Thoughts from 34,000 feet

What a difference a few months makes.

I write this from seat 12F on American Airlines Flight #1217, from Newark Airport to Chicago’s O’Hare. Despite a delay of over 1 ½ hours due to the inevitable thunderstorms in the New York City area, I’m about one hour from touching down in Chi-town. The affable Mark Jones and the lovely Kari Burgess will wed tomorrow afternoon in the city of St. Charles, IL. I’m going alone, as Erin and I only started dating two months ago. I’m cool with that, but I do wish that she were sitting next to me. A good time will undoubtedly be had – it would be great if she could be there to share it with me.

The last time I flew this route, my life was in a very different place. I was ensconced in romantic “limbo,” leaving NYC for a three day holiday in Chicago at the Burgess/Jones flat. I went, first and foremost, to see my pals – to drink heavily and to welcome 2006. (God knows that I was anxious to see 2005 come to a close.) I also went to escape – to “kick the tires” of the Second City. I was giving some serious thought to packing up my things and waving goodbye to the

Weekend reflections

This summer is flying – though much of that perception is probably due to my schedule. Until last weekend, it was occupied with professional commitments – Corpus Christi recording, Grendel, etc. This past week, however, my commitments were much of the social variety.

Friday night and most of Saturday were spent in Fort Montgomery, NY at the MacInnes Cottage of Rockefeller University. Despite the rain, Jenni+Alex+Brock+Shannon+I had a great time of it – playing Kings, Asshole (first time since college!), Boggle and just reliving our college days. (Photos will follow)

Yesterday was Heather Meyer’s first annual Croquet & Rose picnic in Central Park. In defiance of powers-that-be, we sipped wine, snacked, and tossed a football around. The weather had cleared by this point…and we had a grand time.

From there, it was off to Lewis White’s 60th (!) birthday celebration in Tarrytown, NY. Yummy food, great conversation and a few hundred laughs were the rule of the day. (Again, photos to follow)

A nugget of life wisdom, as shared by Lewis: “Feed everyone. Love everyone.” He then went on to say, “Those inside this fence make the second part easy.”

Overheard on the No. 1 Train

In the spirit of the great site Overheard in New York, I have a pretty heinous observation of my own to share.

On the downtown 1 Train this morning, on my usual trek from 110th to 66th streets, these two relatively large women were complaining about the lack of manners in another rider. This rider, however, was apparently no longer on the train.

Chubby #1: “Shit, that muthafucka dint even say ‘excuse me.’ Ain’t that some shit?”
Chubby #2: “Mmm hmmm.”

Ironic that, in a discussion of proper manners, words like “shit” and “muthafucka” didn’t seem the least bit inappropriate in the presence of children and various other bleary-eyed commuters.

I desperately need a Vespa.

Is it joy I feel?

Life upon the wicked stage, especially whilst balancing a show and a full time office job, can be taxing. And rewarding. As was our recently-completed run of Grendel as part of the Lincoln Center Festival.

The show represented the last in a months-long series of singing engagements. What was purported to be a slow season became perhaps my busiest ever. Complaints are few, however. It’s been one hell of a Spring. I have little idea what comes next, but look forward to the slowing of my schedule.

With a bit more time upon my hands at the completion of these gigs, I’m committed to keeping up this blog a bit more frequently. I rather enjoy the writing part of it, and do miss it.

Maybe now I can think of something to say.

Photo by Joshua South