1. My day began beautifully. I visited Sparky Roberts at her house, the very house where ever since 1991 we have enjoyed many cups of tea and delicious dinners and worked on countless theater projects and other performances together. It was in the fall of 1991 that Sparky and I first collaborated on what would be known as the End of the Quarter Shakespeare Recital and later became The Shakespeare Showcase at Lane Community College and, later on, elsewhere. That project shape-shifted many times. My involvement also went through changes, but for several years, I helped out, alone sometimes, with Marcee Long other times, as the narrator for the Showcase. Sparky and I worked together on many other projects over the years. She included me in ensembles that put on performances for the entire LCC faculty and staff, in support of part-time instructors at LCC, and for the local Landlord Association. Once, about thirty years ago, I wrote a verse comedy in the form of a masque that was performed for, I think, donors to the University of Oregon library. Actually, I think we collaborated twice on presenting entertainment for that group. (Wait! Did Sparky direct the first one? I can't remember...)
It's fun remembering the four (I think) Shakespeare productions I got to act in that Sparky directed.
Most of all, it's a joy to know how we developed a lasting friendship out of all these projects we worked on.
Our time together today, wasn't really so much about the past, but about the present. Sparky takes her new kitten, Oona, for a daily walk around her yard in a special cat stroller and I walked along. We then sat at Sparky's dining table, enjoyed a cup of tea, and talked about our lives today, what we know about mutual friends and acquaintances, the challenges we face as we age, and, yes, we dipped from time to time into the past.
As I left Sparky's house and climbed back into the Camry, I thought today, as I often do, about all the profound joy I experienced in and around the theater, all of it made possible by Sparky's confidence in me, her encouragement, her openness to working with me, and our deep and joyous friendship.
2. Speaking of deep, enduring, and joyous friendships, late this afternoon Debbie and I met Lynn, Pam, Anne, and Linda at Community Fermentation Union for a food and drinks in the spirit of our many weekly get togethers over the years at the now-closed Billy Mac's.
We had a spirited and lively time, talking about how we are managing our lives during this pandemic, how life is going at LCC and the challenges the college is facing during a time of decline. I learned about other people I used to teach with and their families. That we live in fluid, chaotic, unsettled, and unsettling times got reinforced over and over again this evening.
Lynn and I hung around for a while after the others left and resumed conversations we've had over many years about movies and different series on Netflix. We've always discussed movies we enjoy that come out of countries in the Middle East. I miss these conversations. One consequence of not having them is that I'm not as aware as I once was of movies coming out of Israel, Iran, Palestine, and other places in that part of the world and Lynn suggested some shows to watch.
I left tonight's get together happy to have seen Pam, Anne, Lynn, and Linda, but I felt a little sad that moving away from Eugene, of course, means that I don't get to stay current with my LCC/Billy Mac's friends, don't get to enter into conversations about our friends and families, about books and movies, about how we are all navigating the challenges of the day.
3. Jeff Harrison had emailed me earlier today with a reminder that at 9:00 tonight his radio show, Deadish, would be KEPW. I went to the station's website, put on the headphones, and relished two hours of Mikaela Davis and Southern Star, Zero, Robert Hunter, Steve Kimock, and the Grateful Dead themselves. Mikaela Davis was an especially wonderful discovery for me. She's a harpist and vocalist and her band's covers of Grateful Dead songs are enchanting, ethereal, and transporting. I loved listening to Jeff's entire show, but especially Mikaela Davis's harp playing and her singing.
Quick final note: I ran errands this afternoon and stopped in at Scribles for another pint of GoodLife's Sweet As! Pacific Ale and it was just as good today as it had been last night!
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