A wholly satisfying day: Thomas's, Taylors and my late night


Panera Bread is a dependable place for a decent and reasonably healthy lunch,  I was at their UTC (Saaraota) place yesterday, there to meet my Detroit friends Eddie and Lin Thomas.  They were en route from Kissimmee to Captiva here in Florida.

Eddie is one of the three brothers of my late next door neighbour, Edythe Thomas.  I got to know the Detroit folks when they came to SRQ to visit Edythe in the day of her mental and physical illness, and then again when they came here to sell up the condo.

Of course we had a splendid time over ,lunch.   You know that when time flies, and you spend 105 minutes at a fast food cafe you are enjoying the company even more than the food.


Later in the day I was a P.F. Chang's for dinner with Jonathan and Andi Taylor,  Andi's step-mother "J.R", and St. Boniface parishioner Diana Mott Davidson and her husband Jim.  Like Panera Bread the food at PFC is predictable and reliable.  And just as at lunch we enjoyed lively, spirited and funny conversation.

I did not have so much as a sip of wine as our dinner was a prelude to a visit to Sarasota's  Player's Theatre and the last thing I wanted to do was to fall asleep at the show.  (True confession time -  I snoozed at my oldest sister's Church in Bristol UK, and that was a a morning service.  Ne'er mind, my brother-in-law also dozed off that morning!)

 The Taylors had gathered us so that we attend a musical called "BIG FISH".

February 15 – March 5, 2017 (Theatre Promo)

Steeped in the traditional wholesomeness of Rodgers and Hammerstein, this fairytale musical is adventurous, romantic and remarkably hip for any audience that loves musicals. “Big Fish” is an emotionally charged musical with music and lyrics by Andrew Lippa and a book by John August. Based on the 1998 Novel and the 2003 Tim Burton Film, the show revolves around the relationship between traveling salesman Edward Bloom and his estranged adult son, Will, who is looking to connect with the truths behind his father’s tall tales. Variety called it “A wholly satisfying show; meaningful, emotional, imaginative and engaging”.



The star of the show as far as we were concerned was the Taylor's younger son Jacob (Jake).  He is a freshman at Sarasota's New College, and was making his Theatre debut.  He didn't try out, rather he was recruited for the show because he can sing, he can dance, and he is an acrobat.  He is an all round great young man, with a wicked sense of humour.  No wonder Jonathan and Andi came down from Cape Cod to bask in the skill and talent of their youngest.

 They got teary eyed, and I was a bit misty when I remembered that Jake was just eight years old when first we met,

 Better than the show was the meet and greet with Jake afterwards.  He emerged from the dressing room area with eyes shining, face glowing, and a grin from ear to ear.  What a wonderful sight.  Mom, Dad, Grandma JR, one of Jake's High School pals and I rejoiced to see a young man fully alive!

 (And he had come to the Theatre directly from a (Friday!) 5:00 - 6:30 p,m. Math Class at New College).


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Shoe insults

Last year I consulted with a local podiatrist: Dr. Robert F Herbold Jr. D.P.M. 4717 Swift Rd., Sarasota , FL – 34231  because I was being bothered with a couple of bunions  (yes I am at that age). I was very impressed with this Doctor.  He agreed that I had bunions, but he ventured that it was much too soon for surgery. (Now there’s a first). Instead he recommended some “arch supports” to relieve the tension for my feet, a tension which was exacerbating the bunions. What’s more -  he told me that he sells these arch supports at the miserly sum of $2.50 each (about 1/5 of the price in the local pharmacies). He is an honest man, and I recommend him to anyone with foot problems. So, a couple of weeks ago, having purchased some new walking shoes, I knew that I needed to buy a couple of new arch supports I took myself to his office. Once there, my mind went blank. I wanted to ask his front desk Clerk if I could buy some “shoe inserts” , as I could not rem...
Read more

It began in Bristol U.K. "A man dies" and "Jesus Christ Superstar"

Image
I well remember the swirling controversy in Bristol, U.K. when a (Presbyterian) Minister the Revd, Earnest Marviin created a ":Rock Opera", called "A Man Dies"  in and for his congregation in the Lockleaze area of Bristol, U.K. Earnest Mrvin I was a sixteen years old member of the Plymouth Brethren Church back in those days, so I most likely disapproved of "A Man Dies" .  We, (the Plymouth Brethren),  disapproved of everything! ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I had forgotten all about "A Man Dies" until earlier today when saw these pictures on the "Bristol, Then and Now"  Facebook page.   St. James Presbyterian Church, Lockleaze, Bristol  The Bristol Then and Now page includes the following commentary: Lockleaze, Bristol  -  'Jesus Christ Superstar' began at St.James (Presbyterian) Chur...
Read more

The background, the couple, my friends, the wedding ceremony, the Shaykh, the Priest,

Image
The background   I have known the Keller/Bonsey family since 2000 when I became the Rector at St. James's, Cambridge, MA. They (Elisabeth Keller and the Revd. Steven Bonsey with their four children Noah, Sam, Josiah and Annie) had come back to Cambridge from Hawaii where Steve had been the Rector of an Episcopal parish. Steve had just been appointed as a Chaplain at Tufts University (no Sunday morning duties) so the entire family was able to enrich our common life at St. James's - which they did with great love and joy. I count them as friends and have stayed in touch with them since my retirement.  Noah, the oldest son is eloquent in Arabic (he spent a year in Damascus when Syria was a safe place).  He has developed a super career as an analyst of social media in the near East.    Noah worked in Tampa for a while a few years ago, so he and I were a...
Read more