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Thursday, March 9, 2000

Perspectives Past

I am sitting on my front deck with my laptop. Today is warm and very windy. Not the perfect day to be out of doors with a computer but one must enjoy warm weather here if it arrives in March. Tomorrow is predicted to be rainy and quite a bit colder, the forecast may even include snow. Attila will not mind as he works out of doors and prefers cooler weather in his line of work. I, on the other hand, will miss this mild spell very much.

Attila and I took a big trip to the "Big City" yesterday to visit the museum. We enjoyed the exhibits very much although we tired easily walking on the concrete floors. There were benches scattered here and there, but they were low and uncomfortable. I discovered on this visit that cameras with flashes are completely restricted; without a flash, a camera may be used in designated areas. On our next trip I will bring the camera and see how I get on without a flash and no tripod. My eldest daughter has promised to lend me a tripod. She lives far from here and is extremely busy in her career; it may take some time to negotiate the loan.

The highlight of our excursion was a visit to my favorite "Open Stage". At one time, when I lived in the "Big City", this weekly event was the center of my life. The entertainment consists of music, storytelling, poetry reading, dance, comedy and just about any other type of performance art you can think of. Veteran stage performers come here to keep the juices flowing between tours. First time performers come here to cut their teeth before an audience. The offerings range from the ridiculous to the sublime and most of the talent is surprisingly good, if unpolished.

It was a delight to see old friends again, catch up on their news, and hear their latest creative efforts. Many performers were unknown to me so there was lots of new music and writing to hear and people to get to know. This was Attila's first visit to the "Open Stage"; he enjoyed himself tremendously. It was a chance for him to peek into my past and see me from a new perspective. It was a chance for me to introduce him to people I love and share with them my good fortune in knowing him.

We arrived home from the "Big City" very late. The bus left the "Big City" at 11:30 p.m. but did not arrive at our home terminal until 2:00 a.m. The bus route was the milk run rather than the express, making four additional stops on the journey home. The taxi brought us quickly to our door where we tiptoed into bed lest we awake "The Teenager". I slept soundly and dreamt in harmonies, relics, and rhymes. The alarm clock went off far too early this morning.