Inside Andy's Brain ( A Scary Place)

Wednesday, September 22nd

Fall officially starts today sometime and the weather is still 95 degrees out there. The endless summer continues on relentlessly. Everyone is letting their lawns parch and the leaves collect as no one wants to be out of doors in this ridiculous weather. At this rate, we'll be in the 80s at Christmas.

Tommy and I had a good time in NOLA for labor day weekend. We're getting middle aged so we didn't spend too much time carousing but had a couple of very nice days gallery hopping and hanging out with friends. That weekend was the one time the weather broke a bit so NOLA was bearable in Tshirt and shorts. The next weekend, I was off in the woods for the opening retreat of the Leadership Birmingham program - bootcamp for civic leaders is probably the best description. It's going to be an interesting year as they mix us all up and make us think about the issues confronting the city and the region - political, economic and social. We got a bit of a history lesson that weekend and the patterns being played out now are deep seated. The history of Birmingham is one of wasted opportunities due to people putting their parochial self interests before the greater good.

I'm doing a lot of lecturing this week on my usual topics of geropharmacy and economics of medicare and the health care system. Keeps the performance skills going even when I'm not on stage. Nothing happening in that department this fall but I do start rehearsal this weekend for the Opera Birmingham chorus. 'Faust' runs the last week of January.

posted by Andy @ 2:18 PM

Wednesday, September 1st

Spent ten days of August devoted to Pattypalooza, also known as 'Patty's Piano Bar', the fund raiser for the Virginia Samford Theatre which had many of the local musical comedy types involved. It ended up being a good time with all of us having fun with each other backstage and onstage which took the audience on a pleasant ride for 90 minutes of Broadway and Cabaret numbers. Had the baritone part in the 'Heart' quartet from Damn Yankees and then the group numbers, 'Another Openin', Another Show' and 'Old Friends' and the highlight, a full cast version of 'Proud Mary' with Miss Patty herself in full Tina Turner mode, easy and rough.

Finished the run and then headed back to WV and KY for my usual mine workers stuff. Spent some time this trip working with them on a new project to improve services and access for caregivers of dementia patients and trying to figure out ways to connect the rural poor up with appropriate services where no such services actually exist. The weather was a bit cooler up in the mountains, but as hot as usual when I got back to Birmingham.

The weather finally broke, after 50 straight days of over 90 degree weather this past Sunday and there was much rejoicing. It's warmed up again but a much more manageable low 80s so fall is in the offing and the sauna may finally be over.

We're off to NOLA for the long weekend with friends. Should be interesting.

posted by Andy @ 2:07 PM