Beneath the Wraps

  When Steven was in his senior year of high school he had the opportunity of going back to New York with the high school drama department.   My mom and dad also took the opportunity of going as there was a need for chaperones.   I don ’ t recall how much the trip costs or how many plays they were scheduled to see.    They were gone for a week and spent more in one day than Shelly and I spent in the entire week including our excursion to Lagoon (an amusement park near Salt Lake City, Utah).   First two pics are of Shelly and Me at a picnic area off pioneer village.  The other two were taken upon the return of the rest of our family.

               When Jenna was seven years old I had signed her up for an acting class.  The show to be preformed was “You’re A Good Man, Charlie Brown”.  A few hours before taking her to the “audition” she painted red dots all over her face and told me she couldn’t possibly go because she had the measles.  I don’t know what she had against Charlie Brown at the time, but I know the entire “Peanuts” gang were not high on her list of shows to watch.  Pretending she was one of them seemed against her nature.           That first night of class the script was passed out.   Three boys and four girls read the script according to how the instructor had assigned them before she changed what parts to read for.   Lucy and Linus were cast that night but she was still getting a feel for who the other children would play and who would be double cast (as there are just six characters). ...

                On Saturday I received my first COVID test ever.  I ’ m sure the person who was testing was being as gentle as possible – my poor nostrils.  I honestly was expecting that blood would come out of my nose.  It didn ’ t help matters when Roland (who ’ d been tested fair) coughed and spewed – or whatever he was doing.  He is NOT a wimp and I am so if he was having problems I figured it was bad.        It actually was not as bad as I had allowed myself to believe.   Nor was it as easy as my friend, Carol, had indicated the previous day.   It hurt!   And when I said it allowed, I heard Jenna behind me saying, “ Thanks, Mom ”          The person doing the testing told Jenna how brave she was – really?   Hadn ’ t I been any less brave?   We were told to wait 15 minutes for the results.   Roland started joking that “ mom...

            This summer Jenna decided she would do some volunteer work at various places so that she could earn job recommendations for whenever the time should come for seeking actual employment.   Last year she had worked on stage at the theatre, but she hadn’t expected she would get paid for it.   The tips that were left were split among the cast members for their first show.   That was an unexpected bonus.   Jenna truly enjoys acting and was happy just to do that.             On June 24 she had put in her time at the library – taking over my role as story lady.   Last week we went and picked blueberries – though not a lot.   We plan to return next week.             It is three miles to get downtown from our house.   It is another five miles to the blueberry farm. I remembe...

                The wind has been blowing each morning Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday.   Carolyn said she had a surprise for the class for Wednesday morning, but I did not go.   Roland and I had gone to the Roseburg Cinema to see Dog Days - which I really liked.                    I had left my phone with Jenna in case she needed to get a hold of us.   She spent the day with her friend, Marie.   She reported to me that the dentist had called, but neglected to tell me about Coffenberry; she decided it was not important as she is no longer a student there.                                 A couple of hours after Roland and I had returned to Tri-City, Jenna said there was word from the the...

          The Grand Old Victorian Theatre was open when we moved to Oregon, but the plays were $40.   That included dinner, but still . . . That would have been $120. for the three of us.   Not in our budget.        The theatre closed and remained on the market for nearly two years.   I remember looking at the property when Roland was looking into opening an adult daycare.   It was a perfect location. But we could not afford to take out a loan.   We needed investors.   In order to get the type of loan and investor interest, we needed/need support from the community.  So many have told us what a good idea it is, and that it is needed - but we need written testimony and not just verbal agreements.         We had sent out a survey but did not get any feedback.   I had told Roland that the survey was too lengthy.   He had looke...

I have many thoughts in my head, but need to write them and haven't done well with the timing.  So here is a very real situation that may tie my readers over.  Same Theatre.  One actor possessed integrity, the other didn't. Stephan had auditioned for a local theatre and signed a contract that paid 16 dollars a performance - which really isn't much.  The show was a parody of Star Wars. Though he absolutely LOVES Star Wars and seems to see the humor in many parodies, he really did not care for the show. At some point during before the show had started but still practicing, Stephan was contacted by a colleague who needed a fourth for putting on the show "Forever Plaid" something that Stephan was familiar with as he had performed at college.   Forever Plaid's payment would have been $40 a show, plus expenses (as the group would be traveling) which sounded so sweet to Stephan's ears, but he explained that he had signed a contract and had to honor that. St...

        We have spent the weekend watching "Joseph" (with Paul Mercurio and Ben Kingsley) and "Joseph and His Amazing Technicolor Dream coat" (starring Donny Osmond) and I was reminded of humorous stories related to theatre or inaccurate Bible portrayal.  Some of which I have shared on my blog already.                 The first Sunday in October of 2012 (the year I had started my blog)  I had select a children's from the BYU channel for Jenna to watch.  It was an animation from the old Testament about  Joseph and his brothers.           As she is watching the story of Joseph, Jenna had asked, “Mom, is this the same story as “Little Joe” from “Veggie Tales”            “Yes”         ...