New England 2

June 23 - 30, 2022

Drove the motorhome up to Raymond, Maine after I got someone to cover my Wednesday shift at Tanglewood. Wind had damaged the table umbrella, so we got a new one. 

We bought a Welcome sign from fellow-artist in Congress, AZ,  Tom Kern 

Charlotte (winter renter of my condo in Florida) and Shotsie (labradoodle) came for a visit as their summer home happens to be Raymond, Maine. We did not know each other before she started renting 5 years ago. A very small world we live in.

Shannon and the boys arrived the next day with the girls, Maci and Sky.

Rich and Maci - how she’s grown

A sad story about the family that started the comfort dog project for school kids that Shannon is part of - they (Kohlenbergers) sold their house and were renting for a short period of time in Becket, a nearby town. The house caught on fire and burned all of their belongings, including 1 eleven year old male and 3 breeding poodles! Thankfully none of the humans were hurt...

The weather was just beautiful with sunny, breezy days for swimming, sea-doing, paddle boarding, hammock swinging, crocheting and lobster eating.

Hammock city! That’s me in the lower left corner - tough selfie! 

Jake and Zach were happy to go up on the roofs to brush off the vast amount of pine needles. Time for the youthful generation to take on some of these duties!

A good time was had by all!

 

Back in the Berkshires, we stopped to check out River Dale Market and Deli in Lenoxdale and decided to have a delicious sandwich there. At least a dozen laborers came in to order lunch-to-go while we were there. Wishing the owners well... 

Attended an engagement party on Onota Lake Pavilion. It was great to meet up with so many relatives and friends that I haven’t seen in ages. 

Rob Zerbato and Melissa Govoni

 

7/2/2022, Saturday  

Zach has COVID! The rest of the family got it in January, but not Zach. He was pretty sick for a day, but bounced back the next day and told me he is ALL better. 

 

James Taylor performed at Tanglewood on July 3 and 4 to a sold out crowd. He lives in Lenox and is always beholden to the Box Office staff. He gifted us with JT T-shirts and this gorgeous bouquet...

July 10, 2022, Sunday

Rich knew that his family was gathering for this special 80th birthday! What he didn’t know is that Nora invited cousins, David and MaryEllen, that he had not seen in some time. Their fathers were all brothers. 

Elaine (MaryEllen’s cousin of twin mothers and waitress at the Silver Diner back in the day) arrived like a burst of energy - she recently had a double lung transplant and relishes every moment of her second wind of life! 

Grandkids 

The Nora’s toasting 


Make your own Sunday - Colomb style

To top it off, Nora put together a slide show of memories through pictures that her grandmother turned over to her in a shoebox for safekeeping. A lot of memories were shared that day…

July 17, 2022, Sunday  

Happy birthday to Lyn, Perry’s wife ❤️

It wasn’t easy keeping the SURPRISE birthday party I had planned a secret. We had been sprucing the place up for a while now without raising suspicion, but when I was bringing in food to prepare for 24 people, including his children and grandchildren from Glens Falls, NY, I had to say something. So I suggested that since we had cleaned out the cabana, dug up sod around the pool cement, power washed the pool cement padding, the deck and the stockade fence, painted the front of the fence (courtesy of Driscoll (my son, Randy) and Edwards (Sean) Painting Company, maybe we should have my family over for a cookout. He bought right into that and at least I could now talk out loud about the million details racing through my head. I’m not a party planner, nor do I cook for the masses like my sisters (Cindy and Leslie) do, so they were being peppered with texts from me seeking menu suggestions and recipes. Im surprised they didn’t block my number! 

 

There was no mention of a birthday celebration so when my family and birthday balloons arrived, he was surprised. The Gangs All Here! Fifteen minutes later, his family came in through the gate where we were all seated in the shade. See the video in the body of the email to see his reaction… After we ate, Terri and Jim FaceTimed in to join the party for a digital introduction to everyone. Now The Gangs All Here! This was the first time our families were together 💕

 

 

New England 2

June 13, 2022, Monday

I was awarded a Caregiver Grant from Road Scholar for a 500 word essay regarding my husband’s passing. The trip was originally scheduled for April 20, 2020 - just about the time Broadway went dark due to Covid 19. Twenty six months later, I am fortunate enough to have found the ideal travel companion to go with me, Nora (Rich’s 19 year old granddaughter), who loves the theater and has participated in school theater projects. We boarded an Amtrak train Monday afternoon full of anticipation; checked into the Hampton Inn Manhattan; walked to an Irish Pub for a lovely dinner with our group of 21 people from across the country. 

June 14, 2022, Tuesday 

We did a walking tour of the theater district around Times Square with our guide, Stephen Cole, ending in Bryant Park where we were provided a box lunch of our choice to enjoy under the shade trees. I cannot possibly recall all of the historic tidbits Stephen shared with us, but I took lots of pictures: 

Shubert Theater

The famous Shubert brothers who built up the theater district did not talk to each other for decades - it’s unclear why. Their offices were across the street from one another and they would communicate with messengers running across the street to deliver messages …the organization now owns 17 theaters; Nederlander owns 9 theaters; and Jujamcyn owns 5.

The Paramount Theater is being renovated and is being lifted inch by inch to another level to create retail space on the street level.

Got caught up with the paparazzi waiting outside of the Today Show to see Justin Bieber’s wife exit and hop in a car. I feel bad for his devastating condition. 

That evening we took the subway to Lincoln Center to see Brian Watkins’ off-Broadway play, Epiphany. 

This play provoked a lot of discussion about what it was really trying to convey. 

While on the subway during rush hour, my iPhone 11 was lifted out of my purse. I was the last one to board the back of the car and had been so careful to keep my hand over the phone top - until the train lurched forward when it started and I reached for the pole with both hands. Moments later when I reached for my phone to take a picture of the sea of people on that car, there was no phone. There were two seedy gentlemen behind me who were already aboard and I turned to look at them. They were looking down…  So what was I to say? Did you take my phone? I told Nora and when we got off the train she used her phone to put mine on “phone lost” mode which closes everything down so no one can access it. When I called Apple Care to tell them what happened, they assured me that my data (my life) was safe! Thank you, Nora! Then what does the thief gain from this? He sells it on the internet and when the buyer gets it, they basically get a paper weight that looks like an iPhone with no way of tracking it back to the crook. 

 

June 15, 2022, Wednesday 

Stephen Cole talked about "Writing for Broadway."  He is an internationally produced, published and recorded writer. He has published three books, including “That Book About That Girl,” the unofficial companion to the Marlo Thomas sitcom from the 1960’s. He was a delightful host with his humor and inside stories he had to tell. The writer has the final say on changes and suggestions to the performance they wrote. 

 

Professor Daniel Eagan has degrees in music theory from St. Olaf, the Eastman School of Music and Yale, where he is on faculty. He has appeared as soloist or ensemble singer with the New York Philharmonic Opera and was in the permanent ensemble at New York City Opera. He is very good at interviewing and putting thought provoking questions to us as well. He interviewed Emmy Award winning Annette Jolles about “Directing for the Theater.” She has coordinated a visit from the Pope, directed 9/11 Memorial from Ground Zero, as well as rocker-tape parades for NY Giants, NY Yankees, World Cup winner Soccer Team. She was the first woman director on Broadway and also teaches at Yale...  

 

Directing:

-pick the piece

-page to stage

-hire Intimacy coach

-prepping can take 5-10 years

     Learn it

     Set

     Costumes

     Casting

     Scheduling

 

Dan then interviewed Nicole Tinger, Manager of Play Development at Roundabout Theater Company, about "Not-for-Profit Theater in NYC."

 

Sardi’s for a delicious lunch…

We then saw a Matinee Performance of Martin McDonough's dark comedy, The Hangmen, which also initiated a lively discussion after the fact. 

The whole gang of us!

 

After that Nora and I went to the TKTS Discount Booth in Times Square and got tickets for that evening to Beetlejuice, a fantasy comedy. The set, lighting and choreography were remarkable! 

Walked to the AT&T store to replace my phone with iPhone 12 after paying off the balance owed on the stolen phone. I took out insurance on this one. I had taken out Trip Insurance and will see if I get anything from that. Almost 24 hours without a phone is terrifying. Thankfully, ALL of my data, apps, contacts, pictures, etc. were in the iCloud so easily moved to the new phone. 

Dinner is on our own tonight so we (with the help of Nora’s mom, Nora) found a nearby Spanish restaurant, Boqueria, which was absolutely delicious. 

June 16, 2022, Thursday 

Dan Egan interviewed Christopher Sieber who came to our hotel before his performance that night in Company. Actors do eight shows each week (2 matinées and 6 evenings) an especially rigorous schedule after being nominated for a Tony because you are being pulled in different directions.

Dinner at a different Irish Pub

Then the crème de la crème…

Stephen Sondheim’s Company was nominated 7 times last week at the Tony Awards! They claimed 5 of them which was so perfect for our trip. To name a few of the cast: Katrina Lenk (Ozark’s biopharmaceutical liaison, Claire Shaw), Patti LuPone (Tony winner), Matt Doyle (Tony winner), Christopher Sieber (talked with our group at hotel before the show). This was a fantastic show and you can watch snippets of it on PBS Great Performances. 

 

June 17, 2022, Friday  

Wrapped it up with Stephen in the morning!

Other Things I learned:

• Off Broadway (less than 500 seats), Broadway (500 seats or more), Black Box theaters (less than 63 seats)
• Understudies are a crucial part in casting with the number of illnesses and Covid (e.g., Hugh Jackman in Music Man)
• A BOOK musical usually comes in three parts: the book (which means script, where the dialogue, and drama is contained); the music (arranged for various instruments within a band or orchestra); the lyrics (where the words to the songs are written underneath a piano part)

 I highly recommend Road Scholar trips - the meals, hotel, shows were all excellent - well worth the price.

New England 2

June 1, 2022, Wednesday

 

Colchester, VT 

Went to deliver a piece of art to MaryAnne and Larry Waters for their new home in South Carolina. MaryAnne was the first babysitter Rich had for his kids. They served us a delicious dinner and the stories told were many. Oh, and delicious homemade berry rhubarb pie a la mode to top it off!

MaryAnne took us downstairs to see her quilting room - WOW! 

When her great aunt passed, she left a shopping bag full of handkerchiefs which MaaryAnne knew she could use - she made these adorable dresses to incorporate into a quilt.

We decided to take the ferry across Lake Champlain to Plattsburgh. The only other ferry I rode was to Martha’s Vineyard to visit Drew Golaski decades ago, so this was neat to do again.

This allowed us the pleasure of visiting Rich’s daughter Nora who was tenting on Lake George at Rogers Rock State Park. Perry and his family had also been there the week prior.

AND to top it off, Kevin Gilday is managing that park with his "new girl”, Coda - a beautiful young Golden retriever who I forgot to capture in a picture. But here’s Kevin doing his job...

Tanglewood

Since the hip replacement is not happening this summer, I will be working in the box office at Tanglewood again - making some gas money for the upcoming travels. Ringo, our first contemporary show, had to cancel due to 2 band members testing positive for COVID! 

 

Maci, white Standard Poodle

My daughter, Shannon, is a Guidance Counselor, and has acquired a comfort dog to serve in the Lee Middle School. Maci is a white Standard Poodle that will live with her family and come to school with her. There will be 10 training sessions over the summer to prepare her for school in the Fall. This is a wonderful program to help children cope with stress and the daily grind. She has already visited Mimi (me) and is as sweet and cuddly as can be. The boys are ecstatic to have her. 

2nd Birthday Party

My sister, Leslie’s, grandson turned 2 already - it was our first time meeting him due to COVID…

High School Graduation 2022

Nick Zanin, Debbie's grandson, graduated from Monument HS and will be playing for the Springfield PIC Hockey team for a year and then off to college. 

Hava Methe, Paula’s granddaughter, graduated from Miss Hall’s School and is heading for Penn State this fall. 

I am doing a 2 week blog this time because the 2nd half of the month will include my trip to NYC to go “Behind the Velvet Curtain” with Nora (Rich’s granddaughter)…. Stay tuned!