Well, dear readers, I had a fun visit with the brother yesterday. We met at Factor’s Deli, which wasn’t so far from where we grew up and yet I don’t ever recall eating there, not even when we moved to Beverlywood, where it was in walking distance. We spent an hour there – he had half a sandwich and some coleslaw, and I had a bacon, cheese, and scallion omelet and a toasted sesame bagel. We gabbed about what he’s been up to (he was very sick for a while) and what I’ve been up to, and, of course, about the old days. Then we went for a drive around the old neighborhood, beginning with Beverlywood and our house at 9406 Bolton Road, which, amazingly, hasn’t been torn down yet. It looks a bit different now with a few hints at Spanish, design-wise. From there, we drove past Hamilton High, where we both went. From there, we went directly to 1772 S. Sherbourne Drive, the house we spent most of our childhood in. It, too, is pretty much what it was, while the rest of the block has a lot of monstrosities. We drove past our elementary school, a motel we stayed in once because my mother had seen a mouse (all this is in the first Kritzer book), past where Fosters Freeze used to be, past Marty’s Bike and Candy Shop, past where the miniature golf course used to be. There are still quite a few original buildings there, although they all look run-down and crappy. And then I headed back to the Valley to do stuff that needed doing. But it was fun, and the hope is we’ll get together again soon. He lives in Arizona, not that far from the Darling Daughter. Otherwise, I’ve been watching a BBC series called Dr. Foster, which I’m enjoying thus far. When I started watching I mistakenly thought it was only one season, but it’s two – thankfully, there are only five episodes per season and there won’t be a third season. The actors are very good and so is the writing, for the most part. And now I’m listening to music by one of my all-time favorite composers, Norman Dello Joio – between Bay Cities and Kritzerland, we’ve issued quite a bit of his music and I don’t mind telling you, we’ll be releasing more, including what I’m currently listening to. In fact, we have several incredible classical albums coming. Just before starting Dr. Foster, I ordered my evening snack, since I’d only had the omelet and bagel. I got a side of corn (not on the cob) from the Cheesecake Factor, basically because I knew it was no calorie, and then a piece of cheesecake – caramel apple-style with whipped cream. That was excellent and about 600 calories, so that brought me up to about 1300 for the day, which is fine.
Yesterday was a pleasant day. I only got five hours of sleep, and you know about the first part of the day. Once back in the Valley, I came right home, did some work on the computer, had a brief conversation with Grant and it does look like we’ll do the book fixes today, which is good, I had some telephonic conversations, I got news from dear reader Jeanne that her outpatient surgery went well, had the snack, and the rest you know.
Today, I’ll be up by eleven, I’ll do whatever needs doing, I’ll hopefully do the book fixes with Grant, I’ll eat, I’ll hopefully pick up some packages, I’ll eat, and then I’ll mosey on over to the theater for our rehearsal. After that, I’ll come home.
Tomorrow, I’ll do my best to get a complete run-through done and then we can work stuff after. Thursday will be the same, Friday is off, and Saturday is our long rehearsal, and I may try and get two run-throughs in. We’ll also announce our two new titles. Before I wrap up these here notes, I keep forgetting to post this wonderful photograph that was sent to me by friends. This was from a New York trip, 1997, and obviously in December. David Raksin was presenting some kind of award to Stephen Sondheim. We all had lunch prior to that, and I sat next to Steve and that lunch was fun. The event was in the afternoon and was fun. Then the next day, sans Steve, some of convened at Tavern on the Green for lunch. That’s when this photograph was taken. Left to right: David Raksin, Jon Burlingame, John Fricke, Billy Stritch, Marilee Bradford, li’l ol’ me, and the wonderful Don Pippin.
Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must, for example, be up by eleven, do whatever needs doing, hopefully do the book fixes with Grant, eat, hopefully pick up some packages, have a rehearsal, and then relax. Today’s topic of discussion: What are your favorite British series of the past few years? Let’s have loads of lovely postings, shall we, whilst I hit the road to dreamland, happy to have had a fun visit with the brother.