I’ve been busy and that means I have a lot to write about and little time to write. Since the last time I wrote I have volunteered at WFUV, Walked 10.6 miles on 13.76 miles, been a good citizen, went to therapy, saw Lucinda Williams, saw Hamilton and ate brunch with Emily and the girls. Whew. There was not a lot of sleep. I’ll have to try and stick to the highlights.
The WFUV member drive started on Friday. I always do the first shift and when it’s the first shift of the entire drive Have to be sure to be there early. The drive starts at 6AM which means getting up at 5 and then walking a mile and a half to the station. That’s the fastest way to get there. I’m only hitting highlights and I’ll be at the station six more times so I’ll move on to being a good citizen.
Back in 2016 many people registered as a Democrat for the first time so they could vote in the presidential primary. To their chagrin many of those discovered that they were too late. Even though the primary is in April the deadline for changing your party affiliation was in October even though that was not well publicized.
At my training for Warren we were told that once again the deadline for changing your party affiliation was October 16. I checked on the Board of Elections Website and there is no mention of this. When you click on voter registration deadlines there is no mention of the presidential primaries. Can you find where it gives any information on the presidential primary? Take a look on your own. Did you look around? Did you find it? There’s a link to a pdf on the right that says 2020 elections with a subheading “presidential primary calendar.” Click on that and search the small print. I could find no mention of the October 16 deadline. I know it’s right as I called the Board to see if that was right.
Then I complained to my state senator and then the Governor. I was supposed to get a call back from the people that run the website they didn’t call. So yesterday I went to George Bodarky, the WFUV news director and discussed it with him. This is a news story. You have to wonder, as this was a well-publicized problem in 2016, that the continued difficulty is deliberate, at the very least its negligent. He is going to investigate.
After volunteering I took the train up to Harrison then walked to the hospital where I get my therapy. Then I walked back to the train station. Then I walked to the WFUV studio to pick up the jacket I left there, grab some dinner, and socialize with friends. I did all three. Then I walked backed home.
A little late Kevin picked me up and we drove to the Capitol Theater in Port Chester to see Lucinda. This was the 20-year anniversary of Car Wheels On A Gravel Road tour. She did the entire album in order. There are amazing number of great songs on the album and no duds. It’s a classic and the performance was great. She gave background for all the songs.
I was partially because I was tired but her encore was too long. People stated leaving during it. But we stayed to the end, and it was worth it. She has so many great songs on other albums. There was one dud in the encore. It reminded me of Tom Lehrer’s Folk Song Army; “I’m against poverty, war, and injustice, not like the rest of you squares.” But the rest was fantastic. Her band rocks. The show started 40-minutes late and was long so I didn’t get home to midnight, that’s a long day.
Today was great. I met Emily, and the girls, Maggie, Cate, and Ellie, and Maggie’s friend Anya, at Friedmans (there is no apostrophe). I’ve never been there but loved their buckwheat banana pancakes and thick-sliced bacon. Emily would have been very disappointed if I didn’t order bacon. Spending time with them was even better than the food. I haven’t seen Emily since July 4th weekend and the girls since Falcon Ridge. Time with that family is always good for my psyche.
I’m going to have to write an entire entry of Hamilton. There’s just so much to say. The short version is that it is now in my pantheon of greatest musicals. I’ve seen scores but the pantheon is Fiddler on the Roof, Sweeney Todd, Hedwig and the Angry Inch, Hadestown, and now Hamilton. Little Shop of Horrors and Come From Away are on the pantheon grounds. We stayed by the stage door to get autographs. I didn’t get any but I got in a few of the pictures. There is proof I was there.
Guess what I’ve been listening to since I sat down at my computer? That’s right, Hamilton. One added bonus, I inherited a computer that Emily brought for me! This one keeps hanging up. It sometimes takes me 15 minutes to start using in when I turn it on. Now I just have to get the energy to set the new one up.
That’s all I have the energy for tonight. I’m back at WFUV for 11 hours tomorrow. I’m going to try and do some writing from the station. I always say that and don’t succeed but there’s always a first time
Wise Madness 