Keeping Busy

Last week saw me with multiple events drawing me away from my computer and out of the house. There was an opera (Verdi's "Macbeth") on Sunday afternoon; a talk on scripture Monday evening; a one-man performance of Moby Dick on Tuesday; a church-related meeting on Wednesday; and concerts Thursday and Friday. All were in Boston except the ones on Monday and Wednesday.

The opera was pretty good. I mean, it's a fine opera, and it was adequately staged and performed. The talk on Monday was great. You wouldn't think that Moby Dick could be made into a one-man show lasting under two hours. But it was, and it was done very well. The actor and a fiddler, who played at the beginning, middle, and end, and a little bit to accompany the speech at a couple of points, as well as the director, are from Ireland. As one reviewer noted, there are points at which Ishmael notes that the crew could have stopped the voyage; they had a right to refuse to go along with the pursuit of the whale; but they all acquiesced. The concerts were good, but not spectacular. See my music blog for more about the one on Thursday. On Friday, I felt pretty tired and left at intermission.

I've been looking forward to a less strenuous week next week. I'll be at home on Sunday, except to go to church. Monday another talk on scripture here in my home town. Tuesday a church meeting, also here in town. Wednesday could be free or could be a show in Boston. I have a ticket to the show on Friday, but now I have dinner plans for Friday, so I'll see if I can exchange the theater ticket for the Wednesday performance. Thursday afternoon a church-related meeting about an hour's drive from here; Thursday evening another symphony concert. On Friday evening, I'll join two college classmates and their wives for dinner (location TBA, but probably not very near to home.)

So it turns out that there is about as much on the calendar for next week as there was for this. Maybe that's a good thing.

One disappointment was that I had planned to go to the Scottish restaurant and have my first haggis before the concert on Thursday. But I took a nap and overslept and didn't have enough time to get to the restaurant and dine before the concert. So haggis has been postponed to December 1. Too bad I can't do it on St. Andrew's Day (November 30) instead. Hmmm, maybe I can, after all. I'll have to think about it.