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December 9, 2018:

JUST THE SORT OF BIRTHDAY ONE WOULD HOPE FOR

Bruce Kimmel Photograph bk's notes

Well, dear readers, it was just the sort of birthday one would hope for, at least one this one would hope for.  I had so many lovely wishes, here, on Facebook, and in person, it just warmed the cockles of this older heart.  I did exactly as I wished all the livelong day and evening.  I got eight hours of sleep, arising at eleven.  I then spent over an hour trying to “like” the then over 400 birthday wishes on Facebook.  I did, and then kept current for most of the day until I left, then “liked” the rest when I got home at midnight.  I think there were probably over six hundred total.  As I’ve said, birthdays is the one thing Facebook gets 100% right.

Around noon, I got in the motor car and began driving, thinking I might go to Jerry’s Deli for food.  But I wasn’t sure I wanted to go sit for an hour in a restaurant, but then fate intervened and I arrived at the signal, which had just turned green AND had the left-turn arrow, so rather than turning right towards Jerry’s, I turned left and went to the mail place, where I picked up no mail and no packages.  Then since I felt I was being directed by fate, I went next door and got a spicy Eyetalian Subway sandwich and came right home and ate it all up, and it was the right thing.  I listened to some music (the marvelous Delius opera, Koanga), had some telephonic birthday wishes, I continued the “liking” on Facebook, and then I finally sat on my couch like so much fish.

Yesterday, I watched a DGA screener of a film entitled Green Book, based on a true story about an Eyetalian guy who worked at the Copa in New York, who’s laid off while the Copa gets some repairs.  He gets a job as driver for a jazz pianist (with an amazing classical background) named Don Shirley.  I’d heard the film was very good, so I was looking forward to it, because earlier this year when I was going through all my jazz and vocal CDs, I’d found two or three Don Shirley albums and absolutely loved them and his unique playing.  So, I was kind of primed for the film.  And it did not disappoint.  Yes, it’s by-the-numbers, yes, it’s formula, yes, it’s predictable, but it’s also really entertaining, very funny at times, and very touching at times.  The film is blessed with two wonderful Oscar-worthy lead performances – Viggo Mortensen as the Eyetalian driver, and Mahershala Ali as Don Shirley.  It’s a little over two hours but seems much less due to good pacing.  And in these current times, I think it’s just nice to see a good, well-made, uplifting movie with some great music, although as far as I could tell, they didn’t actually use and of Don Shirley’s actual tracks.  I recommend it, oh, yes, I recommend it.

After that, it was more music, more “likes” and then I finished the fourth set of liner notes, then shaved and showered and moseyed on over to the theater.  We had about fifty-five people, so a little over half a house, which actually looks quite full in this particular theater. While it wasn’t quite as good a show as the night before, it played very well, we had a lovely audience who responded quite vocally after the numbers and at the end.  The new speech once again worked perfectly.  There were a couple of flubbed lines, one flubbed sound cue and one flubbed light cue, but I’m not sure anyone really notices that stuff but me. I knew a few folks, so that’s always fun.

After the show, I was taken backstage, where there was a big ol’ cake for me and everyone sang Happy Birthday – very sweet and it made me feel all warm and toasty. I hung out there for a while, then Doug, wife Dorathy, and Shelly Markham and I went to the Coral Café for a little snack.  I had a chicken salad sandwich and potato salad.  We had fun chitchat, and then I came straight home.  My old pal Karen Cohen was at the show and she gave me some homemade chocolate chip cookies and a big bottle of Diet Coke.  I got some cards, and I got some homemade fudge from another friend.  All in all, it was a lovelier than lovely birthday day and evening and I’m still basking in the glow of it all.

Today, I have to be up by ten.  Then I have an eleven-thirty meal/meeting near the theater, then I attend our matinee, which will be followed by a talkback, which I always enjoy.  And then I think some of us will go have a proper early dinner.  Then I’ll come home, get everything ready to announce our two new soundtrack releases, which we’ll either announce at midnight tonight or midnight tomorrow night. I’m still waiting to approve one cover – everything else is pretty much ready to go and I’ll write the blurbs for the releases this evening before bed.

Tomorrow, I have to attend to many things, finish casting the January Kritzerland, begin choosing the songs, and then it’s meetings and meals and getting ready for my solid two weeks off.

Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must, for example, have a morning meeting and meal, attend our matinee, do a talkback, have a proper meal, then come home and get things ready for our Kritzerland release announcement.  Today’s topic of discussion: It’s free-for-all day, the day in which you dear readers get to make with the topics and we all get to post about them.  So, let’s have loads of lovely topics and loads of lovely postings, shall we, whilst I hit the road to dreamland, happy to have had just the sort of birthday one would hope for.

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