Friends We've Never Met

The weird thing about meeting internet friends for the first time is that you aren't really meeting them for the first time.  You've actually been a part of each other's lives for years, but you've just never been in the same place at the same time before.

Today the delightful Mary Z (who writes "Z's World") and her husband John breezed through town.  They had flown in to meet John's sister Ann and her husband Al, driving north to where they were going to meet other family members for a week's vacation.

As they would be passing right through Woodland, which is 10 miles from Davis, and as they would be there at noon, she suggested we get together for lunch.  I chose Paco's Mexican restaurant because I knew it was very large, not usually very busy, a unique setting (as it used to be an old bank), and the food was good.

Perfect choice.  And perfect timing.  We arrived within 5 minutes of each other and it was like we had always known each other, as it usually is with these meetings after so many internet years as friends.  The reason we have become friends became clear when I heard her order her lunch:  chile relleno, with black beans, and salad with blue cheese dressing.  Water "and lots of it" as her beverage.  It was exactly what I had planned to order, down to the "lots of it" for the water.  

She's wearing that colorful scarf (her one big purchase in Cannes...a whole 4 Euros, John says) at a rakish angle because she had a fall on August 1 and broke the bone just below the head of the humerus.  She has a metal plate and screws in har arm, and the arm is in a sling, nicely camouflaged by the scarf.

We chatted away like we'd just seen each other yesterday, about dogs and trips and all sorts of things.  She excitedly showed me her new iPad and the things she is learning on it.  The hour just flew by and all too soon it was time to say goodbye and send them on their way.

What a delightful lunch (and thanks, John, for treating us!)

In the evening we went back to Woodland for the concert of a young man named Spencer Micetich.  It was his senior concert of a few classical, but mostly musical theater pieces, some with a little help from his friends.  He has just graduated from high school and will be entering college in So. California.

I've never met him, though I interviewed him once on the phone.   I first heard of him when he was nominated for an Elly Award -- that's the Sacramento equivalent of the Tonys -- for his performances as Jean Valjean in the Woodland Opera House young people's production of Les Miserables.

It is the policy of the Davis Enterprise not to review young people's theater for all sorts of reasons, mostly having to do with uneven performances and stage mothers.  So I had not gone to see this production, though people told me it was wonderful.

I don't remember if I interviewed him after he was nominated or after he won -- I think it was after he was nominated.  I found him a very soft-spoken, self-effacing, pleasant young man.  Everyone told me that he was a nice as he sounded in the interview.  I was sorry I had missed his performance.

I actually saw him in an adult production of South Pacific, where he played Lt. Cable, the young man who falls in love with Bloody Mary's daughter.  In my review, I wrote this about his performance:

Micetich is a marvel. This young actor is only a senior in high school, yet he has a maturity far beyond his years and has already won an Elly for his portrayal of Jean Valjean in the Young People’s production of "Les Miserables." But here he is playing against an adult cast and holds his own beautifully.

When I saw he was giving this concert, I wanted to go and be supportive, though he won't know I was there, since this kind of thing doesn't get reviewed.  But I was able to hear him sing "Bring Him Home" from Les Mis and it's obvious why he won the Elly.  It was spine tingling.

I don't know what's ahead for young Micetich, but he has the potential to compete with the big boys and I hope that some day I will see him in a big role and remember when I didn't review him in Les Miserables because I didn't "do" young people's theater.  And feel I really missed something special.