Adding to the Mix in Packrat

… Well, I can no longer say I’m 50. I had a birthday yesterday. I took the day off and sat around doing absolutely nothing, which actually I thoroughly enjoyed and thought, as I went to bed, I’d like another day like that.

My birthday dinner had been the day before since that was on the weekend - a very busy weekend with other activities, including my granddaughter’s birthday dinner, on the same day; people came early and stayed late, with the intention of eating just a little because they would either come full from one activity or would be going to my granddaughter’s party.

I had said no presents, but no one listened. I’m glad - I’ve been mad to see “Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil” ever since we went to Savannah last year for my birthday, and I’ve been unable to find a copy to rent or buy. One of my gifts was a copy of the movie, which made me cry out and scare my niece. It was fun to watch and remember being in the places shown; I’ve been remembering what I did “this time last year”.

… I need time off. It’s simple, but it occurred to me that I don’t need to go anywhere to take time off. We’ve been planning a long weekend in a tourist spot only a few hours away, taking my aunt, so I don’t want to take time off when I know I’ll want time for that.

… S and I are going to see Hal Holbrook in his play, Mark Twain Tonight! later this week. I’ve seen the production before, driving two hours one way to sit in the nosebleed section, being a fan of Mark Twain, and I really liked it.

When on our Chautauqua tour, one of the guys who worked for a theater told us about the contracts the acts have; they present what they want, and the venue decides whether or not they can produce it. Hal Holbrook wants a restaurant open after he finishes, and he has a specially made podium for his show. He’s not as tall as Mark Twain so his special podium gives him the illusion that he is.

I felt “in the know”. I’m easily amused.

I asked S, “Do you like Mark Twain?” He replied, “I don’t know him.” I said, “I don’t know him, either, but at one point I wanted to be him!”

… It was a Mark Twain week. A federal agency called to talk about materials found at a lake named after him, and FATE magazine’s latest issue featured an article by him that discussed telepathy.

… He loved cats.

… When my colleague talked about the contracts, he mentioned that his assistant had to buy underwear for one actress.

“What?!” I bellowed. “Why didn’t I know any of this? Why isn’t that in our contract? Why am I buying my own underwear?”

Another performer on the tour laughed, “Because we have the bare bones contract!”

The executive director of the humanities office who sponsored our tour took me to the Mark Twain boyhood home, where I told him about the play and the contracts; he said, “I remember that a restaurant stayed open for you.”

… We had budget meetings last week. When I went in for mine, I still didn’t know my funding source (due to a political mess between two other departments). I said to our business committee, “I just want to say for the record that my birthday is Monday, and it would be a really nice present if you would fund my program.”

… I’m totally worthless today.