I'm Here, I'm Here

Yes, I am here.

Helping with sixth grade summer school and directing a show, performing in a show, and preparing for an upcoming show are taking a wee bit of my time.

I have Friday and Saturday off, so hopefully I'll get caught up. (Yes, I'll be celebrating my birthday, and our country's birthday on my days off).

So, lots to report on....the Tri Delt reunion in Moscow last weekend, having dinner with TJ tonight, a guy from Kentucky who reads my blog and came to the Silver Valley for a visit, and tomorrow is opening night.

I'm also behind on a sibling assignment, both writing and giving an assignment.

Plus I'm helping Z2 get ready for a trip to New York City...she leaves Friday for a whole week.

And The Princess got a job, so that is good news.

More details to come.

Sixth Street Melodrama Summer Season Kicks Off This Wednesday

Cast members of the upcoming Sixth Street Melodrama production of “D.K. Molar, the Devious Dentist, or….There’s Gold In Them Thar Teeth” are rehearsing for the upcoming opening night on Wednesday, July 1. Shows are performed every Wednesday through Saturday evening at 7:30 p.m., and Sundays at 2 p.m. through July 26^th. Pictured are cast members Steven Frank, Molly Roberts, Paul Roberts, Ryan Griffin and Kimara Eisler. Wednesday’s opening night show kicks off the melodrama season with a gala beginning at 6:30 p.m. at the theater.

WALLACE—Audience members have a chance to boo the villain and cheer for the hero as the Sixth Street Melodrama opens their twenty-sixth season this Wednesday.

“D.K. Molar, the Devious Dentist, or….There’s Gold In Them Thar Teeth” opens Wednesday, July 1 at 7:30 p.m., with a special opening night gala beginning at 6:30 p.m.

The first melodrama of the theater’s summer season is directed by Paul and Carol Roberts. Both are also sharing a role in the production as well. Other cast members include Molly Roberts, Steven Frank, Ryan Griffin, Aly Evans and Kimara Eisler. The cast will also perform Kelly's Alley Revue, a musical/comedy revue after intermission.

This production is about a dentist who finds a villainous way, with his evil sidekick nurse, of finding gold in the mouths of his patients. Mixing together patients, a goody-two shoes receptionist, a dashing dentist from the floor above, and nitrous oxide, or “giggle gas”, you get quite an interesting combination.

Opening night for “D.K. Molar” will be Wednesday, July 1, and will run every Wednesday through Saturday evening at 7:30 p.m., and Sunday matinees at 2 p.m., through Sunday, July 26.

Ticket prices are $15 for adults, and $13 for students and seniors. All tickets throughout the summer on Wild West Wednesdays are $10.

Reservations can be made by phone by calling the theater box office at 752-8871, or toll free at 1-877-SIXTHST.

More information can be found at www.sixthstreetmelodrama.com.

Brad Connor Memorial Golf Tournament

Yesterday, PKR, his dad and sister and I were "Group 8" as we participated in the Third Annual Brad Connor Memorial Golf Tournament.

Brad Connor was my PKR's brother David's best friend, and died while defending our country in Iraq in 2007. David and some of his KHS Class of 1984 classmates decided to put on this golf tournament each year to raise money for a scholarship to give to a graduation senior at Kellogg High School.

Now it had been a few years since most of us had been on a golf course. My father-in-law played in last year's tournament, so he had the most recent experience on a course. My sister-in-law played three years ago, PKR was maybe four or five years ago, and it has been at least nine years since I swung a golf club.

The tournament was held at the Shoshone Golf Course, up Big Creek east of Kellogg. It was a perfect day, with the sky a bit overcast, but it never rained or the wind was never too strong. The only people suffering were those with hay fever...the pollen was pretty lethal out there.

One of the rules was that we had to use each person's drive at least once in the 18 holes we played. Well, I actually had a pretty good shot off the first tee, which was Hole #8, and so we used my tee shot first. Good thing, because my tee shots went downhill from there (no pun intended).

But I had some decent approach shots, and chipped and putted good a few times. We all felt pretty good with our effort overall as a team.

After the golfing, there was a dinner at the clubhouse, then a silent auction and live auction. It was fun seeing some people I hadn't seen in a long time, and it was nice to see people come out and sponsor this event. If the timing is right, I'd love to play in the tournament next year.

This is such a beautiful golf course.
Thank goodness we were provided golf carts, because it is a quite hilly course.
Here is my father-in-law assessing the line on the green for his putt.

Well, I'm no Nancy Lopez, but I did have a lot of fun!!
Here is LR getting ready to putt.
No this isn't Payne Stewart, just PKR, sporting my dad's old yellow golfing hat.
Burt again assessing his putt.

Golf Course Miracle

If you lived here in Kellogg thirty years ago, you lived in a place with bare hills and very few mature trees on the hills.

Today, if you visit my hometown, the hills are covered with beautiful trees of different varieties, and it is truly a miracle in my estimation.

Here is a view of the Bunker Hill Smelter and the hillsides behind it, looking rather free of any kind of mature vegetation.



In this area today, a golf course and golf community are coming to life....

Galena Ridge has been born.

How Do You Solve A Problem......

Our household has come down with an awful malady, one we are taking drastic measures to combat.

No, it isn't swine flu.

No, we didn't get C-Diff like RP.

No, it isn't some unknown strain of a virus that doctors have never seen before.

It is NEGATIVITY.

Yes, negativity has swooped into our home and assaulted each and every one of us with its nasty way of gripping onto our tongues, and causing us to say things we normally wouldn't say.

So we are fighting this nasty beast the only way we know how....through music.

We wanted to come up with a way of telling others they are being negative, without being negative ourselves.

So, if you feel someone has just had a negative attitude, or said a negative statement......

You start singing one of the songs from "The Sound of Music" to them.

So, if Z2 tells The Princess she looks pretty crappy, The Princess may respond with...

"How do you solve a problem like Maria? How do you catch a cloud and pin it down?"

Or, if Kiki Aru tells Z2 to shut up and quit being stupid, Z2's response may be...

"High on a hill was a lonely goatherd
Lay ee odl lay ee odl lay hee hoo
Loud was the voice of the lonely goatherd
Lay ee odl lay ee odl-oo"

You get how it works? Then we not only communicate our meaning, but do it in a way as to not be negative to the other person.

So, the hills have been quite alive these past few days with "The Sound of Music"....

and it is positive music to my ears.

Sixth Street Theater Announces 2009-2010 Season

WALLACE, Idaho—The Sixth Street Theater is proud to announce their 26th season.

This year’s 2009-2010 season includes two summer melodramas, a fall musical comedy, a winter musical, and a spring comedy.

Starting off the season in July is “D.K. Molar, the Devious Dentist…or There’s Gold in Them Thar Teeth”. This melodrama is about an evil dentist and his unscrupulous nurse who enjoy doing their own form of gold mining in their patient’s mouths.

This production opens on Wednesday, July 1 at 7:30 p.m., and runs Wednesday through Saturday evenings at 7:30 p.m., and Sundays at 2 p.m. through July 26.

The August melodrama is an original work written by Paul Roberts, titled “Mezmerizing Merry….or, Thanks For the…Uh…Memories”, the story of a villainous hypnotist. This show opens Wednesday, August 5^th and runs through Sunday, August 30^th. Show times are Wednesday through Saturday evenings at 7:30 p.m., and Sundays at 2 p.m.

The theatrical genre of melodrama tends to follow a formula, where a villain poses a threat, and then the hero escapes the threat and/or rescues the heroine. Heroes are good and villains are bad. Audience members are encouraged to cheer the hero and boo the villain.

Both summer productions are directed by Paul Roberts and Carol Woolum Roberts. Each summer melodrama is also followed by Kelly’s Alley Revue, a musical revue where cast members entertain the audience through music and comedic skits.

“Here We Sit” will open on November 6^th and will run Fridays through Sundays until November 22^nd. This is a musical comedy about life in the theater, written by L. Don Swartz, and directed by Joy Persoon.

In January, the musical “I Do! I Do!” will be performed by Paul and Carol Roberts, and will open Friday, January 8^th, and run through Sunday, January 24^th. This musical is written by Harvey Schmidt and Tom Jones. Proceeds from the production will benefit local Silver Valley charities.

“Dearly Beloved” is the spring comedy which opens Friday, March 5^th and runs through Sunday, March 21st. This comedy, written by Jessie Jones, Nicholas Hope and Jamie Wooten, is about preparing for a Texas-style wedding you won’t soon forget. This play will be directed by Vern Hanson.

Reservations can be made by calling the theater at 1-877-SIXTHST, or 1-208-752-8871. Tickets are $15 for Adults and $13 for seniors and students. All tickets on Wild West Wednesdays are $10. Tickets must be paid for in advance or held with a credit card.

The theater is located at 212 Sixth Street in Wallace, an historic mining town nestled beneath Interstate 90 in northern Idaho’s beautiful Silver Valley.

For more information visit www.sixthstreetmelodrama.com.

Frustration...Sometimes You Just Gotta Drive It Away

The other day I was very frustrated.

I had some errands to run, so I went around town and did those, then I just started driving.

I ended up out past Rose Lake at one of the Trail of the Coeur d'Alenes trailheads down by the Coeur d'Alene River.

Looking at the water seemed to calm me down.

I wish I could have stayed there for hours....but the hour I was there helped.

It was very weird...I don't usually get this way, but lots of stuff is stirring around inside me.

Later that night, I even had to leave the house and walk around the block...but it helped, and then I talked about some things later, got them off my chest, and that helped clear the air....I think some of that stuff needed to just get out....it had stayed inside too long.

And, life goes on, and on, and on.

Have a great day everyone. If you have a chance, pray for someone today. Boy, there are a lot of things going on in the lives of friends and families that isn't easy to deal with...so if that is your case, say a prayer today....people need to know they are loved.

Summer Schedule

I love being on a summertime schedule.

I enjoy the fact I'm not rushing here and rushing there each day.

Mornings are the best. I get up about 5:30 a.m., go for a walk with NR, get back to the house, make some coffee, make some oatmeal, read the paper, have some quiet time...

It is as if I actually have time to think about things...important things...life changing things.

And some time for self-reflection. Yikes...that is a tough one...I don't really like what I'm seeing right now....my reflection has some smudges and dirty greasy spots that need taken care of this summer. Yes, Lord, that is a project you and I need to work on together!!

Directing, acting, singing...preparing for the summer theater season. Always a good way to spend some time.

Picking radishes, weeding, spraying Miracle Grow on the plants, watching plants push up through the ground.....I love my gardens.

Baking....yesterday it was rhubarb/huckleberry cobbler. The neighbors even got a pan full of that to thank them for watching the dogs, cats and house one weekend. Last week it was rhubarb/huckleberry crisp. Time to go get some more rhubarb at Mom's house today. Maybe I'll make a pie today...yum, yum!!

Making sun tea....four bags of regular black tea and two bags herbal mint tea...put in a pitcher and let the sun do it's magic outside....delicious!!!

I need to find a good book to start reading...oh, I have plenty of books around...I just need to find the one that fits my mood at the moment.

Clearing out....getting rid of junk....getting rid of stuff....we may have a yard sale all summer long!!

Summertime.....and the living is easy......

Sibling Assignment 101 Highlights Highway 101

For Sibling Assignment # 101, RP gave us this assignment:

Let's focus on US Route 101, the north/south route running from Olympia/Port Angeles to Los Angeles. Read more about the highway, here. We've all traveled different sections of this famous highway. Write about a specific experience you enjoyed or survived on U.S. Route 101.

I have traveled along this route numerous times in my life, but, as our family plans a trip to the Oregon coast in August to meet Raymond Pert, IEG and JEJ, and mom at Rockaway Beach, it reminded me of the last time we traveled along the Oregon coast as a family, in the summer of 2002.

Could it really have been seven years ago?

We traveled to Oregon because RP's stepdaughter was getting married in Eugene that summer, so we decided to make a vacation out of it, and take our time getting to Eugene.

We traveled to Portland, and spent the first night there.

Then we headed over to the coast. One of my favorite things to do is plan a vacation, and find interesting, out of the way places to stay when we vacation. I don't like staying at hotels or condos. I like places with a certain uniqueness about them.

After Portland, we traveled to the town of Wheeler, and stayed at a small motel in this town, called Wheeler on the Bay Lodge. There are three towns that kind of go together on the northern coast of Oregon, Wheeler, Nehalem and Manzanita. We explored this area, and spent some time crabbing here, if I remember correctly. This was before you needed a license to crab, which I believe is now the case. But, of course, we couldn't keep the crabs, because The Princess could not eat something with eyes that looks at her.

After a few days in this area, we headed south to Newport. Here our homebase was an interesting rental called Above the Schoolhouse Lodging, a small loft located above a Montessori Preschool. It is located about a block from Nye Beach, and was a perfect location.

While here, we visited the Aquarium in Newport, Ripley's Believe It Or Not, The Wax Museum, and the Undersea Gardens.

PKR's brother and his wife, KR and RR had just moved to Oregon and met us there. We look forward to going to visit them again on our trip in August, where they manage a motel in McKenzie Bridge.

I remember going and purchasing a fresh crab on the waterfront, and steaming it and having it for dinner one night. It was the best thing I have ever eaten in my life, and hope to have that experience again this summer.

From Newport we headed south to Eugene for the wedding.

Here are some pictures from our trip.
While in Portland, we visited OMSI, and took a tour of the USS Blueback (SS-581).
This submarine was used in the filming of the movie "The Hunt for Red October."

Here we are on the steps of the Above the Schoolhouse Lodge. We all have out Oregon Coast sweatshirts on in the picture.

Here the girls are goofing around with their aunt and uncle.
Here is IEG, RP and myself in Eugene.

From Folk Songs to Pop....She Spanned the Spectrum of Music

Well, I guess it is about time for me to write our 100th sibling assignment I gave a few weeks ago, which is:

"Think back to your music education from the Kellogg School District, and talk about the influence one of your instructors had on your life and how they influenced you musically."

RP wrote about Glenn Exum here, and IEG wrote a wonderful tribute to our father, here.

What inspired me was a post RP did about a month ago, found here, where he posted a video of Jim Croce singing "Bad, Bad Leroy Brown".

This reminded me of my elementary music teacher, Gen Williams.

Because that is one of the songs we sang in music during my elementary school years at Sunnyside School.

I don't think I realized it at the time, but Mrs. Williams was ahead of her time. Yes, we still sang some songs out of the traditional elementary school music book, such as "Camptown Races", and "This Old Man" and "All Through the Night".

But we also sang pop music.

We would go into the music room, whatever room happened to be the music room that year. It seems like it was moved around from year to year. But there would be a chalk board in the room, and Mrs. Williams would have the lyrics to whatever song we were learning written up on the chalk board. And, if the lyrics were inappropriate, she changed them.

One of these lyric changes was in the song "Bad, Bad LeRoy Brown". He wasn't the baddest man in the whole damn town, he was the baddest man in that big old town, or something like that.

Another song was "Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round The Old Oak Tree". The whole damn bus didn't cheer, it was the whole blame bus.

I remember getting to sing the after part when we learned "I'd Like To Teach the World To Sing".

And Mrs. Williams was flashy. She wore sparkly clothes with rings on her fingers. She also lived down the street from us.

I think music class was one of the highlights of my week when I was a student at Sunnyside School.

So, in honor of Mrs. Williams, here is a blast from the past from my singing days at Sunnyside.

What a Fun Time With Guys and Dolls...Side By Side

Tonight PKR and I and six other Sixth Street performers put on a fund-raiser for the theater. We paired up and sang and competed against one another. The pair whose bucket had the most money was the winner.

We started out the show singing "Do-Re-Mi".


Joy Persoon started off the solo competition with "Everything's Coming Up Roses".

Her partener, PKR, schmoozed the audience with "In The Still of the Night".


The next solo was Jenny Fritz, singing "I Whistle A Happy Tune." Doesn't she look cute with all those curls.


Her partner, Vern Hanson, sang "I've Grown Accustomed to Her Face" from "My Fair Lady."


Then Shelley Hodgedon also sang a tune from "My Fair Lady." She sang "I Could Have Danced All Night".


Her partner Ken Bartle donned his leather jacket and hat and did a wonderful version of "Chantilly Lace."

Then it was my turn to get up and sing George Gershwin's "Summertime" from "Porgy and Bess".


Then my partner Scott Hall was next, and he sang "Only You."


After intermission, we paired up and sang duets.

PKR and Joy started the duets off singing, "Tonight" from "West Side Story."


Vern and Jenny sang "It's Delightful".


Ken and Shelley sang "Til There Was You" from "The Music Man".


Then Scott and I donned some "Fiddler on the Roof" costumes, and sang "Sunrise, Sunset".


As they counted the money, we all got up and ended by singing "Seventy Six Trombones."


The evening ended with Scott and I being announced the first place winner, the ones who had the most money in our bucket.


But really, everyone was a winner, because it was a fun night and the theater made over $800, which will help keep us going through the summer.

We plan to make it an annual event.