September 1, 2011
Dear Everyone:
Last November, I received a notice from the
Oregon Shakespeare Festival
(OSF) that Members Presale had opened.
This is a brief period of time in which Festival members can
order their tickets for the following year before the general public can
get to them. At the time, I
had no idea if anyone would be interested in attending, but I figured it
couldn’t hurt to order tickets anyway.
I could always cancel and get my money back if necessary.
Last year, we discovered something purely by accident.
After Labor Day, the first Monday in September, the weather is
still fabulous. The plays
are still wonderful. The
food at the local restaurants is still delicious.
But the crowds are gone.
It was ever so lovely.
So
I went ahead and ordered tickets for five for the week following Labor
Day and gave instructions to hold the tickets for pickup, the better to
return any if I had to.
Because it’s all done by computer, I even got to pick out the exact
seats that I wanted, from those still available.
I wasn’t the only one to have this idea.
Many months later, “Frankie’s” two girls, “Rosa” and “Liza”, expressed
the desire to attend the Festival again.
And we already had tickets in the bag.
And
it was ever so far off, not until the beginning of September.
More recently, we got word that another niece, “Caroline”, who lives in
Oregon, would be getting married.
Not only that, she oh so conveniently chose the Labor Day Weekend
for the event. And we
already had plans to visit Oregon, so only needed to adjust the timing a
bit. And find hotel rooms
closer to Albany than
Ashland.
And
it was ever so far off, not until September.
Guess what? “Dates in
Calendar are closer than They Appear to Be.”
Suddenly, it’s September.
(How the heck did it get to be September, all ready?
Wasn’t it just last week that I was getting out of surgery?
Oh. Five months ago?
Really.)
So
“Frankie” and “Rosa” are flying out tomorrow.
“Jeannie” is scrambling to complete as much work as possible.
And I’m making a Trip List.
Of
course, I’m making a Trip List.
That’s how you make sure you don’t forget anything really
important. Like the tickets
(safely holding at the Box Office.)
Or the summer that I packed all light, cotton summer dresses.
And forgot to pack a slip.
And
let’s not forget there’s a Wedding to prepare for.
The gift, which “Jeannie” and I got together, was shipped, so
there’s no forgetting that.
But you can’t wear the same outfit that you would to an outdoor play to
a Wedding. Just “not the
done thing.”
Fortunately we had already planned to rent a minivan, such as we did
last year. We could,
theoretically, fit five adults into my car; but luggage for five,
including Wedding Ensembles, was out of the question.
So
the plan, subject to change without notice, of course (STCWNOC), is:
I’ll meet “Frankie” at the airport tomorrow.
On the way home, we’ll stop at the rental car place, here in
San
Ramon, and get the minivan.
I already have copies of driver’s licenses from everyone except
“Jeannie” and hope to have that by tomorrow morning.
“Frankie” will drive my car home (she had plenty of practice last
spring when I had surgery) and I’ll drive the minivan.
Then it’s off to Oregon on Saturday for a fun-filled week, family
gathering, Wedding and
Shakespeare.
Who could ask for anything more?
Love, as always,
Pete
PS.
Programming Note: No
Letter next week. Won’t be
home.
P.
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