Friday, March 25, 2011

Lessons, Suggestions, and Goodbyes: The Random Friday.

-I just ate far too many Oreos......

-I watched a local production on Wednesday evening; a production of 12 Angry Men. I am always reminded of a line from CHEERS, where Woody the Bartender has been cast in a production of this very play, but, "they could only get 6 actors, so we all have to be, like, twice as furious...."

-It was a good production; some decent performances. But it did remind me how much I miss teaching. My wife could tell as well; on the walk from the theatre to the car, she put up with my dissertation upon the need to maintain the given circumstances in order to acquire the necessary build to the climax; and, if an established character says something un-characteristic as the play moves forward, then there has to be some kind of upset that needs to be defined. And blah blah blah.

-I hate Friday mornings. And by mornings, I mean Midnight to 8AM. I hate them because I can't seem to sleep on Thursdays. So, I go from Thursday morning at 5AM (when I usually wake up) and I don't get to sleep again until about 2 PM Friday afternoon. I've built up the endurance, but to say I tolerate it is stretching a bit.

-I was casting about the television stations, and I found that one of these Food Network shows were trying to find the best Coney Island in Detroit. They whittled it down to two places....American Coney Island and Lafayette Coney Island, literally next door to each other in downtown Detroit. I can say from experience that if you've eaten a Coney from Lafayette, you know you've eaten. But my personal favorite has always been Lipuma's in my hometown of Rochester.

The making of Coneys is a delicate matter;
It isn't just simply a holiday breeze;
You may think at first that it's only a hot dog,
but I tell you it's more; it is chili, and cheese.

The topping is beanless, for that I am certain;
And mustard and onion is a fait accompli;
But my Coney Island must also have cheddar,
For Skyline is best from old Cincinnati.

-An old colleague of mine, Richard Holmes, passed last week after a short battle. He was a regular attendee to my directorial efforts at Culver-Stockton College, was generous with his praise and laser sharp in his critique, and was one of my favorite "Pie Day" conversations, because you never knew where it was going to go, but the ride was certainly going to be fun.

Take care Richard; Hopefully, I'll see you if I get there.

-And finally, the most important lesson I've learned this week comes from an old Jackson Browne song; one of my longest lasting friends, V, reminded me of this song, and the one line I should always remember but ALWAYS seem to forget:

The times when we were happy,
Were the times we never tried.

-Good Night and Glued Duck.

2 comments:

Gertrude said...

My coney's not a hot dog at all.
I eat the bun with fried onions and mustard slaw.
Its a veggie coney Clemo!

Misti Ridiculous said...

i heart jackson browne lyrics
and i heart thinking about you in a classroom. i'd take that class in a nanosecond.