Chowing Down and Games

Here for a brief visit were UMD Summer Resident alums, Larry and Leslie Chlebeck to refresh their not-too-distant memories and share Oakland B's potluck. Leslie won the card game (not shown).

Grandma's Marathon

We've been having a spate of cold foggy weather.
I feel we're overdue for the beautiful weather we all expect.
The weather, however, was just what the runners needed to to break records in yesterday's Grandma's Marathon.

And The Fun Goes On

One of our biggest events is Grandma's Marathon. We have volunteered for it each of the past eleven years.

One Reason For Summering In Duluth

Let The Fun Begin

After 2,084 miles, we reached our destination ... "summer camp for seniors" at The University of Minnesota Duluth. We stopped-over with 6 Evergreeners -- one for 2 nights. For the most part our
drive was blessedly uneventful.
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City Walk

                Today's final walk before summer couldn't have had
                              more beautiful weather.

A Movie and a Play

We attended a pre-screening of the Disney movie, Million Dollar Arm Thursday night. It's about a sports agent staging an unconventional recruitment strategy to get talented Indian cricket players to play Major League Baseball. It is a highly rated and entertaining feel-good movie. I wouldn't call it a must-see, but at least, it has acceptable language and no shootings, explosions, or car crashes.
Wednesday, at Palm Beach Dramaworks, we worked the pre opening production of Tryst by Karoline Leach. It is a very engaging "romantic psychological thriller." The cast consists of only one woman and one man. The actors are excellent, as we have come to expect, but the acoustics seem to be a problem. Even though we we were seated in row A, Jane and I both missed a great deal of the dialog.
Friday morning we went to the grand opening of Trader Joe's -- What a crowd!

Tonight we celebrated Pat Barnes' and Serena Rinker's birthdays with a supper and then Denise LaCroix and Pat Ruggieri came over for games.

Kravis Volunteer Salute

Last night, I attended the annual Kravis Volunteer Salute when Jane was away visiting her daughter, Kelly, in California. Here I am with Denise LaCroix and Serena Rinker.

"Christ Is Risen."

Happy Easter! The stone is rolled away. Everyone's in church, Easter anthem, thrilling special music, arrays of lilies, new duds, colored eggs, chocolate bunnies, ham -- all fond but fading memories for this heathen. After biting the ears off the chocolate bunny, what's left? Eating all the rest -- and remorse.
Only four of us showed up on this beautiful morning for the monthly City Walk.

Fear Of My Autumn Years

There's been a major shift in my feelings. For most of my life I've felt hopeful about the future, but lately, I've been feeling depressed. I thought it might be related to my recent stubbornly lingering cold. But now, with my physical health restored, I've been dwelling more on my thoughts of a grim future. I'm sensing diminishing cognitive abilities as well as a decline of vigor. When I look at old family photos, I feel sad because, with the recent passing of my sister, my family is all gone and I have no one to share or ask about those old memories. I have no friends with which to share my feelings because I've failed to cultivate close friendships. I think about my near future when I'll be unable to drive or manage my affairs or have anyone with whom to share my interests. I'm beginning to understand that ultimately all that exists is only temporary so nothing really matters.

Happy Birthday, Jane

Last night’s performance of Evita at the Kravis, I thought, was excellent. I recommend it. I took Jane to the airport this morning at 5:15 so it was a pretty short night. She’ll be in California visiting her daughter until April 22. Jane’s birthday is April 10 and her daughter’s is April 20.

More Movie Comments

Wednesday, we finally got around to hosting our sickness-delayed Saint Patrick's Day dinner. We enjoyed our guests, the Fishers and the Dowdys. Yesterday at The Society of the Four Arts, we viewed The Way, a movie with unrealized potential about walking the Camino de Santiago in Spain. Both Jane and I had hoped for more. I found it contrived and without sympathetic characters  or a compelling story. Tuesday afternoon at The Kravis we attended the Ella Fitzgerald Tribute with the Smithsonian Jazz Masterworks Orchestra featuring vocalist Delores King Williams. It was very well done but not thrilling for me. Later that evening we viewed the film, The Grand Budapest Hotel. It was well reviewed and I liked it. It’s a campy farce I would recommend but don’t worry if you miss it.

Both Jane and I have been sick with bad colds lasting multiple weeks with persistent miserable coughs. We haven't felt like doing anything. In spite of that, we dragged ourselves out of bed to see a few things. Jane had to miss the terrific Gershwin music concert at Kravis called Here To Stay. We got to enjoy Neil Berg's 104 Years of Broadway and Pink Martini -- both terrific. This week Palm Beach Dramaworks' production of Dividing The Estate opened and we highly recommend that. Tonight Pat Barnes hosted Dining Out at Nana's Diner.

Captain Phillips

This week, Jane and I finally got around to viewing Captain Phillips. They showed it at the fitness center where we've recently begun exercising.  The story is based on true events and even though we knew the outcome, we found it to be a very engaging thriller.  In that sense, I compare it to Argo, another real-life-event movie which had similar tension. Tom Hanks' performance was excellent. I highly recommend this film.

From Disappointment to Ecstasy

I was disappointed with singer, Roslyn Kind’s performance Monday at the Kravis. She would have been better suited to a more intimate venue. Her vocal style was that of her big sister, Barbra Streisand, and not one I enjoy for more than a few minutes.  I felt sorry for her seeming discomfort and was eager for the ordeal to end. In contrast was our delight the next evening with the wonderful program and thrilling performance of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra with Leonard Slatkin, conductor and Olga Kern, piano. The audience reception was about as good as it gets. Then last night we were very lucky to hear Audra McDonald’s concert. It was a make-up for a month earlier when she canceled because of illness. We loved it and so, it seemed, did everyone. 

          We enjoyed Alan Collins' hike this morning in
                Winding Waters Natural Area.

           This afternoon we dined out at Rosalita's

    On this beautiful Sunday morning we had thirteen
    on today's City Walk.

Movie and More

Yesterday, we enjoyed War Horse at the Kravis. I was most impressed with the staging and recommend it. We've had so much going on lately with the Palm Beach Pop's Tribute to Bob Lappin, Everglades Day, Mandy Patinkin, Fine Art Fair, Christopher O'Riley, and I'm working on our income tax every spare moment. I can hardly wait for things to slow down.
I loved August: Osage County. It's a wonderfully crafted movie -- compelling, engaging, with terrific acting. This is a prize winner. I highly recommend this movie to everyone with the caution that the language will be offensive to some.