her.

We sat in that warm space and talked for about two hours!

And when she told me she worked at the Kroger in Rincon, I asked if she knew about Hive Repertory Theater.

Nope!

Well, she does now, and maybe she can even get involved with that group.

I told her about their latest, the fruitcakes musical, and sent her the link to my post about it. 

For sure we'll make plans to go to their next play! 

I'm so glad she texted me!!!

just shoot me the 2026 rome parade!

With the weather going to hell this afternoon, I chose to celebrate today with the leftovers of meals with friends!

That made it almost seem like I was dining out.

My plan tomorrow is to stay in and stay warm, so this is as close to that as I'll be until Tuesday.

First up was Papa John's pizza, the meatlovers special, that's been in the freezer for a couple of weeks.

That's from the monthly BOGO Saturday deal for carryout. 

So glad I put some of that away for now... and that tall glass of milk is just perfect to go along!

While I dined, I watched one of my favorite TV shows from the past: "Just Shoot Me!"!

This photo has all the principals of 'Blush' magazine: Laura San Giacomo, George Segal, David Spade, Enrico Colantoni, and Wendie Malick.

The scene was in "Lemon Wacky Hello", s1 e6, which was a hoot! 

Ever since I saw Enrico in that holiday movie, this has been on my mind.

Thanks, Antenna TV, for scratching that itch!

For dinner, I began with a facsimile of Pasta e Fagiole of Olive Garden, though this was Campbell's Minestrone with Italian Sausage.

Close enough for my taste buds, especially as I had a genuine OG breadstick to dip and dunk!

Mamma mia, that's a good soup!

I'd just cued up the "2026 New Year Rome Parade" that SCE TV ran the other day.

This entry was from the Lion Dance Academy of martial arts.

It's one of the local entries, as in from Italy.

There were quite a few bands and cheerleader outfits from the USA!

They came from Corning, NY - Aurora, IL - Palm Springs, CA - and many points in between those!

The parade went on for almost 90 minutes, so that allowed me to reheat my Chicken Scampi as my dinner.

I must say, it was every bit as good as it had been with Carolyn!

And just look at how much I had!!!

It filled the plate with no need to even add more pasta.

That Italian food was especially good as I watched more scenes of Rome during the parade!

I'm glad the Lion Dance group had several opportunities to show off.

They were so good at twirling that huge dragon and keeping it off the street!

The Varsity Spirit Cheerleaders from the USA also had several segments in the parade, with a different song each time - very nice!

Then it was time for my dessert before the parade finished.

I've called this Banana Tempura a la Elvis.

I heated up the five pieces from Sushi Hana, then added peanut butter and more honey.

Oh, yeah, every bit as good as I'd hoped!!!

Just perfect as I watched the last parade entry go by!

Such a colorful lot they were, with ages from twenties to seventies!

Those were all Italians, with my guess that some of them have been in this parade for several decades.

Good for them!

Now, I'm going to finish one last year-end event for me.

Time to unfold and recycle all these mementos of dinners shared, movies with friends, concerts ushered, and musicals attended!

It's always such an effort of love for me.

As for the Jar of Blessings, it won't stay empty but a minute - I already have new memories to fill that bottom!

(smile!)  

from 1 to 3 to 6 to 1 to 3

"Goodness gracious, g'friend! Is this some kind of math puzzle? It's too late at night to be doing stuff like that."

 

Calm yourself, dearie. I'm just playing with numbers of people I was in the company of this afternoon and evening.

 

"Oh, I know how it started! You met up with Carolyn!"

That's right! She and I went to the 2:10 PM screening of a Chinese film, "Escape From The Outland", that turned out to be very intense. As I told her, had I known it was going to be about people kidnapped by terrorists and ransomed off, I doubt I would have chosen it. I was wound pretty tight by the time it ended. Fortunately, Tom met us in the hall as we exited that viewing room, and then Irwin rolled up to join us. Soon enough, we'd transitioned from discussing that near-documentary to talks of other movies that were still playing. Then, it was like we had our own little party going on the hall at the AMC, laughing and carrying on!!! Hooray!!!

 

"Very nice! So that took you from company of 1 to company of 3!"

 

See how simple that math was? We stayed right there for at least twenty minutes, too. In fact, we were still right there, talking and laughing, when three more briefly joined us. They were Sandy, Marcia, and Kelly, all there to see Hugh Jackman do his version adult versions of Tom Cruise in "Risky Business". I'm talkin' 'bout "Song Sung Blue", of course! I made sure to let them know the timeline was two decades, not two years. I knew I'd be going out with them after their movie was done and wanted to make sure they wouldn't be sobbing wrecks like I had been.

 

"That was very kind of you, especially as it didn't detract from the movie. Now, about that math: that took the 3 to 6. Then what happened?? How did that do back to only 1?"

Carolyn and I left the cinema and went out to a leisurely dinner, of course! She chose Olive Garden, which was fine with me. I ate lots of salad to go along with half of the Chicken Scampi. The rest, plus breadsticks, went home for another meal.

 

"Okay, hold up. Did you now just say you were joining the other three women for a meal after their movie? Didn't you say that?" 

I most assuredly did not say that. I simply said I was going out with them post-movie. In actuality, my plan all along was to join them for dessert. And that's just what I did! Plus I had a small ginger salad.

 

"Ah ha! That must mean you were at an Asian restaurant." 

You are right on the money! Marcia left it up to me to choose between Applebee's and Sushi Hana and I chose the Asian place. I'm so glad I did! Marcia, Kelly, and Sandy all enjoyed their food and we even shared some of each other's meals, like we would have done in our youth at Chinese restaurants. My Banana Tempura had a very generous helping, so I gladly shared that will all... and still took home about half of it! 

 

"Well, that sounds like all five of you ladies had a very nice celebration of friendship this evening! I'm so happy for you!"

 

Me, too! What a blessed day! And even with the two restaurants, tipping, and movie, I spent less than 30 dollars. We can afford to do that again!

 

"Oh, yes, let's!!!"

starting with new warmth

Well, you'll be happy to hear that I broke down and did it. I made the choice to replace my heated mattress pad with a new one.

 

"Hallelujah!!! You do realize that poor thing was 17 years old, right? I think they're only supposed to be good for five years."

That would certainly explain why it had dead zones in it. Plus, I had to crank it up as high as it would go to gain that meager heat. But I saw a couple of days ago that the weather song had a prolonged dip of low notes approaching and knew a change was needed. 

That's why I went in search of a new heated mattress pad. There were so many that came up in the response! However, I decided on the Queen-sized one this time, rather than the full. Mostly, that choice was price-driven. I could get the larger size, with dual controls, for the same final price as the smaller, due to its sale price. 

Plus, Walmart gave it to me with free shipping!!! I ordered it late on Sunday, with a forecast of arrival on Wednesday. Sure enough, FedEx had it on my porch before noon! Very impressive service! I took it out of the box and let it relax a few days, then put it on the bed last night for a trial run. 

"Ah, I see. This morning's weather song from WSAV confirmed that cold was, indeed, heading this way for a long visit. You wanted to be sure to be ready for it. So, what was the verdict?"

Get this: I only had it on a setting of '4' out of '10' and it had my bed so toasty that I decided to sleep naked, like it was summer! I even had to turn the controller off during the night, and I still stayed nice and warm! Tonight, I'll try it at '2' and see how that suits me. As for my old one, I'd left it in the corner of my bedroom, just in case, but it's in the trash bin now. Honestly, I should have done this years ago.

Now, I'm off to meet Carolyn for a movie! It'll be the first time we've seen each other since last year. LOL! 

 

"LOL! How silly! You two chicas have fun!" 

twelfth night, not twelvetide!

"Oh, wouldn't that have been great fun! To have that particular bit of Shakespeare coincide with the last days of that holiday!"

Well, as the twelfth day of Christmas was but a few days ago, I think I'll accept this play as right on time! My many thanks to David Poole and those talented thespians at Savannah Arts Academy for again starting my year off right! This play about mistaken identities and twins was such great fun!

"And, lookee there! A program!!!"

Right?! I was already excited about seeing "Twelfth Night", but then I opened the program and saw two names that made me very, very happy!!! Wanna take a guess? Here's a hint: one of the two guys is photobombing this shot.

"You talkin' 'bout the fella with the feather in his cap? (smile!) Hey, wait, I know who that is! He's Trey Wilner, isn't he?"

Ding, ding, ding!!! Righto you are! He was sooo good tonight, emoting all over the place! He played 'Sir Andrew Aguecheek', one of the drunkards that cavorted with the uncle of the damsel in gold, 'Olivia', played to great glee by Shaylee Smith. The three others are 'Sebastian' (Levi Payne) and 'Viola' (Jewel Ghilarducci) as the twins separated by shipwreck, plus 'Duke Orsino' (Desmond Chaney). Mighty fine they were, too, though I would like to see Chaney in a larger role next time.

"I presume one of these is the lady's uncle?"

Yep, he's the other one with the feather in his cap! That apparently set apart the titled folks from the riffraff. He's 'Sir Toby Belch', and Henry Briscoe made sure to live up to that surname! The guy on the left is 'Fabian', the jester, and Tyler Shaw had a few singing scenes thrown in that he did well. The woman in the middle was the damsel's conniving maid, 'Maria' (Georgia Mensing). But it's that fellow on the end that gave Trey a run for most comedic! Yes, that's Austin Bradford, clad in yellow tights with crossed garters, after a joke played upon him by the other four shown here. Poor 'Malvolio'! Lucky us!!!

"Well, that sounds like it was a great distraction from the pain you've had today from that inguinal hernia."

It most def was! I'd almost talked myself out of going, even though I'd bought the ticket online. I'm so glad I threw myself out of the house for it! I'm so thrilled to have seen Trey and Austin again, and to have a heads-up on future castmates here at SavArtsAcad! They'll be putting on 'Grease' at the month's end... hooray!!! Just in time for an early Valentine!