Joanie, Shama, Jon and I all got season tickets to The House Theater this year.  As we waited for the first show, Dave DaVinci Saves The Universe, Joanie suggested we play a game where we all guess random, but realistic things that might appear in the show and then see if we were correct.

Joanie guessed there would be a costume malfunction.  Sure enough, in the second act, one of Arcturus’ foam claws broke off and slid across the stage, even provoking an ad-libbed line.  A costume malfunction if ever I saw one.  Joanie also guessed that this game would make it onto my website… so… more points for her.

Jon guessed there would be a murder on stage.  It can be argued whether or not it was a murder — it’s a complicated show — but we agreed it was acceptable.

Shama guessed there would be an elaborate system of ropes and pulleys, and when the robot, T.H., gets hooked into the ship’s computer using several retractable ropes, we were pretty sure they were connected to pulleys.

I guessed there would be a hat with a feather in it.  There was not.

(Photo of T.H. and Arcturus courtesy of The House Theatre.)

I’ll be venturing outside of Chicago and playing with my brother Aric and about 25 of my closest relatives in Marshall, NC the Friday after Thanksgiving.

I went to The Pancake House this morning with the brothers when the discussion turned to jazz flute… again.  Aric went to the Chicago Bluegrass and Blues festival and endured an especially long, smooth, jazz flute solo.  He claimed that flutes don’t really have a place outside of orchestral music (especially at a bluegrass festival) and I suggested that Jethro Tull might be a possible exception.  In the course of my argument,  I may have struck an Ian Anderson pose.

As we were getting ready to leave, a middle-aged lady came up to me and asked, “Do you really like old music like Jethro Tull?”  I didn’t know how to respond.  Then she added, “I saw you imitating him,” and I really didn’t know how to respond.  

When I saw this marquee in Blue Island, my first thought was, “I can’t believe that theater is showing Little GIants.”  Then I realized that perhaps Little Giants was the last movie the theater showed before it closed… in 1994… when Little Giants came out.

I tried calling the number.  No one answered.

I’m glad this election is over.  I guess to me there are a million ways to make the world a better place and getting a particular politican elected is low on that list. So it was nice, on election night, to see something truly good happen.  

At the restaurant where Shama works there is a dishwasher named Francis and a server named Dave.  During the colder months Dave wears a navy-blue peacoat to work and hangs it on the coat rack. Many nights, when it’s time to go, Francis jokingly puts on Dave’s coat and pretends to leave before trading it out for his own ratty coat.

Last night, when Francis was getting ready to go, Dave (and the rest of the staff) surprised him with a peacoat of his own.  

As we were leaving, Shama told Dave he’s a good man.

Dave: Don’t go spreading that around.
Shama: Don’t worry, I’ll leave the spreading around to you.
Dave: They already know all about that at the Montrose Clinic. 

I don’t know if he was kidding or not (about telling this story — or the “spreading around”) so I changed the names.  But gosh darnit if that didn’t make my day.

I don’t know what I ate this weekend, but last night something in my body pulled the fire alarm and triggered a full-scale evacuation through all available exits.  

I feel much better now.

I threw together a last minute Halloween costume.  Can you guess who I was from the silhouette?

(more…)