Typical Day on the Road
June 2005
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June 1
Germantown and Collierville, Tennessee
Officially opened our summer season (already?) at the library in Collierville, Tn., followed by the Germantown Library, with a workshop following the performance. Both the performances and the workshop worked out quite well. And we managed to coax our van into getting us around today!
June 2
Collierville to Memphis, Tennessee
Up early to take our van into Bob Fite's garage in Collierville, a place recommended by the husband of a librarian. It was a good recommendation. They quickly found and corrected the problem, which was, as we'd hoped, merely a clogged fuel filter, and 53 dollars later, we were on our merry way.
June 3
Memphis, Tennessee
Our last day in Memphis, and it was obligatory that we drop in at the Peabody Hotel to watch the ducks march to the fountain in the lobby. (See earlier story about Memphis.) On the way, we passed a Wild Oats store, so we had to stop and stock up a bit. Seated at the juice bar was a colorful character - who apparently comes in regularly - who spotted one of the "message" T-Shirts one of us was wearing, and engaged us in commiserating about the state of the nation today. 
On to the Peabody, where we finally parked and went into the air-conditioned lobby to watch the aquatic fowl. We also noticed an antique, exquisitely carved piano on display, and a plaque identified it as having been built for Francis Scott Key. No tour of downtown Memphis would be complete without dropping in at A. Schwab's, which we also wrote about previously. We didn't buy much, but as always, it was ecstatic, nostalgic, amusing browsing. Then we said goodbye to The Bluff City, after puzzling over an alley in the downtown area called Nov 6th St. (We later learned that Nov. 6, 1977 was the day Elvis died.)
June 4
Walnut Ridge, Arkansas
Performed for the second time for the Walnut Ridge (Ark.) Library.
June 5
near Jonesboro, Arkansas
Staying with Dennis' parents in Arkansas.
June 6
near Jonesboro, Arkansas
See above.
June 7
Searcy, Arkansas
Took off to Searcy, Ark., in preparation for tomorrow's shows. Ended up at Midnight Oil, one of our favorite coffee shops - and it really is open until midnight. Had coffee and tea for hours while we did work on our laptops, using their wireless connection. After the young lady (probably a student at nearby Harding University) who was working behind the counter when we entered got off her shift, she sat at a counter next to our table and worked on some fascinating copper artwork. During our lengthy tenure in the coffee shop, one of those howling, flashing Midwest thunderstorms passed over us.
June 8
Searcy, Arkansas
Two performances at the Searcy Library, well attended like last year's. We passed by Midnight Oil again today and saw a rather interesting sight: the storm last night had bowled over a garbage can, out spilled a broken Disney Hercules plate such as those Zephyr was promoting in a McDonald's commercial he starred in when he was 6. First one we'd seen in years. (Our own set of 4 is in storage.)
June 9
near Heber Springs, Arkansas
Visiting Dennis' sister in Arkansas.
June 10
near Heber Springs, Arkansas
Ditto. And we're finally getting some of the summer heatwave that we'd managed to avoid so far.
June 11
Little Rock, Arkansas
Performed for the first time ever at the Little Rock Library. Two of the folks in attendance, a mother and daughter, came up afterward and informed us that they were members of the Goza family, and had been unaware that we were too. Turns out we're probably related. After the show, we took a stroll through the nearby River Market area, and had an absolutely abominable lunch that even Dennis, who was raised on southern deep-fried cuisine, found nauseating.
Then a few blocks farther to the Clinton Library, an utterly fascinating facility that we could have spent a much longer time in than the hour or so that we were there. We never were particularly enthusiastic fans of Bill's, although we subsequently have come to appreciate and miss him more than we ever thought we would. And this archive of his life and presidency, we'd say, makes one even more appreciative and nostalgic regardless of one's prior impressions of him. One of the most impressive exhibits to us was simply the collection of his daily schedules while in office. They reveal him to be a public servant of extraordinary energy, dedication, and depth-- the type of potential we find all too rarely. And being entertainers, we also give high marks to another exhibit consisting of film clips showing the humorous side of the President and First Lady. It included not only footage of them gamely lampooning themselves on various occasions, but also President Clinton's appearance on stage side-by-side with one of his best impersonators, Darrell Hammond of Saturday Night Live. Priceless!
June 12
Eureka Springs, Arkansas
Pulled into Eureka Springs, Ark. - otherwise known as Little Switzerland - and checked into a campground, where we began rehearsing and sewing and making props for "Mu Lan", our new story that still hasn't opened after all the setbacks we've suffered on it. In the middle of the night, we were awakened by fierce winds, followed by fierce rains, but our tents held up okay. It caught us by surprise, as the sky had been cloudless all day - although lightning did begin shortly after sunset. We were concerned about a thunderstorm or even tornado - not uncommon in this part of the country. But we listened to the radio and found no warnings, and eventually the storm passed. Still, it was a long night considering that we have three shows tomorrow.
June 13
Eureka Springs, Arkansas
Not as tired as we might have expected after last night. Performed at the Eureka Springs, Berryville and Green Forest libraries for the third consecutive year. Back at the campground, we heard that more storms were on the way, and even a tornado watch was in effect. We decided to strike the tents and sleep in the van. We barely completed the task before the deluge started.
June 14
Eureka Springs, Arkansas
Still in Eureka Springs. We elected to stay at the campground one more night, even though the tents are packed away already. But we worked in a full day of rehearsing, sewing, propping, and drying out.
June 15
Fayetteville, Arkansas
Performed at the Fayetteville Library for the fourth time. But this is the first time in the brand spanking new building, of which they are justifiably proud. And they also are justifiably proud of another recent development: the Fayetteville Library has been chosen Library of the Year, for the entire nation, by Thompson Gale and the Library Journal. It's an honor designated not just on the basis of the building itself, but for the totality of services - not just for one library, but for an entire system. Of course, for Fayetteville, that means just one library. But it's all the more impressive that they were chosen over much larger systems. In recent years, they were runner-up to Las Vegas and San Jose. Bravo!
June 16
Yellville, Arkansas
Return engagement at the Yellville, Ark. Library, and a good turnout for the small space.
June 17
Caruthersville, Missouri
A return engagement at the Caruthersville, Mo. Library, where we performed in an actual theatre.
June 18
Jonesboro, Arkansas
Our umpteenth return engagement at the Jonesboro, Ar. Library. Great to come back here, as always.
June 19
near Jonesboro, Arkansas
Father's Day. And appropriately, we were visiting Dennis' parents.
June 20
near Jonesboro, Arkansas
Visiting Dennis' parents in Arkansas. Dennis drove them to Little Rock, where his dad had a doctor's appointment. Kimberly and Zephyr stayed behind and caught up on some work.
June 21
Marion, Arkansas
Our first performance at the library in Marion, Ar. Some of the staff took some good pictures during the performance, and we had access to them immediately afterward.
June 22
Augusta to El Dorado, Arkansas
Third consecutive year to perform at the libraries in Augusta and Wynne, Ar. Then we headed south for our next shows, stopping in Little Rock to shop at Wild Oats, then continued and spent the night in Arkadelphia.
June 23
El Dorado, Arkansas
Rolled into El Dorado, Ar., site of our next two shows. Unable to find a very good deal on a hotel (Priceline doesn't cover this area) so we had to bite the bullet a bit. But we ended up getting not that bad a deal at La Quinta, a pleasant enough location. And there is a swimming pool right outside our door, which will be a boon in this sweltering heat.
June 24
El Dorado, Arkansas
Staying cool inside today, as the temperature outside soared to over 100. Spent the day rehearsing and otherwise readying our new story, "Mu Lan."
June 25
El Dorado, Arkansas
Performed the first of our two shows at the El Dorado Library. Then back to our nice, cool, motel room, escaping temperatures that, yet again, topped 100.
June 26
El Dorado, Arkansas
Continued hibernating and working on "Mu Lan".
June 27
El Dorado, Arkansas
Returned to perform at the El Dorado Library, and at long last, premiered "Mu Lan", our first-ever story to be sung all the way through (rather like a mini-opera). It didn't go off entirely without a hitch, but we had plenty of reasons to smile. Then we had an afternoon performance at the library in Huttig.
June 28
El Dorado, Arkansas
Performances in Junction City and Smackover, Ar. (Smackover, we learned, derived its name from a corruption of the name given by French settlers: "Sumac Covert".) Then we headed north, stopping again in Little Rock to take care of business.
June 29
El Dorado to Jonesboro, Arkansas
After stopping to visit Dennis' parents briefly one more time before hitting the road across country, we headed north. Made a stop in Jonesboro to deliver 8 copies of Zephyr's book to personnel at the library. (He was out of stock last week when we performed here.) Then stopped at the home of Dennis' brother, where our nephew from Connecticut was visiting.
June 30
St. Louis - Hannibal, Missouri
Stocked up at Trader Joe's in St Louis, then continued on to Hannibal for our 4th straight attendance of National Tom Sawyer Days. Checked into our site at the Mark Twain Cave Campground, where we always stay.
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