A Day at the MET(s)–New York City (Again)
After a quiet Christmas holiday, the family turmoil began slowly to settle. I read that mezzo-soprano Denyce Graves-Montgomery was giving her final Metropolitan Opera performance in Porgy and Bess during the last weekend of January. I decided to take the opportunity to get out-of-town and witness the performance. This would be the second time I’ve traveled to New York to see the opera/musical (depending on the approach of the musical presentation one used)–previously for the 2012 Broadway production with Audra McDonald and Norm Lewis. I also saw the 2019 production via The Met in HD, so I was really looking forward to seeing it live. I took Amtrak to New York because it’s so hard to drive and park in the city safely that I feel like the Silver Bullet is much better off parked at the train station. I’m no longer used to getting up early enough to make…
Catching Up and Looking Ahead
In the months since I last posted, I made my move from Iowa to Maryland, or the DMV (DC/Maryland/Virginia). It was wonderful to spend my first Thanksgiving in years with my family. It was also nearly as wonderful to miss the 20 inches of snow that fell in Iowa and below zero temperatures they experienced in January of 2024. Here, we did get a couple of inches a few nights when the temps dropped to the upper teens. I was fortunate to find a two-bedroom apartment in an independent living senior residence. The rent is outrageous, but folks keep telling me that it’s quite reasonable for the DMV. I try to tell myself that each month as I pay the rent, but it isn’t working. Anyway,… As busy as I’ve been trying to organize things from the move–the office is still a mass of boxes, I have gotten some travel…