A Few Things.

Winter                                                                        Settling Moon II

Again, snow. Then, warm. John Dowling, an insurance consultant, told us that Coloradans rarely see snow on snow on the roads. That explained much of the daft driving we encountered in the weeks just after we got here. Looked like normal Minnesota conditions to us.

We’ve got an event planned for Valentine’s Day. Appetizers and wine, family and neighbors, folks who helped us get here. Including, of all people, our mortgage consultant. She was terrific. That doesn’t mean everything’s where we want it, but it does mean that we’re feeling at home here on Shadow Mountain.

The cardboard goes away on Wednesday and some boxes get moved up and down. A plumber comes on Thursday to inspect our boiler and gas heaters. We’ve located a primary care doc and have appointments for later in the month.07 10 10_aha

Two showings of the Andover property so far and a realtor’s coffee tomorrow. That property is the last piece of the moving to Colorado puzzle. May it sell soon.

This is a current resident of the woods in Andover. We’ve left Minnesota but she hasn’t.

Take Me Home

Winter                                                                                 Settling Moon II

Kate and I went into Denver to the Curious Theater for a production of Charles Ives Take Me Home by Jessica Dickey. Ives has long been one of my favorite composers and I had a chance to hear his music often when I attended St. Paul Chamber Orchestra concerts.

This is a play for three actors, staged on a minimal set with almost no props. The theater is an old church sanctuary so almost every seat is close to the stage. We had seats in the first row of the balcony.

The play had several memorable moments including one evocation of the aftermath of a father’s death. You realize then, Charles Ives says, that there is no one between you and the top of the sky. At another point near the end a second male character, a devotee of Ives and a violin player, suffers a heart attack. Ives tells him that there is nothing to worry about, he’s dying. Just play through it. This actor, a violinist who plays frequently during the drama, does just that, playing as he dies. Poignant.

Another memorable moment came when the violinist’s daughter, a basketball coach (source of much friction between art loving father and sports loving daughter), speaks to the young girls of her first team in their first game. If you want to succeed, to do your best, you have to dive for the ball. Dive recklessly. You have to play the game unreasonably.

This was a professionally handled piece from beginning to end and made me feel good about the Denver arts scene. Also, the theater was full and it was Superbowl Sunday. We were there for the 2 pm matinee.