Back from the Brink

There was our trip to Summerfest last Saturday, which started at 1 p.m. and ended out of sheer exhaustion before any of the headliners even hit the stage. There was swimming in the lake the next day, and sunburning my shoulders in odd concentric circles. There was the surge of panic about how much money I have to loan for school in a short period of time. And then there was getting sick, hitting E on the tank and passing out in bed. I still went to work to stay on schedule to finish soon. And I'm better now.

Good week, once I got some juice back. Capped off by attending the premeire of Madison Rep's production of "Carousel," and moving Elissa and Chris to a new and better home. "Carousel" is different -- Rodgers and Hammerstein took the play, which had been a tragedy, and tacked on a cutesy ending where the hero gets redemption, as with all their musicals. So the play reads as either a really compelling tragic tale, or you feel an epic reversal of fortune coming. Instead, it just ends. As Chris suggested, they probably had production deadlines and an angry A&R man demanding a happy ending. No Matter. Shakespeare had to write "Romeo & Juliet" before "Hamlet," and R&H worked their way up to "The Sound of Music." And "Soliloquoy" is a fantastic song.

It was good for me to go. It was nice to wear a suit and tie and worm through polite society as I try to transition my mind from carpentry back to academia. I loved it. Went to the art exhibit on the square this morning. Both of those experiences, despite my balks at material America, just make me want to get rich or marry money. I want to be one of those people who goes to the theatre and one of those people who buys handmade art without taking a second mortgage.

In the meantime, I'm just going to loan out $30,000. Hey, why not?