Ready to launch

[tedwords]

 

"Savoir, penser, rêver. Tout est là." Victor Hugo

Five days before we head off to Paris. But who's counting?

Both of us. There is so much to do and take care of before we fly away. It's a bit overwhelming. Clothing needs to be assembled, essentials gathered, Green Vic needs to be in decent shape for its caretakers, all three shops have to be fully stocked...the list is exhausting.

One of the things that will happen while away: Hunchback will have its opening weekend. We will miss hell week completely, which is our first time for a Wheaton College show since...ummm...2015. I know the whole things is in good hands, though. Doug and Ben and Tina and Melissa and the cast and crew are truly amazing (we know, we dropped in on a rehearsal a few days ago).

To do my part, old PR guy that I am, I have been helping promote the show, and yesterday, met with the Norton beat reporter for the Sun Chronicle to interview our friend Marilyn, the 95 year old lady who was an original Singer back in 1945 and attended the recent Historic Society talk I delivered. She stole the show and deserves a spotlight after all these years.

We met at Marilyn's house in Norton, and I have to tell you, Marilyn was absolutely thrilled to be interviewed for the story, although a bit nervous about having the reporter and photographer coming to her house. Fortunately, Corb and I arrived at her place a few minutes in advance and met with her and her home care provider. We were able to make a difference, I think.

The interview went so well. Marilyn has had quite a colorful life. She really only did the Norton Singers until she married her husband, and then her life went into other directions as she had children. She was a waitress for many years and saved up enough money to go in with three other folks to buy a plane and was one of the first female flyers to have a license in the area, which is pretty amazing.

Her memory is very good, for both past and present items, which I find incredibly impressive. Her mother lived to be 105 and was just as sharp. Marilyn not only told many stories and shared a number of old photos, but sang several songs from the Mikado, including Titwillow with me. When asked how she could remember it she said "Well, we did have to do it twice!" Shades of Chess...

Marilyn did remark a few times on how funny memory is. So many things from the past she can remember clear as a bell, and she wonders why that is. She sang a song she learned when she was in grade school for us and wondered why she could recall all the words.

I get this. Right now I have been doing a work moving my hand written journals online, and I am continually impressed by how much I had forgotten, how oblivious I was to certain things that certainly would not have been socially acceptable now, and also, what memories clearly made an indelible mark. The answer: only ten percent of things, really, which is probably how it should be. I am very grateful for my journal!

I also have been reading a lot from Argentinian author Jorge Luis Borges lately, and he has one famous story involving a person with a rare condition that involves remembering with great accuracy most days of one's life. The scientific term for this unique condition is "hyperthymestic syndrome." The actress Marilu Henner has this ability, which I didnt know until this week.

In the Borges story, the ability is described as an affliction.

Truthfully, rather than that, I'd settle for half of Marilyn's memory. Oh, and my handy journal for any specifics, if needed.

Oh, and one final thing: when asked what the secret of Marilyn's longevity was, it was clear to both me and Corb: perpetual curiosity. I'll take that one, too.

So tonight, I raise a key lime martini and toast to travel, to making new memories, and to keeping the spark of perpetual curiosity alive. I apologize in advance for the onslaught of photos that will start gushing forth next week, but with Paris, Barcelona and Rome ahead of us, it's only to be expected, I suppose.

Post-Friday night scribblings

Saturday I woke up early to head off to WARA to promote Hunchback. I met the actors at the studio at around 9:50. It went well, although Dave seemed kind of grouchy at first. I wonder if Ty spoke to him. The mayor of Attleboro rushed out of the studio right before we entered, so maybe it was more about that. She did say hi to us.

After that we headed to the shop for Corb to paint the boxes and create one bellow for the orchestra. With that done, we should be set with Eldredge Players before we head out.

A bit of shopping for our flight in a few days and then back to choose clothing and see what we have (or have not). Corb ended up with a bad case of food poisoning and was totally out of it for the rest of the day. I read more Borges and watched the Superman movie. Also input a ton more entries from 1983...I find that my journaling style is becoming heavily influenced by the way I wrote back then. Super short and to the point.

Sunday was spent with Corb's mom. We watched Remarkably Bright Creatures and the had dinner. She had an argument on Friday with Greg, which, frankly, was of her own doing. She decided to visit him at work, something he dislikes intensely. He was having a bad day, clearly, but she ignored those clues and proceeded to lay into him about his drinking, as well as about something he posted on Facebook that was a bit off color and had upset Theo that we had confided to her about (so she broke our confidence). He kind of snapped and lost it with her. Of course, she came across as if she had done nothing wrong but frankly, I can see why Greg would have been irritated. And I don't even like him!

I think she did it to make a connection. To have him react to something. But I don't think it was the right approach. Still, her ability to have the energy to irritate in this manner amazes me.

Today, packing. All day.