That’s right: we’re getting a new roof!
The ice played havoc with our roof this winter. A closer inspection by our insurance guy found evidence of hail damage and wind damage as well. All I know is it rained on my porch when the snow melted. Insurance will cover the repair of the wall the water came down, a replacement ceiling and new carpeting out there.
I consider my new roof the first miracle of St. Perry Ford, our dearly departed friend and insurance guru. Keep up the good works, P. Ford!
Perry was our friend long before he abandoned the ridiculous profession of coaching college basketball but he was a great insurance man. He was the first person to call us when the 35W bridge collapsed into the Mississippi river on August 1, 2007. He wanted to make sure we were all safe and accounted for.
Last summer, he called me while Jay and I were on vacation to tell me that my life insurance physical had detected something smokey about my heart beat and that I’d have to go in for a stress test to find out what, if anything, was wrong with my heart. He was already battling cancer for the umpteenth time in 7 years but was worried about my health.
The stress test I took when I got home from Montana showed my heart as healthy as Secretariat’s when he won the Belmont Stakes. I was not surprised, as I knew that EKG’s are notoriously wonky about reading women’s heart beats (yes, there is a difference!) and my Mom had been through the exact same thing a year or two earlier.
In short, P. Ford was one of the world’s Greats and we will miss him until we meet again.
And we’re getting a new roof!!
There’s something deeply satisfying about renovating one’s home. From the big things, like a new roof or furnace, to the small things like a new coat of paint in a room. It just ads to the sense of security (however false, tornadoes are a thing, after all) in a life which offers none.
You get a new roof and you think “well, there’s one more thing we won’t have to worry about!”
Until the next hail storm anyway.
Last night, as a slightly early birthday present, my daughter Katie took me to see Betty Buckley in Hello Dolly! At the Orpheum theater. I don’t pay all that much attention to the shows that come through town. I love theater and someday want to buy a subscription to the season but so far, my life has not been such that I can add that to the list of things I do. I didn’t even know that Hello Dolly! Was playing until a day or two ago and didn’t realize the Great Ms. Buckley was starring until I got downtown last night and saw the marquee.
I’ve paid just enough attention to know that she’s a bona fide Broadway Superstar!
My daughter loves theater and does have a subscription* for the season at the Orpheum but she was unaware of who Betty Buckley is. I told her a bit and of course the bio in the playbill listed several of her roles and achievements but the proof is in the pudding and reading her resume wasn’t as impressive as just watching her come on stage, sing her first number and own that audience. And Oh, did she ever!
And Ms. Buckley wasn’t alone on that stage; the entire cast was magnificent and absolutely first rate. Several of them have starred on Broadway and the moment he started singing, I recognized one of the young men from my own Broadway experience at the Book of Mormon.
As great as the cast was, the wardrobe nearly stole the show. Every single costume was magnificent, colorful and detailed and the changes were nearly constant. I swear, the wardrobe for this show could fill two semi-trailers. The hats alone!! My goodness, the hats! The best word I could come up with to describe it all is ‘luscious’.
Oh, and the sets were gorgeous and clever, too!
Since just before Christmas, when Zack, Katie and I went to Noises Off! At the Guthrie, I’ve been to five more shows; Hello Dolly!, Cyrano, Donnie and Marie, A Little Night Music and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. These productions were at three different theaters, with different level of national renown but all the productions were top notch and all the casts were brilliant.
We in Minnesota may not be able to find anyone sane to elect to office but we have great artists, in every field. There’s no mathematical formula relating the two but I’ve got to believe there’s a correlation, somehow.
*a small price to pay to maintain one’s sanity when working full time with twin toddlers at home.