September 04, 2004

10:47 p.m.

Subterranean Joy

Dar had a funner gig than I did today. Ours was a festival and the less said about it the better; he got hired, along with a couple of other actors, to play characters at a rich man's birthday bash (about 200 people) down on the Cape. For the first half, they posed as human statues that would come to life when someone put a token into the jar. He was Bacchus, the God of wine; there was also a ballerina and a fortune teller. He got to wear a cheesy toga, pour people wine and crack jokes, "freezing up" again just at the critical word so people would have to put in another token to hear the end of the sentence. In between, the kids would gather around him and want to talk; he'd try to guess their ages, or they'd try to make him blink. The family also had two wonderful pet rats, housed in a cage in the living room, and he had to call me on his break to tell me about them. He said they were very friendly and used to being handled.

Meanwhile, we're keeping an eye on things in Florida, as our gigs next weekend depend on the electricity and the roofs being on and such. Carol was going to fly down tomorrow to be with her parents for a few days before Chris and I arrive, but her flight was cancelled. Her folks are staying in a shelter for the duration -- they JUST moved down there, and now they're hoping their remaining property stays intact. Her dad, who's been rather ill with a kind of blood cancer, is just zoned out, sitting in a chair and staring into space. Her mom is trying to make friends and playing cards to pass the time.

Whew.

Tomorrow Rose comes at 9:30 with the minivan, and we'll do our run to the new place. I'll finally see it again after 6-1/2 years! I can hardly believe this is my life.

I found out there IS a rail trail that I should be able to pick up about three blocks from my apartment, that goes northeast all the way to Putnam. Hallelujia! I really should have taken my bike in to Vernon Cycle before this for a tuneup, but there simply was not any time to do it. I don't know how I'm accomplishing the things I am doing. The time is compressing; everything is so tight now. I'm sure I'm almost packed, though I keep looking at things like kitchen utensils and pans and thinking, "won't I still need these?" Must get into the rhythm of takeout. I started tonight by getting a smelts dinner from down the street. I haven't had smelts in years; it's a nostalgia thing for me, as my mom used to cook them when I was a kid. You can eat pretty much the whole thing; they're like really large sardines and the bones are soft. They came with fries, which I haven't eaten in probably a year, and some really good coleslaw. Not my typical dinner at all. Tomorrow I'll cook the rest of the vegetables in the fridge drawer and eat up the hummus. Must... clean... freezer...

Big Sigh. It's time to go to bed. Underneath the fatigue I'm very, very happy.