Typical Day on the Road

March 2006

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Mar. 1

Memphis, Tn. and vicinity. Today we presented a workshop to librarians at the Germantown Library, giving several librarians pointers on how to act!vate their story times. It was quite fun! This evening, we dropped in at a Barnes & Noble, and Dennis stumbled upon a novel called "Ella Minnow Pea" (say it quickly to get the gag) by an author named Mark Dunn, with whom he went to school many years ago at Memphis State University. He's now a successful playwright and novelist living in New York City.

Mar. 2

Returned to the Germantown Library to perform, and had a rather large audience. Today is the birthday of Dr. Seuss.

Mar. 3

Visited Dennis' parents in Arkansas, and his three siblings were there as well.

Mar. 4

Performed at the library in Jonesboro, Arkansas for about the twelfth time. Had a pretty good turnout for a Saturday in March.

In the evening, we attended a pageant for high school girls in Walnut Ridge, in the community center where we performed last summer. We were invited - or at least Zephyr was - to attend the event by a friend he met there last summer.

And then we hit the road toward Iowa, driving until nearly midnight.

Mar. 5

Stopped in Springfield, Mo. to hit a Panera before being out of Internet range for the next week. Then we stopped in Kansas City to stock up on groceries. And then on to Mount Ayr, Iowa for our upcoming weeklong residency at a school.

This is one night that we regretted not being near a television - it's Oscar night, and this year's nominees are unusually substantial. It was a great year for movies with depth.

Mar. 6

Began our weeklong residency at the elementary school in Mount Ayr, Iowa. First, we had two performances of our production, then we began teaching workshops - Dennis and Zephyr in writing, and Kimberly in ASL. And all of us are working with a group of students in the TAG (Talented And Gifted) program in developing an original theatrical production based on a Chinese folk tale.

After school we checked into our digs for the week. It's called The Little House, and that's what it is - an actual house available for rent as a guest home on a weekly basis. It's quite comfortable and quite tastefully furnished and decorated. It has a certain classic décor, including a nonfunctioning grandfather clock and antique sewing machine, and dried plants. There are also a washer and dryer and an ample supply of gourmet chocolates placed in various strategic locations. We're home!

We still hadn't received any word about the Oscars - the local paper apparently had too early a deadline. So Dennis rode his bike to the library on his way to the grocery store and checked the Omaha newspaper. The results were pretty much what we'd expected, except we were surprised that "Crash" won best picture instead of "Brokeback Mountain". And we were astounded that the latter film won for best musical score, as we recall leaving the theater commenting about how, despite the movie's excellence in every other respect, the music was quite uninspired.

Mar. 7

Our second day of teaching workshops to students, and this time we rode our bikes to work - about 12 blocks. Had a bit of rain to contend with, but it cleared off late in the afternoon.

Mar. 8

Day three of teaching workshops and rehearsing the student show. The latter is coming along quite nicely; we have some really talented kids to work with.

Mar. 9

Our fourth day of being schoolteachers in Iowa. The production is making good progress--the kids know their parts, and the props essentially have been completed. It should be a fun show.

And after work, we again returned to our little house and enjoyed the comforts of home - including a television, a complete kitchen, and an automated phone call from a telemarketer.

Mar. 10

Finished the week of teaching workshops at school, and had our last rehearsal of the student production before its performances on Monday.

We learned that this area is considered prime territory for hunters, and that Ted Turner once stayed here while on a hunting trip.

Mar. 11

A day off from school. We took a drive to Redding (population 93), a town a few miles away, near the Missouri border, to visit an Amish country store - there is a small Amish community here. Bought, among other things, some homemade butter and some gargantuan eggs.

Mar. 12

We were awakened this morning by Mother Nature's pyrotechnics, the booms and flashes of a proverbial Midwestern thunderstorm. There was not much rain, at least until later in the day, but the chill and the threat of lightning and an impending deluge prompted us to cancel a planned bicycle ride. So we just stayed "at home" and enjoyed the last day in our cozy little house in Iowa.

We also discovered that once again, the battery has gone completely dead on our van.

Mar. 13

Our last day of workshops at the school in Mount Ayr. And in the afternoon, the students in our theatre group performed their piece for the other students at the school - three performances altogether, and the show got tighter each time. We're really pleased by how they've come along.

We bought a new battery for the van and installed it. Hopefully, we won't have the same problem again.

Then we finished loading our things out of our house and returned to the school for one more performance, an evening presentation for the families of the performers. There was also a display of various crafts, foods and educational materials pertaining to the countries the students are studying.

And then we said a solemn goodbye to our "kids", whom we're going to miss, and drove off into the night.

Mar. 14

Quincy, Il. Spent some time at the library, then went to Subway which has wireless Internet (yes, Subway as in the sandwich place), so we could catch up on some work. And have a sandwich at the same time. Considered going to a movie, but unable to find anything playing that we wanted to see.

Mar. 17

St. Paddy's Day. We spent the day in Hannibal, Mo., one of our favorite towns. We got an early start by taking our van into a shop to have the electrical system inspected; our tail lights, brake lights, and everything but headlights went out last night. (Not exactly a new problem with this particular vehicle - the wiring system seems to have been left over from the Paleolithic Era. Every time we hit the brakes the clock goes out and forget about using the cruise control and headlights at the same time.), but this time, we were unable to get it functioning again. We were at the shop for the entire morning, but the mechanics were unable to correct the problem; it appears to be a defective switch, for which they couldn't locate a replacement anywhere in town. They did, however, get the lights functioning again for the time being.

We next picked up our mail at the post office, including a shipment of Zephyr's books. Then we went to Java Jive, "the first coffee shop west of the Mississippi" (It's a couple of blocks from the river, and just down the street from where we engaged in our fierce fence-painting contests, which we've immortalized in these pages.) Not only does this cozy café have excellent java and pretty decent tea, it also offers free wireless Internet, so we burrowed in with our laptops for most of the afternoon.

Dennis took a break, during which he took the mandatory hike up Cardiff Hill, past the lighthouse. He wanted to browse in his favorite antique store, but discovered that it, like too many other establishments in town, closes at 4:00 during the off-season. He noticed that a new building is being constructed that apparently is intended to be a replica of Huck Finn's house, since it is an old-style building, and is on the property once occupied by the Blankenship family. (Huck Finn was modeled after Twain's boyhood friend Tom Blankenship.) He also took the mandatory stroll the music store next door to Java Jive, featuring folk instruments such as dulcimers (both hammered and Appalachian), violins and banjos. One Appalachian dulcimer was constructed out of a pizza box from the pizza parlor across the street.

Speaking of which, we picked up a vegetarian pizza from this place for lunch, and it was quite simply one of the best pizzas we've ever had. The pizza parlor, incidentally, is located on the former site of a dinner theatre where, during our first visit to Hannibal way back in 1992, we attended a song, dance and comedy revue featuring, among other things, pretty good impersonators of Hannibal natives Mark Twain and Molly Brown.

We'd entertained thoughts of going to a movie tonight, but there was nothing playing we wanted to see, so we ended the day with a workout at the Hannibal YMCA.

Mar. 18

Performed at the Hannibal Library (with its gorgeous antique curved wooden doors such as would cost a fortune nowadays) for about the 6th time, and drew an unusually large crowd for an event this time of year. Among them was Peggy, the children's librarian, who came in to see us even though it was her day off. We were quite pleased.

After the show, we picked up another one of those scrumptious pizzas for the road, and headed out to Ashland, KY, a 600-mile drive.

We stopped at about 8:00 p.m. (Eastern time - we're losing an hour again just when we were getting used to Central time) in Indianapolis so we could shop at (joy, bliss and huzzah) Trader Joe's - the first one we've seen since Wilmington, DE more than 3 months ago. Our TJ withdrawal symptoms have been severe. We even threatened to kiss the floor.

Mar. 19

On through Indiana and Ohio, and into Kentucky. Stopped in Maysville to work out at the YMCA, then on into Ashland. Found a movie theatre that was screening the new film "V For Vendetta", which we watched and thoroughly enjoyed. It was adapted from a comic book (Oops - a graphic novel. Zephyr is always quick to point out that there is a difference.), but is quite intelligent and literate. A dystopian fantasy that deals with themes hitting uncomfortably close to home, "V For Vendetta" takes place in Great Britain during the near future, when the United States has reverted to colonial status and the British government is ruled with an iron hand by a dictator who plants phony news stories to keep the public misinformed, complacent and obedient. The cast includes John Hurt, Steven Rea and Natalie Portman. A bit violent, but even the violence is stylish. Superb!

Mar. 20

Two performances at a school in Flatwoods, Ky. Then we spent the afternoon at the Ashland Library, which has Wi-Fi available for laptops. Nearby is the headquarters and bookstore of the Jesse Stuart Foundation, honoring the late Kentucky author.

Mar. 21

Two more early morning performances, this time at a school in Ashland. Today is supposed to be the first day of spring, but you wouldn't know it to step outside. Not only is it quite chilly, but snow is falling. In fact, we were scheduled to have another performance this evening near Cincinnati - a distance of nearly 150 miles - and then we would have had to drive right back here for two more early morning shows tomorrow. But the school up north called us to say that the special event was cancelled because of the weather. And while we always hate to lose a show, we weren't entirely disappointed about losing that lengthy roundtrip commute, especially since this week was already quite frantic without it. (We just hope we'll be able to schedule them again in the future!)

With our afternoon free, we attended a matinee of "Chronicles of Narnia: the Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe". And our unanimous consensus was that while we were glad we finally saw it, we were also glad we didn't pay full price. The film starts out rather promising, somewhat reminiscent of " Secret Garden" or "Hope and Glory". But it ends up just being "Lord of the Rings" with talking animals. We were bothered by the distinct Oedipal overtones in a couple of relationships between characters, and thought it especially odd for a story that supposedly has Christian underpinnings. In fact, we are bothered that so many church groups have flocked to screenings of this movie because of its alleged spiritual message. The "spiritual" message we got was that the way to overcome evil or perceived evil is through brute force and bloodshed. This is a message that's been preached for centuries, and we'd rather hear something else now. (Unlike "V For Vendetta", in which the violence is of secondary or tertiary importance, it's the very backbone of "Narnia".) And it occurred to us that while C.S. Lewis undoubtedly was one of the influences that molded J.K. Rowling, in retrospect the "Narnia" books seem pale imitations of the "Harry Potter" books. That's because, quite simply, Rowling is a far superior storyteller. Just as the Beatles absorbed American rockabilly and British skiffle and transmuted the mixture into something miraculously original, Rowling has done the same with Lewis and her other predecessors. And that's our literary/cinematic/cultural editorial for today.

In the evening we worked out the kinks at the local YMCA, and kept running into students from the middle school where we performed this morning.

Mar. 22

Two more early morning performances (this is getting to be a habit) at a school in Ashland. Then we stopped for lunch at the local Moe's - our favorite eating place when we were in the southeast, but the first one we've encountered in a few weeks. And then we were off to Cleveland for our next gig.

Mar. 23

We're in the Cleveland area, so we actually went into downtown Cleveland, for the first time ever, because of something we've been wanting to see for years: the one and only Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, situated on the waterfront right by the science museum and the football stadium. The admission was rather steep (20 bucks per person) especially since some of the areas were closed. But we took the plunge, because we figured this might be our only chance. And it was just about worth the money.

The pyramid-shaped structure was crammed with mementoes from the history of popular music (not only rock, but related and antecedent idioms): the jacket worn by John Lennon on the cover of "Sgt. Pepper"; the keyboard played on the hit tunes of The Zombies; Elvis Presley's army coat; Jim Morrison's cub scout uniform; some artistically competent drawings and paintings by a teenage Jimi Hendrix; and the actual 15-foot face sculptures depicted on the cover of Pink Floyd's album "Division Bell". It may sound rather kitschy, but it's all quite fascinating. There are also numerous film clips depicting rock and roll history, and it's especially entertaining to witness the early rants against this new "demonic" art form by preachers, politicians and pundits. Also particularly enjoyed the tribute to guitar pioneer Les Paul.

In the evening, we gave a performance at a school in Parma Heights. Then we drove to Detroit, about 150 miles, for tomorrow's show. The running lights went out on the way and this time replacing the fuse didn't do the trick. The headlights were operating fine so we pulled over and stuck one of our bicycle tail lights on the trailer so we could continue driving.

Mar. 24

Two early morning shows at a Montessori school in Southgate (a suburb of Detroit), then we went down the street to the YMCA, one of our favorites in the whole country (although the spa is NOT a hot tub!). And then we caught up on some laundry that badly needed catching up on.

Mother Nature can't seem to decide whether she wants to retain her winter cloak, or attire herself for spring. Today, it was definitely the former, with the temperature dipping into the twenties.

Mar. 25

Farmington Hills, on the upper side of Detroit. Huge snowflakes fell for a couple of hours, but didn't accumulate. We did some shopping at Trader Joes' (Huzzah!) and then computered at Panera.

Mar. 26

Flint, Michigan. After a workout at the YMCA, we went to see the movie "Capote", which we hadn't been able to catch until now. It was quite engrossing; it wasn't a biography of the great writer as such, but a depiction of how he came to write his most famous book, "In Cold Blood". In the process, it encapsulated the complex character of the author, including his background. This film features two of our favorite actors, both of whom were long-neglected until recently: Chris Cooper, who finally received his Oscar a couple of years ago, and of course Philip Seymour Hoffman, who finally got his this year, for the title role of this very flick.

Mar. 27

Performed at a school in Flint, then headed back toward Detroit. Today, Spring seemed to return - maybe she's serious about it this time.

Mar. 28

A day off during the week, which is rather a novelty for us. But we put the time to good use, catching up on business.

Mar. 29

This morning, we returned to perform at the daycare for Ford Motors in Dearborn, our third time here. (Zephyr worked in an ad lib about the scientists and engineers "from the local Ford plant.) Then we had an afternoon show in Waterford.

Mar. 30

We capped off our stay in the Detroit area with a pair of performances at a school in Belleville, but it almost didn't happen. We arrived at the school and learned that they had not received the contract we sent them, so they assumed the engagement was off. But we ended up doing the shows anyway, and worrying about payment later. And everyone at the school seemed quite happy that it worked out.

Mar. 31

We're in Chicago, having driven from Motown last night, a distance of about 300 miles. We've gained an hour, moving from Eastern to Central time, but it's only a short-term loan, since we'll be going on Daylight Savings Time this weekend.

Dennis was up with the roosters today so he could catch a bus and two trains into downtown, and from there to the University of Illinois at Chicago School Of Dentistry. Since we'll be in the Chicago area for about a month, he finally has a chance to do some catching up on his dental work. He learned today that the situation with his periodontal disease is apparently not nearly as serious as he was led to believe by the last dentist, and maybe no surgery or other bankrupting procedures will be required after all.

Today we went by a vehicle dealership to look at a van that we may be interested in purchasing. It looks promising enough that we're going to have it checked out more thoroughly by an expert. Stay tuned.

On to Trader Joe's, where our trailer picked up a dent in the parking lot. It was an extremely windy evening, and yet people still left shopping carts loose, and they were blowing into vehicles (including expensive sports cars) right and left.

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