Writing to you from some battle

All that endurance I built up last spring for our recital? Gone. Totally gone. My legs are feeling quite like spaghetti and I probably look like an old lady as I walk around the apartment. At least I know that means I'm working cause if I wasn't feeling a thing, I wouldn't be getting my money's worth.

And speaking of feelings, I had the great opportunity to catch all three parts of The Great Game: Afghanistan this weekend at Shakespeare Theatre (put on by Tricycle Theatre out of London, UK-here's their blog about the US tour of the show). The Great Game features twelve one act plays with some verbatim political speeches and monologues/dialogues scattered throughout that focus on the western influence in Afghanistan. The first play is set in 1840s with the British forces occupying Afghanistan to the present day by the end of the cycle.

Most of the plays moved me in various ways, and I felt much more educated on the history of western involvement with Afghanistan. (And I have learned new horrible ways in which people kill others and I'm not sharing because there are somethings you don't want engraved on your brain for the rest of your life.) Which probably isn't saying all that much because we really aren't taught all that much about that part of the world in school, or at least if we did, I don't remember a thing of it and history was a favorite subject of mine. I have ordered a copy of the script and I really wish I could use it for a book discussion. I think that would be fabulous.

It really is worth you time and money to see this production if you can. By the time I saw the last play, I wanted to wholeheartedly adopt the entire cast and keep them over here in the US I just grew to love them that much over the course of the day. As my friend pointed out, it was like seeing an entire season of theatre in one day.

Then on my way home on the metro, I pulled out my ARC of Sugar and Ice by Kate Messner because I felt I needed something light. She is an author from my home town, and while I have not read her earlier book, I am sure that this one won't fail to delight me. As it is, I was drawn to feeling like I was back home because the names she uses are all so familiar. I lived next to a Ladue family and knew a Rabideau family. All so familiar. But what I found truly hilarious (and so exciting that I finally *got* and inside joke by an author) was when I read this description of a man:

"'Who's that guy?' He pointed to a skiny man with blond hair and glasses, sitting two tables over and smiling like crazy."

That man is her husband, Tom Messner, the weatherman at our local tv channel. My own grandmother fondly nicknamed him "Guy Smiley" because he always has the brightest smile on, even when predicting the worst blizzards possible. So I'm already laughing like crazy at this book and I'm only on page 20. I can't wait to see what other memories it holds for me!