Friday, October 1, 2010

VACATION – SUMMER OF ‘77

We left Moscow in the late afternoon of Tuesday, May 17th. We had decided at the last minute to leave on Tuesday instead of waiting until Wednesday. It was clear that no one in Moscow was interested in our little blue Gremlin. I was actually pretty happy about that as I would rather not see the person who buys it. It always did have those dim headlights, but lately they seemed to be getting worse. I hope the buyer has good night vision. Kelly agreed to try to sell it in Spokane for us so the “poor suckers” will never even know who we are. Even so, I could think of a hundred reasons to wait until morning to leave, but I knew Mike really wanted to get on the road. I knew he would be impossible until we actually left.

So Mike left in the old car and I in the new, filled to the brim with luggage, etc. The weather had been bad for about a week and that particular day was no exception. It poured rain the whole distance from Moscow to Spokane and I felt lucky to be in the Gremlin with the lights and windshield wipers working. I also had the tape deck and I listened to bleak tunes by Linda Ronstadt and Janis Ian which added to the aloneness I always feel when driving in such expansive country.

I was glad physically to be getting a rest from Ballet Folk and the job, but I was not so sure mentally. Lately I had been feeling surprisingly happy, content and even stable. Now I was going back to my Mother and Father, and I guess I was afraid I would revert to my needy, former self. It was also very difficult for me to be a guest in someone else’s house as I felt I couldn’t completely relax. It made me feel dependent, like a child.

Back to the road—I guess I was only half listening when Mike explained to me the way to Kelly’s house. I do remember him saying, however, “You can’t miss it.” I wandered around for about ten minutes before I stopped at a phone booth and called. When Kelly’s Mom said, “Just follow the road,” I knew my problems weren’t over yet. I did finally manage to find the house; and after a little dinner and a lot of gabbing, Mike and I left for Minneapolis in the one new car.

I think the first few hours on the road are always the hardest. It was too dark to get any work done, so I enjoyed the scenery and eventually fell asleep. Mike drove to Missoula where I took over and soon thereafter nearly lost control of the car when crossing a bridge. It had gotten so cold and windy that I didn’t realize it was icy. I had visions from then on of our perfect fenders being mangled by guard rails just as our old ones had. But it got even worse. I crawled over a pass, rain turning to sleet, the road looking like glass and my fantasies getting more terrible all the time. I pictured us racing down the grade, unable to slow down, picking up speed the whole time, and ending in an unrecognizable heap over some cliff. I don’t know why but I seem to be getting more-and-more chicken with age. Things finally did improve and, by the time Michael took over, the weather was fine. I was exhausted and crawled in the back seat and slept until Mike’s shift was over and we stopped for breakfast.

5/18 – I knew we would be at Mike’s brother, Pete’s, and his wife, Linda’s, sometime before another night was over. The day passed quickly and uneventfully. We drove in four-hour shifts. I crocheted a little, read a little, and we played twenty questions until we exhausted all possible subjects. The weather changed drastically; it was hot and sunny but still awfully windy. My seat belt annoyed me to no-end; but I didn’t take it off because I knew it was for my own good, and I had promised. (At that time, wearing seatbelts wasn’t required by law.) We stopped for dinner and heard tornado warnings for the counties all around us. At least we were heading in the right direction. We ate hurriedly and were back on the road quickly, trying to stay ahead of the storm.

The last few hours were the worst. I was desperately trying to keep Mike awake even though I could barely keep my own eyes open. He finally gave up, turned the wheel over to me and was fast asleep in a matter of seconds. I battled on alone the last 50 miles to Minneapolis. When we got close to the turn-off, I screamed and punched Mike until he finally woke up. He must have been dead tired because he usually wakes up at any change in the car’s engine—I am the one who sleeps like a baby no matter where I am. We had no trouble finding Pete and Linda’s apartment. We arrived at 2:00 a.m., the exact time we had told them on the phone earlier in the day. Stephanie even got up to welcome us. We talked until 4:00 a.m.

5/19 – We got up close to noon; it was a lazy day and almost 90 degrees outside. I called George to have him send my other packet of birth control pills. How could I have forgotten something so crucial? In my defense, we did pack in a hurry. George sounded good; he was the only one of the Ballet Folk crowd still left in Idaho. We promised to get together in Ohio in a week or two as George’s mother lives in Lima.

Linda took us on a little tour of the suburb stopping first at the liquor store and then on to the grocery. We had a good talk with her during Stephanie’s nap—the main topics being women’s lib, marijuana and gays. Peter came home from work at about 6:00 and we ate, drank and played bridge the rest of the evening. While we were looking at pictures of Stephanie, Linda found a picture of herself at 130 pounds. Ever since I have known her, she has weighed 110. It is amazing how much a little weight can change a person’s appearance. I wonder how I would look fat, but I really don’t want to know.

5/20 – We went over to Peter’s office to pick him up for lunch. It was raining again, Peter drove us downtown to the IDS building, an incredible place. Mike and I commented that there were probably more people in that building right then than in the whole city of Moscow. We were in a hurry because Peter had to be back to give a test. That put a little strain on things but we had a good lunch once we got situated.

That evening we went out to Scottie’s, the newest disco in town—it was packed. We went with another couple, friends of Pete and Linda’s from south Minnesota, and hit it off instantly. They are going to come to our performance in Wausheka next year. I wasn’t into dancing much, but I really enjoyed looking at all the different types of people and the crazy outfits some of them were wearing. I felt like a real hick—born and raised in Moscow, Idaho. Mike and Linda danced a lot together. I don’t like disco dancing because I always feel like such a klutz. It’s not that I am bad at it, I just don’t have it naturally. Mike says I think about it too much. I have been told that many times before and about many things. We were drinking vodka rocks all night so by 1:00, I was dancing much better and not thinking about much of anything. We cooked bacon and eggs when we got home, and Linda and I stayed up until 4:00 a.m. talking. Who would have thought I’d end up being such an advocate for gay rights? Down with Anita Bryant.

5/21 – We left at about 8:30 a.m. for Toledo, Ohio. It was hot already but at least it wasn’t raining. I drove the first shift and the four hours went really quickly because there was a lot of traffic and I had to stay alert. Sometimes while driving through South Dakota or someplace similar, I feel like my mind is a mile away. But in Minneapolis, you have to concentrate.

After that, the trip seemed to take forever. The torrential rains hit us again in Chicago and we had to stop and wait for them to let up. We took the scenic route around the city to avoid tolls, so we lost about an hour there. We didn’t get to Toledo until about 10:30 and Mom, Dad and Carla were waiting for us. It was so good to see them that we talked until the wee hours of the morning.

We found out Brother Joe is competing in Frisbee competitions, and he got a 3.5 average his freshman year at the University of Detroit. Brother Carl lost his job at Jeep for smoking pot on the assembly line. Dad is trying to get him back in but it doesn’t look good. His baby is huge for being only 3 ½ months ago and he cries constantly. Ann is almost finished with high school and she already has a job at the loan company where she has been working half days. Every one of the kids’ friends is either pregnant or marrying because his girlfriend is. In Mom’s words, “What’s the world coming to?” Yet she still doesn’t believe in giving her daughter information on birth control for fear that would be condoning pre-marital sex.

5/22 – I went to Mass at St. Pius with Mom and Dad. Later I called Grandma who sounded happy because she is all excited about Lawrence Welk coming to town and about her upcoming trip to Hawaii. Bear is here with Carla and what a brain-child. He and his friend, Joshua, helped us wash our car today. Carla and I drove to the drugstore to get some cigarettes and, on the way home, our car just died. A man in his yard tried to help us, but he didn’t know any more than we did. Carla used his phone to call Mike, and Mike and I literally pushed the car the two blocks home. Disgusting—the car only has about 2,500 miles on it! I could see Mike worrying about it the rest of the day. It is no wonder he’s losing his hair.

We played bridge and I could hardly hold my cards up because my arms were so tired from pushing the car. Terry dropped by for dinner with Don. They had been swimming, but Don is on his way out. He lives in Columbus now and just sold his house in Toledo. He made about $15,000 on the house; but even with that, he’s not exciting enough for Terry. She talked about finding an apartment of her own. She says it’s too hard living with Val. I hope she finds a good guy; I don’t think she’s ever been in love.

5/23 – Michael called the American Motors’ dealer early and they came and towed the car to the shop. Baby Carl woke me up. Mom was watching him because Carl was out looking for work and Mary was working as a car hop at A&W Root Beer. It is true—that kid doesn’t even remotely look like our Carl. He is enormous unlike Carl who takes after Dad. When Dad graduated from high school, he was only 5’4”, 110 pounds. At the rate this kid is going, he’ll have that beat in another 3 months.

The car was done pretty quickly and Bear went with us to pick it up. Luckily we had no problem with the warranty so there was no charge. The serviceman said the trouble was a blockage in the gas line which could have come from bad gas or dirt in the gas tank. Either way, we were glad to have it fixed. Carla, Bear, Mike and I went to Grandma’s to visit with her and bring her back to Mom’s for dinner. Carl, Mary, Baby Carl, Terry and Don also ate with us. The party broke-up early and we ended the evening playing more bridge.

5/24 – Carla and I made a big mistake and decided to make sun dresses. We spent most of the morning at the fabric store and the rest of the afternoon and early evening sewing. Mike took Bear to the park and then read in the sun in the backyard. Carla and I realized we couldn’t finish the dresses in one day, so we consented to play some bridge; Joe and Mike killed us.

5/25/ - Carla went to lunch with Carol and I worked on my dress alone. I was feeling pretty good about it until I tried it on and it was too tight. I gave up right then-and-there and vowed, once more, never to try to sew again. I don’t know how many times I’ll have to go through this before I learn. I told Carla she could have the dress, and Mom and I went shopping. I found two dresses I liked much better than the one I was making, and Mom even bought them for me. I also got a gold chain for Mike, a silver one for myself, and a bottle of Le De perfume that I had wanted for a long time. I forgot all about the disaster.

5/26 – The sun was out full-blast so I vowed to renew the tan that I had neglected since the end of April. Gail Grant (my ballet teacher in high school) called to give me the distressing news that she and Walter are moving to Fort Lauderdale. I can’t imagine Toledo without Gail. The Ballet Guild is giving her and all her old students a going-away party on June 22nd. I won’t even be able to go because we’ll be in New Hartford. It is sad to think that I may never see her again. She said on the phone how proud she was of me. I don’t think many students realize how much their efforts and successes mean to their former teachers. I am sure I helped make Gail’s life more worthwhile. But vice versa, if it hadn’t been for Gail, I never would have chosen dance as my career. She instilled in me a love of and dedication to ballet that will keep me involved in it the rest of my life.

Carla and I went shopping for gifts when I got tired of being baked. I bought a shirt for George for his birthday and three for Mike. I also got two pair of shorts for myself; I sure am spending a lot of money lately. George called while I was out so I called him back in Lima. He will take the bus to Cincinnati and meet us there on Tuesday night. He has to be in Chicago on Friday so his visit will be short. I can’t wait for him to meet David McLain and David Blackburn. It will be fun having George at school with us.

5/27 – Carla left early for Kentucky and again I bravely faced the sun. It was a scorcher of a day. Mom came out to keep me company and we had a real good talk. The main topics were religion, divorce, abortion and men. Mom surprised me with her up-to-date views on all these subjects. I wonder how, with all the indoctrination she received as a youngster, she can still be so free-thinking. Mike and I left for Cincinnati at about 4:00 and it was an unbearable trip. We are still having trouble with one of our tires; it is losing air.

It was wonderful to see Sue again. I should have known she would have a huge meal waiting. Her husband, Mike S., was his usual rude, crude and inconsiderate self. He is about 40 pounds fatter and losing his hair. He now looks as gross as he acts—poor Suzy. After dinner, Sue and I looked through the Ballet Folk albums while Mike S. and Mike played Pong. Sue bought Mike S. the game for his birthday and he’s really having a lot of fun with it. Mike really lost badly at first; but after awhile, he got the hang of it.

5/28 – Sue doesn’t have to teach today because it is Memorial Day weekend so maybe we’ll get to see a little of each other this time. Claudia called while I was in the shower (married dancer friends from the Cincinnati Ballet). She and Ian are coming over to Sue and Mike’s Monday for a picnic. I am supposed to invite Carla and Jerry when we go over there tomorrow. In the afternoon, Sue and I went shopping for clothes for her with her birthday money. She had about $70 to spend and I vowed not to buy anything. I didn’t even take any money with me, but I still ended up charging a yellow gaucho outfit on my Sears credit card. Sue couldn’t find anything she liked. Her whole problem is that the clothes she likes don’t look good on her. I picked out some dresses I knew would look perfect on her, but she wouldn’t even try them on. She finally found a pair of jeans, a pair of slacks, and a pair of shorts. We couldn’t even find a blouse to go with them.

We stopped on the way home to eat lunch and, of course, Sue insisted on paying for it. We talked mostly about school, the teachers and the kids. It’s still hard for me to believe Sue is one of the former and not the latter. While we were gone, Mike and Mike S. changed the tire. We found out later that the little valve you pump the air into was the culprit—only $1 for a new one. Sue and Mike went out to dinner with their friends, Danny and Sherrie, something they had planned long before they knew we were coming. We didn’t mind—it had been a long time since we spent a quiet evening alone. That was the night the Beverly Hills Supper Club caught fire. It was such a sad and horrible thing—161 people dead—such a waste of lives.

May 29th – After lunch Mike and I drove over to Carla and Jerry’s. Since it was another hot day, Bear, Jerry, Mike and I headed down to the pool almost as soon as we arrived. Carla stayed behind to finish making the potato salad. Their new apartment was a lot like their old one only laid out a little better. As we were walking to the pool, it clouded up. By the time we got there, it was raining. We stayed hoping it would clear up, and Bear and I even did a little swimming. Actually, I did the swimming and he watched. The rain got worse so we took shelter under someone’s porch. We ran back to Carla and Jerry’s stopping under porches and walkways wherever we could. The wind picked up and it resembled one of those tropical storms you see in the movies. Every time Bear started running, his trunks would fall down to his knees because they were so stretched out with all the water in them. Mike and I just laughed and laughed. We played bridge until dinner which consisted of grilled hamburgers, corn-on-the-cob, potato salad and ice cream cones—yummy. We played more bridge until it was time to leave with Carla and me finishing only a little behind.

May 30th – We spent most of the day getting ready for the picnic. It took me nearly two hours to make the fruit salad—those watermelon seeds are really a bitch. Mike and Mike S. played Frisbee in the backyard, and at regular intervals yelled orders to me and Sue that we ignored. Claudia and Ian arrived at about 5:00 and Carla and Jerry at about 6:00. Everything was delicious but Mike S. was upset because the hamburgers kept breaking apart and falling through the grill into the charcoal. We showed our scrapbooks to Claudia and Ian, played more Frisbee and a little Pong, but everyone left early because the next day was a work day.

May 31st – Jimmy Truitte’s class was at 10:00—what pain and agony. After that, Mike and I could hardly walk. And then we took Blackburn’s class at 1:00 p.m.—he is getting to be a better teacher in his old age. At least now his class is not dangerous—just boring. We hurried back to Sue’s because George was supposed to be coming in on the bus. He called from Lima and said he couldn’t make it after all. Carl had called and told George to meet him in Chicago a day early. They didn’t find any dancers they were interested in on the West Coast. That’s depressing news! Ballet Folk was almost sure that Heidi, a dancer friend of Barb’s from Hamburg, was interested in a contract, but Hartford Ballet sounded better to her. So we still need two girls and a boy. I was disappointed that George wouldn’t be able to meet Sue.

I called my friend and former classmate, David Glazer, and left a message for him to call me; Mike and I went over to school to watch Sue teach. We ran into Mr. Sabline and had a good conversation with him—he was so pleased to see us. We mentioned that we had seen his name in Dance Magazine and also that we had heard how well he had danced in a recent opera—he beamed from ear-to-ear. After Sue’s class, we went back to her house to watch the Royal Ballet in an Anniversary celebration for the Queen of England. We all thought the choreography was disappointing. David called later and we planned to meet him at Hebrew Union College after class the next day.

June 1st – Modern class is always worse on the second day and today was no exception. My adductors and hip flexors were killing me. Class with Mr. McClain was no joy either although I think we both did well. We walked over to Hebrew Union College at about 1:30 and saw David —looking not a day older than when we had first met. According to him, I was looking older, but also better. We downed a bottle of scotch as we talked. He was wrapping up some of his belongings, getting ready to move to New York City. He was being ordained as a rabbi in three days and was moving to his parish. He showed us the book he had written about his work in Chicago. When he worked with singles there, he was called the “Swinging Rabbi”. There was even an article about him in People Magazine. He certainly was innovative. He invited us to a party after the ordination and we promised to see him Saturday night. The rest of the day we didn’t do much of anything except gab.

June 2nd – After the usual grind of Modern and Ballet class (this time with Mr. Sabline), we went over to Claudia and Ian’s to swim in their apartment pool. I should mention that Jane Wagner Greene was in class looking as beautiful as ever. Her little boy watched with his babysitter for awhile. He is absolutely adorable. Claudia had to go downtown to get her picture taken for her passport because she is going to Europe this summer. While she was gone, we talked to Ian and looked through their ballet books. The water was warm but we didn’t swim long because it was getting late. We had ice cream and strawberries before leaving for Claudia’s mother’s house.

Giselle performed by American Ballet Theatre with Markarova and Baryshnikov was on TV that evening and Claudia’s mother’s TV got better reception than Sue’s. We had an interesting meal—vege-o-burgers, prepared by Ian who is a vegetarian, spinach salad and dessert. It was all delicious and very relaxing. We sat on the patio overlooking the pool, the garden, and behind that, the woods. The ballet was incredible—those two Russians are unreal, inhuman even. The things they do are impossible!

After watching the ballet, we had wine and more talk. Claudia’s mother is so charming. She is an artist and has the appliqué pictures she creates hanging on the walls all over the house. They are entirely made of cloth; but from a distance, they look like watercolors. The whole family was born in Germany and they have a lot of old-world ways. Claudia’s older sister still lives at home and is also a very interesting person. It was an enjoyable evening and they all promised to come to Toledo next February to see us perform.

June 3rd – We had only one class today—Mr. Sabline’s. He was in a great mood and we ended the class by doing sections of Giselle. Afterward we sat in Sue’s office and talked to Pat Roso, mostly about Salt Lake City and the Mormons. We saw Pat practicing the Pas de Deux from Nutcracker yesterday and we were very impressed. We talked again to Mr. Sabline—he is also going to try to come to Toledo next February. I am going to send him a Christmas card to remind him.

We drove over to Carla and Jerry’s for dinner and a last visit with them. They took us out to La Rosa’s, one of my favorite restaurants. We took a little tour of the area driving by a house belonging to a sculptor friend of theirs and then by the burned-out Beverly Hills Supper Club. We played bridge the rest of the evening and this time Carla and I came out way ahead. It was very sad saying goodbye as it always is.

June 4th – I lay in the sun most of the afternoon because I have to look good for New York City. Sue came out after her work was done and we had an old-fashioned gossip session. Terri Hall, one of our former classmates, is now a porno queen. Diana Morgan divorced Fred and is doing plays on Broadway. McLain and Blackburn are having lover’s quarrels. Mr. Sabline’s marriage is also in trouble. McLain has no intention of taking Claudia back into the Cincinnati Ballet Company now that her foot is healed. Alice is marrying Wayne (what a mistake for Wayne). Cincinnati Ballet is losing eight of its best ballerinas. Patrick is going to New York City, after all they’ve done for him. After that, I felt caught up. For our last meal with the Simpson’s we had steak and corn cooked on the grill. We called Linda C. but she wasn’t home. Mike S. was being obnoxious, as usual, and wouldn’t go to David’s party, so we watched TV and went to bed early.

June 5th – We left early for “The Big Apple.” It looked like it was going to be another 90 degree, sunny day, so at first I was happy to see the clouds. It poured, however, for about four hours straight—the four hours I was driving. The road was full of holes, bumps and ridges, and I was a nervous wreck by the time my shift was up. After that, the drive went quickly and we were in New York by 7:00. We had no trouble finding Kevin’s apartment or a parking place. Kevin was looking happy and healthy—he had purchased sheets, pillows and a blanket just for us. His apartment was pretty bare but it made no difference to us.

We went to the Bagel Nosh for dinner and talked about all the Ballet Folk alumnae now living in New York—Becky, Pam, George Bohn, and Shirley. Becky screwed Kevin out of $300 by breaking the lease on his old apartment to go live with a guy named Fred who, according to Kevin, is an unattractive weirdo. Pam got $2,000 for a back injury and she is now a scholarship student at “Dancers”. She and her boyfriend, Chris, are splitting up. Shirley has gone-off-the-deep-end and George is still going to every audition with no luck. For the remainder of the evening, Kevin talked about a mind expansion course he had taken. It sounded very interesting but rather unbelievable.

June 6th – We went to take class at Maggie Black’s today. That is where all the stars go. Throughout the week, we took class with Martine van Hammel, Larry Rhodes, Marina Eglevsky, Tedd Kivitt, Karena Brock, Christine Elliot, Clark Tippit and a lot of corps dancers from American Ballet Theatre. Class was long but not really that hard. Maggie didn’t say anything to either of us the first day, but Kevin says she never does. We stopped to buy tickets to see “Chorus Line” on Wednesday and took the subway home because it was raining again. On the way to the subway, we saw Terri Hall’s name on the marquee of a movie theatre. She was starring in the X-Rated “Gums”.

We took class at Maggie’s every day from 1:00 – 3:30. We usually arrived early enough to watch at least an hour of the morning class. Pam got us tickets for Martha Graham on Thursday and she is going with us to ABT tomorrow, Tuesday. When Kevin got home, we talked a lot about his job as a massage therapist with ABT. He goes to class three mornings a week to become licensed. The rest of his time, from 10:00 to 6:00 five days a week, he gives massages to any ABT dancer who wants one. The Company pays Kevin $7/hour and the dancers pay him $10. The reason he is still so broke is that it cost him $2,500 to move into his apartment and another $425/month. Next week he is going to Europe for eight weeks with ABT. He will be making a salary of $600/week which should put him a little ahead. He is going to Europe with the Company because Baryshnikov refused to go without him. I guess Kevin has really found his calling.

June 7th – Mike took the car into the American Motors Dealership this morning because a wheel bearing was going bad. It was a beautiful day so we walked to class. Maggie gave us a lot of constructive criticism so we felt good about that. I saw an old classmate from Cincinnati, Diane Grumet, who also danced with me in Contemporary Dance Theatre. David Glazer had told me she was dancing with the Bat-Dor Company in Israel. Well she quit that Company because she got fed-up with overwork and poor management. We talked about old times and old friends. Gail Sydell is living in the country somewhere in Vermont. Sherry Londe was in France for a long time studying mime but is now back in NYC. Diane couldn’t believe I had been married for four years—I can’t either.

We stopped on the way home for a hamburger and beer. Kevin called and said he would meet us at the Metropolitan Opera House with our tickets in hand. He wasn’t going to be able to sit with us because he had to massage Gelsey Kirkland during the third ballet. She danced in the first two. We went over to the theatre in a cab with Pam and met a friend of hers there.

The performance was magnificent. We saw La Bayadere staged by Markarova with Baryshnikov and Kirkland, Leaves are Fading choreographed by Tudor with Kirkland and Charles Ward, and Le Sacre du Printemps by Glen Tetley with Kirk Peterson, Martine van Hammel and Clark Tippet. Our seats were unbelievable—about eight rows from the stage and in dead center. Baryshnikov in person is even more stunning than on TV. We took the bus back to Kevin’s because Pam doesn’t like to walk with her bad back. We met Chris there—he had watched the third ballet from the wings. He had walked over with Kevin and Kevin had sneaked him in backstage. Chris told us about all the cussing going on backstage. Kevin says someone is almost always injured during Sacre so the dancers hate to do it. It is very wild.

When Kevin came home, he told us more backstage gossip. Kirkland was in tears about her performance—which we thought was stunning. She fell once during Leaves which happens to dancers all the time. She is just too hard on herself. Kevin said she is nervous about doing her first Swan Lake on Friday. I would be petrified.

June 8th – We walked to class again in the morning. Maggie was even more helpful today. She talked to us privately after class to tell us specifically what to work on. She said we both stand a little back with our rears out and tend to bunch and cramp our muscles instead of lengthening them. We are going to continue working on this when we get back to Idaho.

On the way back to Kevin’s, we picked up tickets for NYC Ballet on Saturday. We also picked up our car from the AMC dealers. They fixed the choke and the rear-end bearings with no charge. We drove around for about an hour before we found what looked to us like a parking place. We were behind a sign that said, “No Parking from Here to Corner” but the yellow paint on the curb extended a little further. We were too tired to bother with it.

We dressed, ate and took the subway down to Broadway to see Chorus Line. We stood in the back because those tickets were only $5.00 compared to $10.00 for tickets in the balcony. The show was so good—if only we could sing. Kevin had to work late again on Gelsey so we didn’t start talking until almost midnight and finally crashed about 3:00 a.m.

June 9th – It was raining again today so we took the subway to class. Class was a little depressing because no one can work miracles in a day. We took the subway home and decided to check-up on our car. To our horror, it was gone. My first thought was that it had been stolen; so when we found out it had been towed, I was relieved. Even the $70 fee was better than the hassles we would have gone through had it been stolen.

We hopped in a cab and went down to Pier 94, the place Mike found in the phone book where they take towed cars. It was still raining hard; so when we found out they had moved to Pier 36, I nearly cried. That was another 12 blocks further. Luckily another couple in a cab pulled up looking for their car so we jumped in with them and told them where to go. They were from Arizona and seemed to be making the best of the situation. They were laughing, joking and even eating cheese with the cabbie. This lightened our mood considerably. Somehow when you realize someone else is in the same predicament you are, it doesn’t seem so bad. We picked up our car and found a parking place we were sure was a parking place fairly quickly.

We grabbed a bite at McDonald’s, changed and headed off again to see Martha Graham. I thought the first piece they performed, Seraphic Dialogue was a work of genius. It was perfect. The second, Plain of Prayer was Michael’s favorite. Peggy Lyman, my old classmate, had the lead role and she danced it excellently if a bit coldly. The final piece Deaths and Entrances put us and most of the audience to sleep. I was going to go backstage and say “hello” to Peggy; but as she wasn’t in the final piece, I figured she probably had already gone home. When we got back to Kevin’s, we called Becky just to talk. She didn’t seem very interested in seeing us so we didn’t mention it. We were up late again massaging and cracking bones.

June 10th – This was our last day at Maggie’s and I think we both had a good class. We stopped for a beer on the way home to celebrate. Kevin got off work early so we went down to the Village for dinner. We ate at an Indian restaurant, a favorite of Kevin’s, which I didn’t care for; but it was cheap. We walked around for a little while looking at all the strange people, but went back to Kevin’s early. I called the son of some friends of Mom and Dad’s, Gary Farnham. He seemed nice enough although a big touched like most of the people in this crazy city. I cut Kevin’s hair (which turned out a little lop-sided) while he lectured us on the evils of white sugar. For once, we got to bed at a decent hour—it was only 2:00 a.m.

June 11th – On our last day in New York, we played tourist. We slept late and were at Central Park by 1:00. We walked through the Park to the Metropolitan Museum of Art where we saw a boy outside playing Bach on a xylophone and a mime using people from the crowd in his act. There was a Russian exhibit inside with a special Degas showing that was awesome not to mention all the artwork that hangs there permanently. When we reached our capacity of looking at paintings, we took the subway to the Staten Island Ferry. I had fallen in love with the Ferry when Carla and I were in New York years before and I think, after that, Kevin was hooked too. He had never ridden it before. It was so relaxing riding along with the wind in our faces—right past Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty with the view of the skyline behind us. After we returned to Battery Park, we walked up Broadway past Trinity Church and the World Trade Center Towers to the subway.

After we changed for the ballet, we ate at Kevin’s favorite Japanese restaurant where I had vegetable tempura dipped in soy sauce. We raced to the New York State Theatre, right next to the Met, and got there just in time for the NYC Ballet performance. I didn’t like their program nearly as much as ABT’s. The first ballet, Tchaikovsky Suite No. 2 by Jacques d”Amboise, was laughable—and it wasn’t a comedy. Nina Fedorova, who danced the pas de deux in the second section, was the only thing that saved it for me. Just watching her was fascinating—her legs seemed to go on forever. The second ballet, Stravinsky Violin Concerto was equally boring choreographically (Balanchine) but it was nice to see Kay Mazzo, Peter Martins, Karin von Aroldingen and Jean-Pierre Bonnefous. Kevin almost fell asleep during this one. The next ballet was Robbins’ Afternoon of a Faun with Suzanne Farrell and Peter Martins which was lovely. The only thing I didn’t like was Farrell’s blue tunic which made her look a mile wide. The Concert by Robbins was the last ballet. It was hysterical, but it was supposed to be. Allegra Kent danced the role of the ballerina. On the way back to Kevin’s, we signed a petition for Nureyev’s mother’s freedom. I hope it helps. A girlfriend of Kevin’s, from the mind expansion class, dropped by to show us a picture of the aura around her hand. What a bunch of flipped-out people. Give me Idaho any day.

June 12th – It was good to be on the road again. I need a vacation from that vacation. It took us about five hours to get to Utica; and on the way, it rained again. Mike’s folks were happy to see us and we talked and played bridge all evening. Mike’s Dad told us he had deposited $300 in a savings account at the bank for us. That made my day.

June 13th – From here on, the days got less complicated. During the two weeks at Mike’s folks, I read five Time Magazines, finished three bedspread squares, wrote most of this account, read The Ambassador by Morris West, played a lot of bridge and a little Frisbee badly. I also did my stretching and foot exercises every day. I had to take three asthma pills a day and, even then, they didn’t always work. I think maybe the dogs were causing my asthma to flare-up, especially Lady, the new one, who absolutely stinks.

Mike went to the dentist in the morning; and while he was there, his Dad called to see if he would be interested in working mornings at the Hurd Shoe Company. I think Mike accepted partly because of the $70 towing bill and partly to keep active. It is very difficult to relax when your body is so used to doing something. He worked every day from 8:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. making $90 which certainly helped.

We went to the shopping mall in the afternoon to look for jeans for Mike. He found a great pair, just like his green ones with the elastic in the back. They had to be taken up so we didn’t bring them home with us that day. That night we saw Annie Hall, Woody Allen’s new movie that is mostly autobiographical. It was funny and quite touching.

June 14th – I did laundry while Mike was at work. We visited Grammie and Mom at the Day Center in the afternoon and went to the mall again. I bought a pair of low-heeled sandals and a turquoise leotard with money Mom had given me—she insisted.

June 15th – Doug came home from Buffalo and Mike went to the dentist again. When Mike got home, we all went to Hanna Park for lunch. After lunch, Mike and I drove to Rome and went through Fort Stanwick and the Orinskiny Battlefield. There was a lot of fighting in the area during the Revolutionary War.

June 16th – Went to the Day Center with Mom today. Michael picked me up there and we went to the shopping mall to pick up his jeans. Afterward, we went with Doug over to Grandma Hurd’s. She is looking a lot older but I guess she’s allowed since she’s over 90.

June 17th – Doug left for Buffalo and Todd arrived from Boston. We went to the shopping mall again, this time to look for dress pants for Mike. We found some at Wynn’s but they needed to be hemmed. That meant one more trip to the mall sometime next week. I bought another leotard. This one is beige and looks really good next to my tan. Mike’s brother, John, and his wife, Elaine, drove in for the weekend and for John’s birthday. Mom, Elaine and I talked in the living room while John put dimmer switches in the dining room and bedroom.

June 18th – It rained again today. We played cards constantly and then went to Yaunandosis Country Club for dinner. It was a special, all-you-can-eat smorgasbord. They had cooked clams, raw oysters, mussels, salmon, herring, crab and lobster cooked in a variety of ways. I’m not crazy about seafood but I had a great time. We danced, drank and talked long after dinner was over. Uncle Earl was there and we told him we were trying to get a booking for Ballet Folk in Utica. He promised to call the next day with the phone numbers of all his influential friends.

June 19th – Today we went canoeing with Dad’s Tramp and Trail Club—what an odd assortment of people. A few of the members were Lisa, with her varicose veins and bathing suit with the little skirt; the fat lady from Brooklyn who was afraid of the tiniest wave; the bald painter who kept the cardboard tags on his bathing suit; the girl in the blue hat with the worst case of paranoia; the pink-hatted lady who seemed to be on uppers and Lisa’s friend, Kathy, who teaches mentally-challenges children and looks like one of them. We were in the heart of civilization the whole time; it wasn’t exactly getting-away-from-it-all.

June 20th – I lay in the sun most of the day. As soon as Mike came home, it clouded over. In the evening, we went to see the movie, “Exorcist II” and to pick up Mike’s pants. What a stupid movie. It rained some more.

June 21st – It was cloudy today so no sunning. We went to the New Hartford Shopping Center to buy a few necessities and pick up our $300. Later we went to the zoo with Todd and it was a surprisingly good zoo—better than you would expect from Utica. The mina bird was truly talented. His whistle and laugh were the best. I was also fascinated by the elk.

June 22nd. – Mom and I went to Em’s in the morning to deliver a trunk to Laura for college. Laura is going blind with retinitis and no one can figure out why she is going to art school in Colorado. We went to Colgate College in the afternoon to talk to a friend of Uncle Earl about a booking. It didn’t sound too promising, but I’m sure something will come through somewhere in Utica.

June 23rd – We had an appointment with Bruce Barber, another friend of Uncle Earl’s, at Munson-Williams Proctor Institute. We later found out from Grammie that he was very impressed with us. We talked with him for about an hour and gave him a brochure and a program. He gave us phone numbers and some other contacts, and we promised him he would receive more information in the mail from JoAnn. Mom, Dad, Mike and I went to Hamilton College in the evening to see “Oh Coward”; I never knew Noel Coward was so clever.

June 24th – In the morning, I went to buy my folks a plant stand for their Anniversary. As soon as Mike got off work, we went to Grammie’s who took us to Fort Skyler Club for lunch. Grammie reminds me a lot of Jonny’s Nancy because she complains about the silliest things. By the time we got back to her house, I was worn out from listening to her. We stayed another agonizing 45 minutes until I thought I would scream. I disagreed with nearly every word she said, but I politely held back and just smiled. That’s enough to make anyone a little insane. We played more bridge in the evening and Mike went down 2,800 points. Sounds impossible, doesn’t it? Dad is getting on my nerves more-and-more every day. He is never wrong and he won’t stop talking until everyone is convinced of it. I am ready to go back to work now.

June 25th – We got up early to see Todd off but went back to bed. We spent most of the day packing which took quite awhile since we had acquired so many new possessions. We all went out-to-dinner at Alfredo’s and had a marvelous time eating great Italian food. We got so stuffed we had to change into our robes when we got home because our stomachs hurt so much. We played bridge until bedtime.

June 26th – We drove to Toledo. The weather wasn’t too bad; it was cloudy most of the day but at least it didn’t rain. It was good to be on the road again. Mom Hurd packed us a lunch that we ate, picnic style, on the grass at one of the oases. Cleveland was the worst city to drive through; but after that, it was clear sailing. Mom wasn’t home when we arrived and Dad wasn’t even expecting us. Joe cooked hamburgers on the grill after he and Mike drove to Michigan for beer. Dad was certainly happy for the company as he was lonely with Mom in Hawaii. I called my cousin, Therese, and offered to pick up Grandma, Mom, Aunt Pat and Aunt Mary in the morning at the airport. I found out from Therese that her sister, Patsy, ditched her fiancé, Jim, and is running off to Florida with her boss from Arby’s. Jim has threatened to kill her. I can’t believe this is happening to sweet little Patsy.

June 27th – We got up at an ungodly hour to clean the house for Mom’s homecoming. Mike was such a love—he cleaned that horrible bathroom upstairs. We ran into Dad at the airport; he just couldn’t wait another minute to see Mom. The girls all looked great—tan and happy. Mom and Dad went off together after we picked up the luggage and we took Aunt Pat, Aunt Mary and Grandma home. They just couldn’t stop talking all the way back to town. Grandma was wooed by a bus driver, a 34-year old Hawaiian. He kept teasingly asking her for a date and once even stopped the bus to give her a kiss. She was thrilled to death. Aunt Mary danced with a guy at a nightclub. He kept coming back for more until she told him she was a nun. We were happy that they all had such a wonderful time. When we got to Grandma’s, we found out Grandma’s neighbor, Mrs. Turk, had died. Grandma said it was for the best because Mrs. Turk was in such pain from arthritis. Once we got back to Mom and Dad’s, we looked at Mom’s postcards and heard all about the trip. We settled into bridge until Joe had to go to work. I went to Westgate and bought some material to make myself a dance skirt.

June 28th – We planned to go swimming today but the weather was bad. Instead we went to Carl’s. Mary was at work. Little Carl has really gotten cute in the month since we saw him last. He has slimmed down a lot and has gotten taller. Imagine a 5-month-old baby being able to stand with someone holding his hand. He is incredibly strong for such a young tyke. We played bridge with Carl, taking turns holding the baby. Carl remembered how to play pretty well for not having played in years. He has a job at Kinney Shoes at the Woodville Mall that he likes quite a bit. I think he’s doing well because he has just been promoted to full time. Mary is in the process of changing jobs. She was an A&W car hop and now she is a cook at Frisch’s.

We went to lunch at “Hungry I” where Joe works as a bus boy. The lunch was great—Mom and I split a turkey salad. After lunch, Mike and I went to the mall to find a gift for Gail Grant. Luckily her going-away party had been changed from June 22nd to June 30th so we would be going after all. We found a charm of a pair of gold Pointe shoes and bought a chain for it. Mike bought a pair of $10.00 sunglasses and I got some Velcro for my skirt.

Mom had a church meeting at 7:30; she is now President of the Parish Council. Joe, Mike and I went to the Cinema and saw Star Wars. It was pretty good but I hope it doesn’t win Best Picture of the Year. It was sort of a space version of The Wizard of Oz.

June 29th – It was freezing today but we went swimming anyway. Every time the sun went behind a cloud, we covered up with our towels. It did get warmer as the day went on and we even went in the pool once for a few minutes. Aunt Pat was there and we played a few hands of bridge although we had a hard time keeping the cards from blowing away. It was Mom and Dad’s 31st Wedding Anniversary and Grandma took Ann, Joe, Mike, Mom, Dad and I to O’Henrys. We went to church first; and when we got home, Mike brought down the plant stand. I think Mom and Dad were both really surprised. Dad told us Mom almost bought one once but decided it was too expensive—a real coup. O’Henrys was delicious and a wonderful place. The inside is covered in antiques found in the Toledo area. I felt like I was in an old 1800’s gambling casino and drawing room—really elegant. We took Grandma home and played bridge into the night.

June 30th – It was a crummy day again—rain, rain, rain. We went to the library in the afternoon to get the book, Dance is a Contact Sport. Something the New York City ballet girls use in their Pointe shoes to keep them hard is mentioned in the book. We found out it is called Fabulon and we went right to the hardware store to get some. It really did work. We picked up some switches while we were there so Mike could fix the kitchen and basement ones that were faulty. Mike also mowed the grass—he’s picking up brownie points fast.

Terry came over for dinner and Mike and I went to Gail’s party after that. Gail was so happy to see us. She talked a lot about Lynn Gill who wants to get into Ballet Folk and also gave me a picture and program from Pam Griener who has recently been dancing in France. We saw a lot of old recital movies—one with me doing the Fox Hunt (Ha Ha!) Barb Tansey, Debbie Diethelm, Ann Mouen and Cassandra were all there. Debbie Diethelm said she envies us—she works for Toledo Rep and has three kids. She tried to start back to ballet but had too much trouble with her knees. Barb just graduated from Ohio State; Ann is going to the University of Michigan and Cassandra’s studio is thriving. It was fun but it made me feel awfully old.

July 1st – Wonderful day for the pool. We stayed there basking in the sun until dinnertime. When we got home, Carla and Bear were there—we were so glad we got to see them one more time before we went back. We all went out for fish after which Joe left for a Frisbee tournament in Michigan. He was really disappointed that one of their best players couldn’t make it, but they decided to find someone there to replace him rather than miss it entirely. We played bridge all evening but I got awful cards. That was depressing, but I was happy thinking about going back in the morning. I really just couldn’t wait to get back to work.

July 2nd – We left for the long haul back to Moscow. It was sunny but not terribly hot. The drive went fairly fast. We were both in a great mood. We drove all day and all night and ended up at Mt. Rushmore by 6:30 a.m.

July 3rd – We slept a few hours after viewing the mountain and deciding there was no Indian there. (I don’t know what that’s about?) The rest of the trip was like pulling teeth—especially the last four hours. After Missoula we went over Lolo Pass. It was a fight for both of us to stay awake. We finally arrived home at 2:30 a.m.

Boy was it good to be home!