Look for the blonde headed young man in the Green Shirt..... ole number 5!
Saturday, February 02, 2008
Jake's project in Ft. Worth... it is now 1:45pm on Sat. and he left home at 6am Friday... no sleep and lots of miles.. to get'er done...
he just called Trisha and is about 200 miles away..
big grasshopper lookin thing is what we put on...each piece is 45 feet long...so was 90 all togetherFriday, February 01, 2008
Jake in Ft. Worth on location... here is photo he sent
Fw: From Jake... this semi van is hanging off overpass in Denton... wow... they are on way to rig in Ft. Worth to do repairs at 1pm.
Thursday, January 31, 2008
DID YOU KNOW?
DID YOU KNOW?
Peel a banana from the bottom and you won't have to pick the little
"stringy things" off of it. That's how the primates do it.
Take your bananas apart when you get home from the store. If you leave
them connected at the stem, they ripen faster.
Store your opened chunks of cheese in aluminum foil. It will stay fresh
much longer and not mold!
Peppers with 3 bumps on the bottom are sweeter and better for eating.
Peppers with 4 bumps on the bottom are firmer and better for cooking.
Add a teaspoon of water when frying ground beef. It will help pull the
grease away from the meat while cooking.
To really make scrambled eggs or omelets rich add a couple of spoonfuls of
sour cream, cream cheese, or heavy cream in and then beat them up.
For a cool brownie treat, make brownies as directed. Melt Andes mints in
double broiler and pour over warm brownies. Let set for a wonderful minty
frosting.
Add garlic immediately to a recipe if you want a light taste of garlic and
at the end of the recipe if your want a stronger taste of garlic.
Leftover snickers bars from Halloween make a delicious dessert. Simple
chop them up with the food chopper. Peel, core and slice a few apples.
Place them in a baking dish and sprinkle the chopped candy bars over the
apples. Bake at 350 for 15 minutes!!! Serve alone or with vanilla ice
cream.
1. Reheat Pizza
Heat up leftover pizza in a nonstick skillet on top of the stove, set heat
to med-low and heat till warm. This keeps the crust crispy. No soggy micro
pizza. I saw this on the cooking channel and it really works.
2. Easy Deviled Eggs
Put cooked egg yolks in a zip lock bag. Seal, mash till they are all
broken up. Add remainder of ingredients, reseal, keep mashing it up mixing
thoroughly, cut the tip of the baggy, squeeze mixture into egg. Just
throw bag away when done easy clean up.
3. Expanding Frosting
When you buy a container of cake frosting from the store, whip it with
your mixer for a few minutes. You can double it in size. You get to frost
more cake/cupcakes with the same amount. You also eat less sugar and
calories per serving.
4. Reheating Refrigerated Bread
To warm biscuits, pancakes, or muffins that were refrigerated, place them
in a microwave with a cup of water. The increased moisture will keep the
food moist and help it reheat faster.
5. Newspaper Weeds Away
Start putting in your plants, work the nutrients in your soil. Wet
newspapers put layers around the plants overlapping as you go cover with
mulch and forget about weeds. Weeds will get through some gardening
plastic they will not get through wet newspapers.
6. Broken Glass
Use a wet cotton ball or Q-tip to pick up the small shards of glass you
can't see easily.
7. No More Mosquitoes
Place a dryer sheet in your pocket. It will keep the mosquitoes away.
8. Squirrel Away!
To keep squirrels from eating your plants sprinkle your plants with
cayenne pepper. The cayenne pepper doesn't hurt the plant and the
squirrels won't come near it.
9. Flexible Vacuum
To get something out of a heat register or under the fridge add an empty
paper towel roll or empty gift wrap roll to your vacuum. It can be bent or
flattened to get in narrow openings.
10. Reducing Static Cling
Pin a small safety pin to the seam of your slip and you will not have a
clingy skirt or dress. Same thing works with slacks that cling when
wearing panty hose. Place pin in seam of slacks and -- ta da! -- static
is gone.
11. Measuring Cups
Before you pour sticky substances into a measuring cup, fill with hot
water. Dump out the hot water, but don't dry cup. Next, add your
ingredient, such as peanut butter, and watch how easily it comes right
out.
12. Foggy Windshield?
Hate foggy windshields? Buy a chalkboard eraser and keep it in the glove
box of your car. When the windows fog, rub with the eraser! Works better
than a cloth!
13. Reopening Envelope
If you seal an envelope and then realize you forgot to include something
inside , just place your sealed envelope in the freezer for an hour or
two. Viola! It unseals easily.
14. Conditioner
Use your hair conditioner to shave your legs. It's a lot cheaper than
shaving cream and leaves your legs really smooth. It's also a great way to
use up the conditioner you bought but didn't like when you tried it in
your hair...
15. Goodbye Fruit Flies
To get rid of pesky fruit flies, take a small glass fill it 1/2" with
Apple Cider Vinegar and 2 drops of dish washing liquid, mix well. You will
find those flies drawn to the cup and gone forever!
16. Get Rid of Ants
Put small piles of cornmeal where you see ants. They eat it, take it
"home," can't digest it so it kills them. It may take a week or so,
especially if it rains, but it works & you don't have the worry about pets
or small children being harmed!
17. INFO ABOUT CLOTHES DRYERS
The heating unit went out on my dryer! The gentleman that fixes things
around the house for us told us that he wanted to show us something and he
went over to the dryer and pulled out the lint filter. It was clean. (I
always clean the lint from the filter after every load clothes.) He told
us that he wanted to show us something; he took the filter over
to the sink, ran hot water over it. The lint filter is made of a mesh
material - I'm sure you know what your dryer's lint filter looks like.
well,...the hot water just sat on top of the mesh! It didn't go through it
at all! He told us that dryer sheets cause a film over that mesh that's
what burns out the heating unit. You can't SEE the film, but it's there.
It's what is in the dryer sheets to make your clothes soft and static free
-- that nice fragrance too, you know how they can feel waxy when you take
them out of the box, well t his stuff builds up on your
clothes and on your lint screen. This is also what causes dryer units to
catch fire & potentially burn your house down with it! He said the best
way to keep your dryer working for a very long time (& to keep your
electric bill lower) is to take that filter out & wash it with hot soapy
water & an old toothbrush (or other brush) at least every six months. He
said that makes the life of the dryer at least twice as long!
How about that!?! Learn something new everyday! I certainly didn't know
dryer sheets would do that. So, I thought I'd share!
Note: I went to my dryer & tested my screen by running water on it. The
water ran through a little bit but mostly collected all the water in the
mesh screen. I washed it with warm soapy water & a nylon brush & I had it
done in 30 seconds. Then when I rinsed it the water ran right thru the
screen! There wasn't any puddling at all! That repairman knew what he was
talking about!
Peel a banana from the bottom and you won't have to pick the little
"stringy things" off of it. That's how the primates do it.
Take your bananas apart when you get home from the store. If you leave
them connected at the stem, they ripen faster.
Store your opened chunks of cheese in aluminum foil. It will stay fresh
much longer and not mold!
Peppers with 3 bumps on the bottom are sweeter and better for eating.
Peppers with 4 bumps on the bottom are firmer and better for cooking.
Add a teaspoon of water when frying ground beef. It will help pull the
grease away from the meat while cooking.
To really make scrambled eggs or omelets rich add a couple of spoonfuls of
sour cream, cream cheese, or heavy cream in and then beat them up.
For a cool brownie treat, make brownies as directed. Melt Andes mints in
double broiler and pour over warm brownies. Let set for a wonderful minty
frosting.
Add garlic immediately to a recipe if you want a light taste of garlic and
at the end of the recipe if your want a stronger taste of garlic.
Leftover snickers bars from Halloween make a delicious dessert. Simple
chop them up with the food chopper. Peel, core and slice a few apples.
Place them in a baking dish and sprinkle the chopped candy bars over the
apples. Bake at 350 for 15 minutes!!! Serve alone or with vanilla ice
cream.
1. Reheat Pizza
Heat up leftover pizza in a nonstick skillet on top of the stove, set heat
to med-low and heat till warm. This keeps the crust crispy. No soggy micro
pizza. I saw this on the cooking channel and it really works.
2. Easy Deviled Eggs
Put cooked egg yolks in a zip lock bag. Seal, mash till they are all
broken up. Add remainder of ingredients, reseal, keep mashing it up mixing
thoroughly, cut the tip of the baggy, squeeze mixture into egg. Just
throw bag away when done easy clean up.
3. Expanding Frosting
When you buy a container of cake frosting from the store, whip it with
your mixer for a few minutes. You can double it in size. You get to frost
more cake/cupcakes with the same amount. You also eat less sugar and
calories per serving.
4. Reheating Refrigerated Bread
To warm biscuits, pancakes, or muffins that were refrigerated, place them
in a microwave with a cup of water. The increased moisture will keep the
food moist and help it reheat faster.
5. Newspaper Weeds Away
Start putting in your plants, work the nutrients in your soil. Wet
newspapers put layers around the plants overlapping as you go cover with
mulch and forget about weeds. Weeds will get through some gardening
plastic they will not get through wet newspapers.
6. Broken Glass
Use a wet cotton ball or Q-tip to pick up the small shards of glass you
can't see easily.
7. No More Mosquitoes
Place a dryer sheet in your pocket. It will keep the mosquitoes away.
8. Squirrel Away!
To keep squirrels from eating your plants sprinkle your plants with
cayenne pepper. The cayenne pepper doesn't hurt the plant and the
squirrels won't come near it.
9. Flexible Vacuum
To get something out of a heat register or under the fridge add an empty
paper towel roll or empty gift wrap roll to your vacuum. It can be bent or
flattened to get in narrow openings.
10. Reducing Static Cling
Pin a small safety pin to the seam of your slip and you will not have a
clingy skirt or dress. Same thing works with slacks that cling when
wearing panty hose. Place pin in seam of slacks and -- ta da! -- static
is gone.
11. Measuring Cups
Before you pour sticky substances into a measuring cup, fill with hot
water. Dump out the hot water, but don't dry cup. Next, add your
ingredient, such as peanut butter, and watch how easily it comes right
out.
12. Foggy Windshield?
Hate foggy windshields? Buy a chalkboard eraser and keep it in the glove
box of your car. When the windows fog, rub with the eraser! Works better
than a cloth!
13. Reopening Envelope
If you seal an envelope and then realize you forgot to include something
inside , just place your sealed envelope in the freezer for an hour or
two. Viola! It unseals easily.
14. Conditioner
Use your hair conditioner to shave your legs. It's a lot cheaper than
shaving cream and leaves your legs really smooth. It's also a great way to
use up the conditioner you bought but didn't like when you tried it in
your hair...
15. Goodbye Fruit Flies
To get rid of pesky fruit flies, take a small glass fill it 1/2" with
Apple Cider Vinegar and 2 drops of dish washing liquid, mix well. You will
find those flies drawn to the cup and gone forever!
16. Get Rid of Ants
Put small piles of cornmeal where you see ants. They eat it, take it
"home," can't digest it so it kills them. It may take a week or so,
especially if it rains, but it works & you don't have the worry about pets
or small children being harmed!
17. INFO ABOUT CLOTHES DRYERS
The heating unit went out on my dryer! The gentleman that fixes things
around the house for us told us that he wanted to show us something and he
went over to the dryer and pulled out the lint filter. It was clean. (I
always clean the lint from the filter after every load clothes.) He told
us that he wanted to show us something; he took the filter over
to the sink, ran hot water over it. The lint filter is made of a mesh
material - I'm sure you know what your dryer's lint filter looks like.
well,...the hot water just sat on top of the mesh! It didn't go through it
at all! He told us that dryer sheets cause a film over that mesh that's
what burns out the heating unit. You can't SEE the film, but it's there.
It's what is in the dryer sheets to make your clothes soft and static free
-- that nice fragrance too, you know how they can feel waxy when you take
them out of the box, well t his stuff builds up on your
clothes and on your lint screen. This is also what causes dryer units to
catch fire & potentially burn your house down with it! He said the best
way to keep your dryer working for a very long time (& to keep your
electric bill lower) is to take that filter out & wash it with hot soapy
water & an old toothbrush (or other brush) at least every six months. He
said that makes the life of the dryer at least twice as long!
How about that!?! Learn something new everyday! I certainly didn't know
dryer sheets would do that. So, I thought I'd share!
Note: I went to my dryer & tested my screen by running water on it. The
water ran through a little bit but mostly collected all the water in the
mesh screen. I washed it with warm soapy water & a nylon brush & I had it
done in 30 seconds. Then when I rinsed it the water ran right thru the
screen! There wasn't any puddling at all! That repairman knew what he was
talking about!
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
Wow... with a good coach, what would they cost?
STILLWATER — A ticket for Bedlam football this season will cost $419.
Technically speaking.
And you thought a $100 face value ticket to watch Oklahoma State host Oklahoma two years ago was expensive.
OSU officials announced season ticket prices on Tuesday. The interesting twist is they will not sell individual tickets for the OU game.
Fans wanting to watch the Cowboys and Sooners play Nov. 29 at Boone Pickens Stadium must purchase a $419 season ticket or one of OSU's other season ticket options. OU will still be given an allotment of tickets, but no individual game tickets will be sold.
OSU athletic director Mike Holder said the decision was based on Iowa State implementing an identical plan last season for its rival game against Iowa. Iowa State's season ticket sales increased 30 percent, jumping from 30,000 to 36,000.
“Our decision to eliminate single game tickets for Bedlam is based upon our desire to grow our season ticket sales,” Holder said in a press statement. “Our ability to compete for championships, in all sports, is dependent upon our fans' commitment to buying season tickets in football and basketball on an annual basis.
“Frankly, this decision is all about the long-term success of OSU athletics. Based on solid results at Iowa State, we believe this decision can produce a positive result at OSU.”
Sometime this fall single game tickets will be sold for OSU's other six home games. Single game tickets will cost $60 for non-conference opponents (Houston, Missouri State and Tory), $85 for non-OU conference games (Texas A&M, Baylor and Iowa State).
The irony is the Bedlam game is all but assured of being OSU's lowest attendance of the season. Two years ago, OSU sold three-game packages for $160 that included tickets for Missouri State, Baylor and OU. This year there will be no packages.
The unique marketing strategy should give OSU a legitimate shot at selling 40,000 or more season tickets for the first time.
OSU's record for season tickets is 38,674 set in 2004, which included a record 11,500 student tickets. OSU sold 9,000 student tickets last year.
As expected, OSU did not raise season ticket or donor prices for the first time in three years. The $419 season ticket is higher than last year ($359) but the Cowboys have seven home games instead of six.
“The addition of 16,000 new seats in the west end zone, we believe the decision to hold prices for 2008 is the right one,” Holder said. “The new seats give us opportunities to expand our fan base though new promotions and generate new revenue to support the entire athletic program.”
With the return of the renovated west end zone, OSU gains 16,000 additional seats. Boone Pickens Stadium capacity increases to 60,000, the sixth largest venue in the Big 12.
More Family Fun Zone tickets will be available. For a price of $980 a family can purchase four season tickets (two adult, two youth), $245 a person.
Other season ticket prices include: a Discount Zone and O-Club options ($294) and new graduate rate of $245 for anyone within five years of their graduation date. Faculty and staff season tickets will be $336.
“We strive for balance between affordability, value and revenue considerations when it comes to setting ticket and donor seating prices,” said Craig Clemons, associate athletic director for external affairs and development.
To attract more students, All Sports Ticket prices are expected to be reduced but AST prices won't be announced until a later date. Last year an AST cost $150 which gets students into every OSU sporting event other than men's basketball.
Technically speaking.
And you thought a $100 face value ticket to watch Oklahoma State host Oklahoma two years ago was expensive.
OSU officials announced season ticket prices on Tuesday. The interesting twist is they will not sell individual tickets for the OU game.
Fans wanting to watch the Cowboys and Sooners play Nov. 29 at Boone Pickens Stadium must purchase a $419 season ticket or one of OSU's other season ticket options. OU will still be given an allotment of tickets, but no individual game tickets will be sold.
OSU athletic director Mike Holder said the decision was based on Iowa State implementing an identical plan last season for its rival game against Iowa. Iowa State's season ticket sales increased 30 percent, jumping from 30,000 to 36,000.
“Our decision to eliminate single game tickets for Bedlam is based upon our desire to grow our season ticket sales,” Holder said in a press statement. “Our ability to compete for championships, in all sports, is dependent upon our fans' commitment to buying season tickets in football and basketball on an annual basis.
“Frankly, this decision is all about the long-term success of OSU athletics. Based on solid results at Iowa State, we believe this decision can produce a positive result at OSU.”
Sometime this fall single game tickets will be sold for OSU's other six home games. Single game tickets will cost $60 for non-conference opponents (Houston, Missouri State and Tory), $85 for non-OU conference games (Texas A&M, Baylor and Iowa State).
The irony is the Bedlam game is all but assured of being OSU's lowest attendance of the season. Two years ago, OSU sold three-game packages for $160 that included tickets for Missouri State, Baylor and OU. This year there will be no packages.
The unique marketing strategy should give OSU a legitimate shot at selling 40,000 or more season tickets for the first time.
OSU's record for season tickets is 38,674 set in 2004, which included a record 11,500 student tickets. OSU sold 9,000 student tickets last year.
As expected, OSU did not raise season ticket or donor prices for the first time in three years. The $419 season ticket is higher than last year ($359) but the Cowboys have seven home games instead of six.
“The addition of 16,000 new seats in the west end zone, we believe the decision to hold prices for 2008 is the right one,” Holder said. “The new seats give us opportunities to expand our fan base though new promotions and generate new revenue to support the entire athletic program.”
With the return of the renovated west end zone, OSU gains 16,000 additional seats. Boone Pickens Stadium capacity increases to 60,000, the sixth largest venue in the Big 12.
More Family Fun Zone tickets will be available. For a price of $980 a family can purchase four season tickets (two adult, two youth), $245 a person.
Other season ticket prices include: a Discount Zone and O-Club options ($294) and new graduate rate of $245 for anyone within five years of their graduation date. Faculty and staff season tickets will be $336.
“We strive for balance between affordability, value and revenue considerations when it comes to setting ticket and donor seating prices,” said Craig Clemons, associate athletic director for external affairs and development.
To attract more students, All Sports Ticket prices are expected to be reduced but AST prices won't be announced until a later date. Last year an AST cost $150 which gets students into every OSU sporting event other than men's basketball.
On this day in history.... January 28, 1986 : Challenger explodes
January 28, 1986 : Challenger explodes
At 11:38 a.m. EST, on January 28, 1986, the space shuttle Challenger
lifts off from Cape Canaveral, Florida, and Christa McAuliffe is on
her way to becoming the first ordinary U.S. civilian to travel into
space. McAuliffe, a 37-year-old high school social studies teacher
from New Hampshire, won a competition that earned her a place among
the seven-member crew of the Challenger. She underwent months of
shuttle training but then, beginning January 23, was forced to wait
six long days as the Challenger's launch countdown was repeatedly
delayed because of weather and technical problems. Finally, on January
28, the shuttle lifted off.
Seventy-three seconds later, hundreds on the ground, including
Christa's family, stared in disbelief as the shuttle exploded in a
forking plume of smoke and fire. Millions more watched the wrenching
tragedy unfold on live television. There were no survivors.
In the aftermath of the explosion, President Ronald Reagan appointed a
special commission to determine what went wrong with Challenger and to
develop future corrective measures. The presidential commission was
headed by former secretary of state William Rogers, and included
former astronaut Neil Armstrong and former test pilot Chuck Yeager.
The investigation determined that the explosion was caused by the
failure of an "O-ring" seal in one of the two solid-fuel rockets. The
elastic O-ring did not respond as expected because of the cold
temperature at launch time, which began a chain of events that
resulted in the massive explosion. As a result of the explosion, NASA
did not send astronauts into space for more than two years as it
redesigned a number of features of the space shuttle.
At 11:38 a.m. EST, on January 28, 1986, the space shuttle Challenger
lifts off from Cape Canaveral, Florida, and Christa McAuliffe is on
her way to becoming the first ordinary U.S. civilian to travel into
space. McAuliffe, a 37-year-old high school social studies teacher
from New Hampshire, won a competition that earned her a place among
the seven-member crew of the Challenger. She underwent months of
shuttle training but then, beginning January 23, was forced to wait
six long days as the Challenger's launch countdown was repeatedly
delayed because of weather and technical problems. Finally, on January
28, the shuttle lifted off.
Seventy-three seconds later, hundreds on the ground, including
Christa's family, stared in disbelief as the shuttle exploded in a
forking plume of smoke and fire. Millions more watched the wrenching
tragedy unfold on live television. There were no survivors.
In the aftermath of the explosion, President Ronald Reagan appointed a
special commission to determine what went wrong with Challenger and to
develop future corrective measures. The presidential commission was
headed by former secretary of state William Rogers, and included
former astronaut Neil Armstrong and former test pilot Chuck Yeager.
The investigation determined that the explosion was caused by the
failure of an "O-ring" seal in one of the two solid-fuel rockets. The
elastic O-ring did not respond as expected because of the cold
temperature at launch time, which began a chain of events that
resulted in the massive explosion. As a result of the explosion, NASA
did not send astronauts into space for more than two years as it
redesigned a number of features of the space shuttle.
Sunday, January 27, 2008
Saturday, January 26, 2008
A little culture manages to calm us all
Life is a combination of art and poetry and music, or at least that is what I tell my kids every day at school. I try to fill their lives with words like Vivaldi, Poe, Emerson, Renoir and Degas. The best way to show them is take them to the art and let them experience it first hand. So we go. The trip is planned, and the night is so cold that my breath freezes in midair making a frosted cartoon caption. It is Saturday night and we have reservations for dinner and the Fort Wayne Philharmonic at the Embassy Theatre. Twenty-two sixth-graders, five adults and one bus.
Each student is dropped off at the elementary under the pale sapphire sky of dusk and the deep, deep cold. I do not recognize the girls. Their hair is curled and swept up with sequined barrettes. The boys are cleaned up with their hair combed and one even sports a tie. I am proud of them and we have just begun the evening.
We pile onto the bus and it is so cold that my bones rattle. Roy, my friend and teacher at the school, is the driver. He turns the heat up as high as it will go but the windows are ice-covered except for the front windshield. He hunches down under his cowboy hat as we wait for the late arrival. (I said I wouldn’t wait, but I did!)
The bus engine actually groans under the weight of the cold as we pull out of the parking lot toward Fire Mountain. I have made a reservation (it is always good to let a restaurant know when 22 kids are coming!) so they are expecting us. Deb, their classroom teacher, gives them the “you know who you are representing” speech before they enter the restaurant and I remind them of hostess tipping.
I watch for signs showing me that they are sixth-graders underneath the glamour and refinement of their clothing, but I see none. They are gracious, polite and quiet, and I am impressed. They eat a balanced dinner although the ice cream line is long and spills out into the restaurant. They return with mounds of frozen ice cream and gummy worms. With dinner over and the tip collected we clamor back onto the school bus and head toward the theater.
Ahhhh, the theater. I see sweet stars of happiness when I say the word. I look back at them playing with their Game Boys, chatting and teasing each other. When did I learn to love the theater? My Dad was an actor with the Civic Theatre in Fort Wayne. Maybe it was because I was the oldest of six or that I already loved the theater, but I was the one who got to go with him every night to rehearsals. I never missed one. I wore my pajamas and slippers and slept through “Auntie Mame,” “The Odd Couple,” “Visit to a Small Planet,” “Oklahoma!” and “The Glass Menagerie” right in the front row. Now I want them to love it, at least the Philharmonic.
We arrive in Fort Wayne and travel downtown. Through the frosted windows I make out the lights of the Embassy blinking in the darkness. I know we look odd, a bus full of children on a winter’s night at the theater. We go inside for foyer where I hand out their tickets. Their eyes are full of excitement. A quick speech about bathrooms and other details and we are inside the theater.
We are early so we have time to look. “Look up,” I say. Our eyes travel to the crystal chandeliers and the winding staircase. I take their photo on that staircase and find our way up to the balcony. I watch their eyes as we take our seats. Their faces are filled with magic. So is mine. The lights blink and then dim. We are there. For two hours we are immersed in the music of Mozart. They sit and let the music surround them. They get the fidgets at the last symphony piece, but it is soon over. With one last sigh we weave our way down the spiral staircase under the chandeliers.
It is late when we arrive home and parents are waiting in warm cars to hear tales of the evening. Sequined barrettes are placed on dressers, ticket stubs in scrapbooks and new memories, from a very magical evening, are stored in the recesses of their minds.
LOU ANN HOMAN-SAYLOR lives in Angola at the White Picket Gardens where you can find her gardening or writing late into the night under the light of her frayed scarlet lamp. She is a storyteller, teacher, writer, actress and a collector of front porch stories.
Each student is dropped off at the elementary under the pale sapphire sky of dusk and the deep, deep cold. I do not recognize the girls. Their hair is curled and swept up with sequined barrettes. The boys are cleaned up with their hair combed and one even sports a tie. I am proud of them and we have just begun the evening.
We pile onto the bus and it is so cold that my bones rattle. Roy, my friend and teacher at the school, is the driver. He turns the heat up as high as it will go but the windows are ice-covered except for the front windshield. He hunches down under his cowboy hat as we wait for the late arrival. (I said I wouldn’t wait, but I did!)
The bus engine actually groans under the weight of the cold as we pull out of the parking lot toward Fire Mountain. I have made a reservation (it is always good to let a restaurant know when 22 kids are coming!) so they are expecting us. Deb, their classroom teacher, gives them the “you know who you are representing” speech before they enter the restaurant and I remind them of hostess tipping.
I watch for signs showing me that they are sixth-graders underneath the glamour and refinement of their clothing, but I see none. They are gracious, polite and quiet, and I am impressed. They eat a balanced dinner although the ice cream line is long and spills out into the restaurant. They return with mounds of frozen ice cream and gummy worms. With dinner over and the tip collected we clamor back onto the school bus and head toward the theater.
Ahhhh, the theater. I see sweet stars of happiness when I say the word. I look back at them playing with their Game Boys, chatting and teasing each other. When did I learn to love the theater? My Dad was an actor with the Civic Theatre in Fort Wayne. Maybe it was because I was the oldest of six or that I already loved the theater, but I was the one who got to go with him every night to rehearsals. I never missed one. I wore my pajamas and slippers and slept through “Auntie Mame,” “The Odd Couple,” “Visit to a Small Planet,” “Oklahoma!” and “The Glass Menagerie” right in the front row. Now I want them to love it, at least the Philharmonic.
We arrive in Fort Wayne and travel downtown. Through the frosted windows I make out the lights of the Embassy blinking in the darkness. I know we look odd, a bus full of children on a winter’s night at the theater. We go inside for foyer where I hand out their tickets. Their eyes are full of excitement. A quick speech about bathrooms and other details and we are inside the theater.
We are early so we have time to look. “Look up,” I say. Our eyes travel to the crystal chandeliers and the winding staircase. I take their photo on that staircase and find our way up to the balcony. I watch their eyes as we take our seats. Their faces are filled with magic. So is mine. The lights blink and then dim. We are there. For two hours we are immersed in the music of Mozart. They sit and let the music surround them. They get the fidgets at the last symphony piece, but it is soon over. With one last sigh we weave our way down the spiral staircase under the chandeliers.
It is late when we arrive home and parents are waiting in warm cars to hear tales of the evening. Sequined barrettes are placed on dressers, ticket stubs in scrapbooks and new memories, from a very magical evening, are stored in the recesses of their minds.
LOU ANN HOMAN-SAYLOR lives in Angola at the White Picket Gardens where you can find her gardening or writing late into the night under the light of her frayed scarlet lamp. She is a storyteller, teacher, writer, actress and a collector of front porch stories.
Friday, January 25, 2008
Austyn did good, he won it all
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