YOU'RE A GOOD MAN, CHARLIE BROWN

Back story: The Willows Theatre has been hit hard by our national economic problems. In order to stay afloat they closed the doors on the Concord theater and moved all operations to a smaller theater in Martinez. Marty and I have been less than pleased by the plays. No money, no professional actors. The plays were more like poor high school productions. In fact we walked out on one. Some have been so so and one drama was good. We struggled with the question of renewing our subscription. We decided to give them one more season.

Marty and I went to the Willows Theatre last night. We saw You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown. The Willows is back! This play was performed at the professional level we expect from the Willows. We had a great time. The voices were excellent, acting excellent, dancing excellent. I give this performance an A+.

It will be running until June 6, 2010. Check the website and buy your tickets. You might even want to check Gold Star. Many times you can find bargain tickets there.

Our program
The first act set

Part of the set

More of the set and side panels

Close up of side panel of the set

Set for act 2, Snoopy's outfit to wear while fighting the Red Baron

Display in the lobby

Outside poster

ODDS AND ENDS

Several thoughts:

Monday as I left the house I was nearly run over by a speeding car. Trust me, I had looked before turning out of my driveway, no cars in sight. Then there she was. I turned right onto the next street (speed limit 25). I have just pulled out from a stop sign and the crazy woman passed me and went speeding down the hill (through a school zone). She blew through a 4 way stop and was out of sight when I turned on the next street. I hope where ever she was going was worth the laws she was breaking.

Monday I did 5 weddings between 12:50 and 2:15. I sat a while and then did 2 more. This is as close to busy as I have been in weeks and weeks. Today, 2 weddings. Very Very slow. They did none in the morning.

Tonight we had our San Diego friends, Richard and Luis for dinner. I wish now we had taken pictures. It was a really pretty meal. We served a tossed salad that had red cabbage, radishes, carrots, and the last tomato from our garden. Oh and there was lettuce too. We had rice with chicken divan; and tomatoes stuffed with sausage, onions, mushrooms, Italian breadcrumbs and sherry. The meal also tasted wonderful. Marty and I both cooked this meal. We both worked on the chicken dish. I made suggestions for the tomatoes and he prepared it. I made the salad. And Marty did the grocery shopping. We enjoyed this meal, we love to cook together.

Our wonderful Willows Theatre will be closing its doors in Concord. The recession has won in that area. The Theater will continue at its Martinez theater. But it will not be the same caliber plays. Great sadness here.

Tuesday the children were nutso at school. Ms. H never raises her voice, never loses her cool. Tuesday she was talking in a loud voice and pretty much ready to kill them all. They wouldn't even sit still for me to read to them. The school office manager explained the craziness of the day/week. "It should never happen the same weekend: full moon, Halloween, time change". She is oh so right,

OH WHAT A WEEK. . .

Even with the messed up shoulder, life goes on, sort of. I did not help with my first graders on Tuesday. I hurt so much I knew I would be hateful to the kids. (Just ask Marty how his week is going. ) And kids pull, tug, and hug. I could not handle that. So I called in sick.

I did get my nails done Tuesday. Vanity always trumps pain. Now to get there I had to drive through an awful storm. It was the tail end of a typhoon. Big rigs were blowing over, lines were down, but I had my nails done.

Wednesday I married couples. I thought how hard can that be? That left shoulder is not involved at all in a marriage ceremony. Right. I have the book to hold, license to hold, doors to open. I had to walk and breathe. Guess what, all that makes the shoulder move. But I lived through it.

Only one couple drove us crazy. The couple was from Mongolia and spoke little English. His teenage son was translating. The first clerk had to change the license several times. They couldn't decide how to spell their parents' names. I got the license and found two spelling errors (put in the computer by the couple), second clerk corrected and reprinted again. They"looked" at the license for the umpteenth time and said it was correct. I married them, we printed out the certified copy, and gave it to them. The father started yelling at the son, the names are misspelled. Clerk three corrects it again and printed it out. Four of us to get them married. And it took nearly 45 minutes longer from start to finish.

Last night we went to the Willows Theatre to see Barefoot in the Park. The play was great. Very well done and even though it is over 45 years old, it holds up. It is just a story about 2 newlyweds. Good fun. Go see it.

There was the strange woman sitting to my right at an angle toward me. Her feet in my space, her huge purse sitting partly in my lap. I did the spread the feet thing and moved her feet over, and every now and then I hip checked her purse. She would sigh and then move it more into her lap. But it kept coming back. At the intermissions it got really strange. She completely turned toward me and stared, intently. We got up the first intermission, but she was still there staring. Even through the play, staring away. The second intermission we sat and talked and she stared. Strange, strange woman.

The shoulder is better. I need a week of doing nothing for it to really heal up: no makeup, no using a curling iron, no blogging, no cleaning house, no making beds, no using the arm. Not going to happen. Life goes on and you do what you have to do. And you take lots of aspirin.

Well, must go iron shirts now.

THE PLAY

Friday night we went to the Willows Theatre in Concord Ca to a play. We have had season tickets for close to 20 years, so we just show up. Until the last play we have enjoyed every thing we have seen. This time we were a little "do we really want to go tonight. It is raining, it's icky out. Let's stay home." But we went.

It was the West Coast Premier for Be My Baby. The play is the story of an older couple who can't stand each other traveling to San Francisco from Scotland to adopt a baby. The baby is for her niece and his nephew who are married. A week's travel becomes weeks. If it can go wrong it does. And it is weeks of hilarity. A well written play, very funny, and the actors are great. If you live in the Bay Area, go to the link and get tickets, and see the play. We enjoyed this so much. We laughed, we empathized, and we laughed some more. This is a very, very entertaining play.