A Week Where Writing Took a Back Seat

Last week, three things dominated my gray cells and not one of them was writing or anything related to writing.

First, we had a bit of rain. It began on Tuesday with a forecast of two inches from the defunct tropical depression Ida. Now my cat Nikki is not a fool, but when she camped under an umbrella indoors I thought it was a bit of the belt-and-suspenders approach to life that she is embracing in her later years.


The rain stopped three days later. My rain gauge topped out at 5" before overflowing. The second round read another 1/5 inches. I don't now how much more fell, but it was enough to swamp our stationary dock -- which, by the way, had been two feet above the level of the lake. The Blackwater River, one of two main rivers which feed Smith Mountain Lake, was running at 6,900 cubic feet per second, up from its normal flow of 80 cps. Yup, the rivers were roiling and the lake, creeks and everything else did rise.

Okay, so we had rain. Lots of it. But what happened on Wednesday was even better. After waiting for three years, my dear friend Glenn finally underwent his kidney transplant. His stepdaughter Jen was his donor and everything went very well. After three days, both were out of the hospital and home. As you can guess. Glenn's wife Michelle might have wished for another day in the hospital, because suddenly she had two whiney, high-maintenance patients and three Scotties on her hands. Glenn's prognosis remains excellent and for the first time in three decades, he feels well!!!

Lsstly, the week ended with our final Navy home game, a thorough drubbing of Delaware. Our junior QB has rushed for 22 TDs already this season with two games to go. Why won't the Heiseman committee take a look at this kid? He's frankly outstanding but because he plays for Navy, he gets little outside respect. Sigh. Time for a letter to the committee.

All is well here. Back to writing, querying and sending out poems in search of a journal to publsh them.

Musicians of the Sun

On Saturday, Nov 1, my husband and I attended the world premiere of Steve Margoshes' Musicians of the Sun. Based on a chidren's picture book written by Gerald McDermott, which in turn is based on an Aztec tale, the work was a piece written for chorus and orchestra. The music evoked the vivid colors of the picture book and the chorus brought the audience directly into those colors.

The work was narrated by Samuel E. Wright who starred on Broadway as Mufasa in The Lion King, was thr voice of Sebastian the Crab in The Little Mermaid, and was Grapes in the old Fruit of the Loom commercial. Sam read the text of the children's book in a voice that recalls the richness of James Earl Jones and Dennis Haysbert.

I loved two things about this performance. One, the convergence of chorus, orchestra and spoken narration from a children's book. Two, my daughter Aleta Eriksen was in the chorus.

If anyone has a chance to see a performance of this work (with or without my daughter!!), see it. It's uplifting and you will leave the event happier than you went in.