Well, dear readers, I am sitting here like so much fish, listening to a CD entitle The Great British Film Music Album, which contains music from Great British Films, all new recordings. It’s a fine two-CD thing that has a few nice rarities and excellent versions of more well-known stuff. Now playing is one of the rarer pieces, Rhapsody from Alfred Hitchcock’s Stage Fright. Very good music. Earlier, I turned on the TV and fired up the Firestick and immediately conked out for over an hour, with some of the weirdest dreams ever, including one where my toe was bleeding. Go know. I decided to watch the first thirty minutes of the very first episode of what was titled The Police Story rather than Police Story. The usual kind of TV cast of that era – Harry Guardino, Vic Morrow, Chuck Connors, Sandy Baron, Ed Asner, and others. The opening scene has them waiting for Chuck to steal a car. They mention the street names, which have no basis in reality as to where we actually are, which is at the La Reina Theater in Sherman Oaks, which is now a little mall with the original La Reina marquee intact. I went to the La Reina a few times – a great neighborhood theater. In fact, I was there for the final program, a private screening of The Robe. Anyway, fun to see it (amusingly on the marquee is Joseph Wambaugh’s The Choirboys – Police Story was created by Wambaugh). The corner was still a record store, one that I went to quite a bit, owned by a nice fellow named Brian. That’s where I bought my first Elton John album, Goodbye, Yellow Brick Road, which had just come out three months prior to my buying it, and quite a few others, including Sail Away by Randy Newman. That would have been in January of 1974, the year I was separated from the wife and living just a couple of blocks from the La Reina and the record store. And the parking lot behind the La Reina, which is no longer there, I think. And we get the block or two east of that. Then we’re at a market and I’m trying to figure out which market – there’s a jernt called Pizza Prince next to it and the only thing I can find on that was one in Burbank on Alameda Street. What’s there now seems to be offices, but it certainly could have been a small strip mall with market back then. Yep, market was Alpha Beta right next to Pizza Prince. Whew! Looking forward to more locations, hopefully in the Valley. Then I stopped watching and caught up with some stuff on the computer, had a long telephonic call and that was pretty much that.
Yesterday was pretty nice. I was up at nine-thirty after seven hours of sleep, answered e-mails, shaved and showered, and then met my friend Michelle, her daughter Kate, and Kate’s boyfriend and the boyfriend’s mom. We convened at nearby Mel’s and that was a very good choice. I had a BLTA with potato salad, boyfriend’s mom also had that but with french fries, boyfriend had a chicken pesto sandwich, Kate had a French dip, and Michelle had a Cobb salad with the same amount of dressing that I have – a LOT. Michelle used to bring Kate to the very first Kritzerland shows back in 2010 and 2011. Kate must have been all of six or so back then. When I’d go to their table to say hi, Kate would hold my hand and not let go until show time. It was very sweet. That tiny little girl is now 5’9” tall, skinny, and beautiful and just graduated high school. Her BF seems very nice, too, and so was his mom. I’ve known Michelle since the 1990s. They all live in Florida. It was fun to catch up and Michelle promised they’d watch Sami, so that’s good.
After lunch, I came right home, did stuff that needed doing, including posting on Facebook. Then I sat on my couch and zonked out for over an hour, I began to have a good feeling about a major major miracle, which would be sooooo helpful right now, and got some other interesting messages, only one of which was an irritant. The rest you know because I am an open book, blog-wise. Have you ever been an open book? I don’t know that I’ve ever been a closed book, although there were times when perhaps that would have been prudent. The word prudent leads my mind to think of prunes. Do you eat prunes? I never liked prunes, not even if they were prudent prunes. Prudent Prunes – that’s the title of my next novel, based on the tale of The Randy Vicar and the Prudent Prune.
Today, I’ll be up by eleven at the latest, then we have our second Kritzerland rehearsal at one and that should wrap up at around three-thirty. After that, I’ll go out and get some food, or perhaps even order in if I find something that sounds like fun, and then in the evening I can watch, listen, and relax.
Tomorrow, we have our stumble-through at one and we should be done with that by two or so, then I’ll give whatever notes I have, after which I’ll just rest my voice and relax. Saturday, I can sleep in and relax until it’s time to get ready and then mosey on over to the club for our five o’clock sound check. Then we do our show at seven-thirty and hopefully afterward we can go somewhere for a bite to eat, which I’ll need as I won’t have eaten prior to the show as I’m not going to want anything from a Taco Truck. Sunday, I’m meeting someone who contributed to the Indiegogo campaign last year, just having a meal somewhere. Then we begin rehearsing for the workshop of the new play, so no time for a ME day until after that ends.
Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must, for example, be up by eleven at the latest, have a rehearsal, eat, check with the mail place and see what’s what, and then at some point watch, listen, and relax. Today’s topic of discussion: What are your favorite fruits to eat, and what dried fruits do you like, if any, and what kind of fruity snacks do you like, like fruit roll-ups or fruity gummy-type things? Let’s have loads of lovely postings, shall we, whilst I hit the road to dreamland, where I will hopefully not dream about prudent prunes.