Two observations

I saw Phantom of the Opera last night with my friend Kerstin. It was wonderful. The lighting was a bit dim. It was full of shadows and really reflected the mood of the scene which is all good. But I would have bumped it all up about 10%. It just seemed a bit dark on stage. The Phantom nearly broke my heart at the end when Christine chooses Raul. And the set was huge! So many drops and and on-coming pieces! On the way out after the show Kerstin and I counted 8 trucks. Thats right, 8 53 foot semis for this show. I thought "My God. This has to be at least a 10 hour load out." When I got off the bus this morning at nearly 7am, they were still loading out the show. Thats insane. All my little shows were just max a 3 hour load out.

But it did make me miss tour. Just a bit. It was so fast paced and so fun, and always kept you on your toes. I would love to call a show like that. With all this stuff flying in and flying out at each scene change. Take about multi-tasking!

On another note, there is a fella who comes into work every day but rarely buys anything. He's at least 75, if not older. Always has on a suit and tie, has his cane with him and his hat on. (And today we noticed that he has guitar picks stuck in the band around his hat. Talk about styling!) I don't think he can see very well because most of the time he just sits and stares at nothing specific. And I know he can't hear very well because when we hear him talk, it's more like shouting. Probably just so he can hear himself.

Well in the last week he's been a Chatty Cathy because he's had some sweet old lady sit down next to him and have a conversation. And boy, does he have something to say! But the best part is, you can barely understand what he's saying! If any of you have seen the movie Snatch with Brad Pitt, that is what he sounds like.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4LJw6PAi5Q8&feature=related
Theres the youtube link so you can listen.

But today we heard him say something about McDonald's and chicken and a 4 piece. And then he said "Hidy ho." I think his mind just wanders from one point to another and he'll tell anyone whos sitting around about it. Last week the woman who he was with grabbed his hand and leaned in a kissed him on the cheek. Well, this chap got the biggest grin on his face! It was so cute! I can't catch most of what he says because I can't understand him. I just get the biggest kick out of the fact that he's been coming in for months, silent and sitting. And just lately we've heard him talk! And boy does he have stuff to say!

Today we were wondering what he was like when he was younger. He was surly in World War II, but we thought perhaps he was in a jazz band, played the guitar. He seemed smooth like that. We don't know his name, we just call him the Detective because any time we see him reading anything he has a ginormous magnifying glass with him. And he's in just about every day. My guess is he lives in a senior center somewhere near downtown and this is his daily outing.

I hope he has more lady friends sit and visit, so we can watch him interact. It's endearing.