A Brief Respite

Memorial Day - a day of remembrance, a national holiday, that has become the unofficial start of summer for so many of us. Children are off school, many people are off work, and so many of us have started traditions of picnics, barbeques or backyard gatherings with our friends. It was also a partial day off for me - I worked in my sewing room for a short time Monday morning, then we were off to one such annual party.

My friend Jake has created a fabulous Memorial Day tradition that is known as MEAT FEAST. And it is just what it sounds like, a party with roasted, barbequed, slow-cooked meat as the center of the celebration. Chicken wings, ribs, sausages - these are the appetizers to the main event. And this year, the main event was a whole roast pig!

But before we got to all the meat, there was a little musical, written by Jake's 5-year-old daughter, and performed by some of the finest talent in the Twin Cities. My younger daughter had a part in this musical play, as did I! And in the tradition of backyard plays, we had one quick rehearsal and carried our scripts onstage. It was a charming, trippy story, all from the mind of an incredibly imaginative 5-year-old. you wanna know the secret to get a SRO, full-to-overflowing, incredibly receptive and friendly audience? This. It was a lot of fun, though, and the audience and cast shared a lot of laughs.

While I had my fill of chicken wings and some wonderful veggie-rific side dishes, I had to head back to Bemidji Monday night, and couldn't wait around for the roast pig. My loving husband, however, was more than happy to call me about an hour after I left, just to let me know what I was missing. Thanks alot!! The drive north was surprisingly quick, and I appreciated the long, northern Minnesota twilight as I made my way along the winding back roads through Motley and Ackeley, past Itasca State Park, finally arriving in Bemidji around 11 p.m. Several of the company members were at the American Legion hall, so I joined them for a drink before finally settling in for the night. And so I readied myself for our first rehearsal and readthru of "Biloxi Blues".