Last night I had a great time seeing Christine Lavin and friends at Urban Stages. Her friends were Julie Gold, Katherine Rondeau. and Karen Jacobsen. It could have been called “Gordon’s Friends, without Gordon.” That’s not quite accurate as I don’t know Karen even though I’ve driven with her many times. Karen is an Aussie and her big break came when she became the Australian Woman’s voice for a GPS. I always had my GPS set for Australian Woman. As I drove both Christine and Julie to and from gigs they heard her in my car too. I miss having a car. I miss being able to see well enough to drive. That will be corrected soon as I made my appointment yesterday to see the ophthalmologist and get my cataracts taken care of.
I got to the theater before doors opened. Somebody recognized me, she said, “Are you the jeopardy guy?” I told her that I was one of them, that Tom Toce (rhymes with Gross) another friend of Chris’s is also a Jeopardy Champ. I then looked at the program and saw that he was producing this show. Two seconds later I heard someone call my name; it was Tom. I thought he heard me say his name but it was just a coincidence.
There was a single seat open in the front row and I took it. The guy next to me said, “Didn’t I just see you someplace? After a little back and forth I discovered that he’s Katherine’s husband so he saw me at John Platt’s On Your Radar. She was a guest last week.
Then somebody called my name from behind. I had to put my glasses on to see who it was, it was Ellen. She said, “Don’t you recognize my voice?” I speak with her often so of course I do, but I find it so disorienting when my glasses are off that I need to put them on to focus. I had them off as I had been looking at my phone.
It was a show in the round, Chris, Julie, Katherine, then Karen; guitar, piano, guitar, piano. Either somebody thought this out or they just got lucky. I’ll give Tom and Chris the credit for it.
Chris started with her Donald Trump song, Turn This Ship Around. She also did that at the Woody’s Children’s show. When a song is timely, you play it. I want to make a playlist of Trump songs, I know a few; if you know a good one let me know. The ones I have already thought of are by Richard Thompson, House of Hamill, and Oliver the Crow.
Julie and Chris did the Jeopardy theme song. When they were finished Chris said that there was a Jeopardy champ in the audience, Tom. Then Tom said that there were two, as I was there. Chris made me stand up and face the crowd. That’s how I get recognized as the Jeopardy guy.
The show was wonderful. When it was over I wanted to say hi to Julie, Chris, and Katherine. I saw Katherine right away. Then Julie came out, I waited for her to stop signing things, and got my hug. I’m all about the hugs. While waiting I saw Marshal. He’s someone that I’m used to seeing all the time but haven’t in a long time now. He didn’t go to NERFA or Falcon Ridge, two places I always saw him. There was still a crowd around Christine so I went to the bathroom. When I came out Chris was gone. I looked out the Window and saw the back of her head walking away. I ran out the door and caught up with her. Life’s about being in the right place at the right time. I had not had dinner and found out that she and friends were going to eat. The friends were Katherine & Dave, Marshal and his friend Ruthie, and Rina, Rena? Reena? Another friend of Chris’s. Everyone who is a friend of Chris is in the Friends of Christine Lavin club and therefore friends. At least that’s how it feels. Like Jack Hardy, Chris brings people together. She does it much less gruffly.
There are few things I enjoy more than going out after a concert with friends. Chris and I had a lot to catch up on, same with Marshal. The conversation was anything but banal. It was like the Algonquin Round Table, but easier to spell.
I almost forgot the food. I could have been jealous because everyone else ordered breakfast food and breakfast for dinner is always fun. But I opted for the Disco Fries, I had never had them before. As a lover of poutine I needed to try their New Jersey cousin. No poutine but I’ll have it again. I love having one dish that’s an entire meal.
The diner was right next to the subway and I heard them announce that the C train was arriving as I went in. I had to wait a bit for the D train but it wasn’t too bad so I was home in 45 minutes. That’s not bad at all.
Before the show I took care of the rest of my medical to do list. I told you I made an appointment for the ophthalmologist; I also made one for genetic testing. My GI wants to check if I have Lynch’s Syndrome, that causes a predisposition to colon polyps. I realized this morning that I forgot one important thing. To discuss the pain in my butt that I suspect is sciatica. It’s not going down the leg which argues against that. I’m sitting on a heating pad now as that seems to help. I say seems to because it could just be coincidence. Things get better on their own all the time and people are too quick to credit any intervening action that was taken. I used to have very active Crohn’s disease. Now there is no sign of inflammation. Since my last incident I started eating bacon far more frequently. Maybe that’s what did it? Of course not. Lots of things have changed since then, not just my bacon consumption. But if I had tried one of the 8000 diets and treatments people have suggested to me that would be quick give them the credit. Maybe I’ll have bacon for my very late breakfast to keep the Crohn’s away. I’ll see how many eggs I have around. I might go for an omelet instead so I won’t be jealous of the people that had one for dinner last night.
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Wise Madness 