Ego Boost

If you're ever feeling low, or wondering if you're worthwhile or not, try belonging to Facebook on your birthday!

As of this writing more than 200 people have wished me a happy birthday on one post and another couple dozen or more on another, some sent personal messages on Facebook, plus all those people who wished me a happy birthday on yesterday's journal entry and individual messages not on a thread that I have lost count of

Thank you ALL!!!  It's quite a humbling experience.  I feel very loved.

I also had texts and phone calls from all of my kids, which is the most special, of course.  Ned was calling with a report about his recent trip to Tokyo.  A good friend had frequent flyer miles, so was able to treat him to the plane fare.  He was there for three days and after he got home posted highlights from the trip on Facebook.  He's such an amazing writer!  It was a real culture experience for him.  His last international experience was going to Jamaica for Christmas in 2015 and the contrast between the Jamaicans and the Japanese was like night and day.  Having spent a formative year in Brasil, Ned is a very huggy person, which the Japanese are not at all.  He was also amused that his host kept telling him not to take photos of such-and-such because it would be rude...Ned was thinking of Japanese tourists in this country with their ubiquitous cameras taking pictures of everything. 

Anyway, it was wonderful hearing about his experiences, and I'm so glad he had the chance to take the trip and renew acquaintance with his friend.

As birthdays go, it was pretty low key.  It was grey and rainy (my favorite weather--thank you, God!) so I just hunkered down, mostly here at the computer.  A problem with the new president is that there is so much to talk about that he is keeping all of the "fake news" TV commentators  busy 24/7, just about.  What with that and newspaper articles posted to Facebook, which link to other news articles and before you know it a couple of hours have passed.

I know Ned told me to turn off all media for the next four years, but it's like a train wreck that is so horrible you can't stop looking at it.

I thought about going to Atria, but by the time I was able to pull myself away from the computer it was 3:30 and too late, really, for the usual visit.

In the evening there was, of course, a show to review.  First we had to get there (to Sacramento).  Ned's sister-in-law had left this note on Facebook:  If you don't really have to go to Sac or Tahoe tonight, don't. Every street leading to I-80 east on-ramp is backed up for miles. And that's just to get ON the freeway. I've never seen it that bad.

Undaunted, we went anyway and it was as bad as she predicted, but we were smart.  Instead of getting in the middle of the slowly moving parking lot that was I-80, we took the frontage road and blissfully sped past all those slowly moving cars.  Until we got to the backup of cars getting onto the freeway.  By that time traffic on the freeway as lightening up a bit and we were stuck motionless, with a long parade of cars ahead of us and nowhere to turn around. on the 2-lane road.  It was 7:30, the show started at 8 and I was sure we'd never get there.

(It was raining too.)

But Walt hung in there and, miraculously we arrived at the theater with more than 5 minutes to spare.

It was Lizzie: The Lizzie Borden Rock Musical, which I figured would be a good companion to the other musical we will see in a few weeks, a musical about the Donner Party.

(Do playwrights and lyricists need to get new material???)

The words "rock musical" made me cringe and I was sure that I would not like it and made sure I had ear plugs with me, but I was surprised to discover that I liked it after all.  It was maybe a bit more "rock" than I would have liked, but the four actresses were wonderful and when they weren't rocking out at full volume, there were some very lovely numbers, including two duets which were absolutely beautiful because of the blend of the two singers' voices.

I realized that I knew nothing of Lizzie Borden but the famous verse

Lizzie Borden took an axe
Gave her mother 40 wacks
When she saw what she had done
She gave her father 41.

I didn't know whether she was jailed or executed or what.  As it turns out, she was acquitted after an hour of jury deliberation.

But I have my work cut out for me today.  Before I write the two reviews, I want to do research on the life of Lizzie Borden, who was apparently sexually abused by her father and had a lesbian relationship with her maid, among other things.

There was a champagne reception after the show and we stopped by briefly.  Walt looked around and said "do you think we are the oldest here?"  ABSOLUTELY!  I caught a glimpse of myself, bent over, padded with my jacket and avoir du poid and wondered if I had "CRITIC" blinking on my forehead.  We were obviously not the intended audience for this show!

It was a nice birthday and Walt is taking me out for dinner tonight for an "official" celebration.