Becky Says...

July 2005

Entries
Current Entry
Previous Entry
Next Entry
Archives

Links
Personal Sites
and Forums/Boards

Diaryland
The Hunger Site

Communication
Write to me


Subscribe with Bloglines






A Great Day - July 16

What a great day this has been! It began with Patrick picking me up to go have brunch with him and TeKay at Breadmen's, which is one of my all-time favorite restaurants. And I was right about how it would be to spend time with Patrick for the very first time---it wasn't at all like a first meeting. It was like spending time with a good friend.

After we ate, we did the picture taking, which was accompanied by a call TeKay really had to take. Trust me on this; TeKay is not rude with the cell phone. If we hadn't been getting hot standing in the sun, we'd have waited till he was through to take the shots.

Patrick and TeKay

TeKay and Becky

Patrick and Becky

We three then headed over to my office, so now the two of them do indeed know where I work. Our tour of local hotspots continued with a trip to a nearby bookstore where TeKay had a book preordered. Another shopping center was next on the agenda, one I hadn't been to before. Then we took a ride through part of Duke University's campus, en route to downtown Durham and the theater where TeKay works. I had not been there before, either, and we enjoyed the tour.

Part of the fun of the trip was that we had taken Patrick's rental car, which was not the compact he had requested but was one of the larger sedans these days. Gorgeous car, lots of leg room, comfy seats, and childproof locks on the back doors. This meant that every time TeKay wanted to get out of the car, I had to let him out. I have joked a few times about TeKay being just barely young enough to be my child (had I had said child when I was in my Senior year of high school), and I know I have this nurturing thing going, so it was meet and right, if a little silly, so to do.

After we toured TeKay's theater, we came back to Chapel Hill to drop him at his car. Patrick and I both wanted to change clothes before we went to dinner and to the play, so Patrick dropped me at my apartment and went back to his hotel. Appropriately dressed, we left for dinner about an hour later, with a brief driving tour of Carolina's campus, at least the parts where road construction didn't bar the way.

Patrick and I had dinner at Spanky's, and then had to make a brief detour back to my apartment so I could grab the Ibuprofen I had forgotten to put in my handbag. Speaking of: handbag was the only disaster of the evening, and it was a silly one. The bag I had wanted to carry was a small black one I had crocheted a long time ago but hadn't used. I found out in a hurry when I got it out of its storage case why I hadn't used it: I hadn't actually finished it. There was no zipper, and no handle. I could have done without one or the other, but not both. So I went with plan B and carried a slightly larger bag.

And on to the ArtsCenter for 10 X 10.

It is, for me, a rare privilege to get to see an artist see his work come into the public eye. I had that privilege tonight. As Hit Me began, I had one eye on Patrick and the other eye on the stage. I had an idea that the audience would respond well, to it, and they did. As it ended, I reached out to hug Patrick, then joined in the applause.

The rest of the plays were presented well. And then came the question-and-answer time. The actors, directors, and the four playwrights in attendance were on the stage, and were the recipients of questions from curious audience members. After that came a reception. I met and complimented the two men who had been in Hit Me, telling one of them that he had made me hold my breath for ten minutes, which was only a slight exaggeration.

As the reception was winding down, I had the pleasure of introducing Patrick to the lady who had brought the character, Melinda, to life in Patrick's The Illusion of You at 10X10 in 2003. That was one of the really high spots of the evening for me, because I had so enjoyed her performance and had long since told Patrick about it.

Other people were met and greeted, and I was invited, as TeKay and Patrick's guest, to join the partiers holding forth at another venue. But the hour was late and Patrick needed to get back to his hotel to pack for his return to Boston, so we bade the theater crowd goodbye and came back to my apartment for a few minutes. We checked the pictures (and I realized I had erred in thinking I had some room on the camera for the last of the ones I wanted to take; sorry to all looking for specific pictures that do not exist), made a few more comments about the Festival, then bade each other goodbye.

Altogether, I had a lovely day. Good company, good conversation, good food, good theater. It does not get a whole lot better than that. And anytime the other two major participants in the good would like to repeat, I am definitely happy to join in.

Text � copyright 2000-2005 Becky