The show went quite well I thought. It was almost too bad the weather was so nice for the weekend of the 4th as I think we would have had bigger audiences if it had been rainy. We had good sized audiences (an average of 200 each of the four performances) but in such a huge theater it seemed small. There were no major glitches though I once forgot to say an interjectory line I was supposed to have because a friend and I had gotten so involved with our characters. After the Sunday matinee we had a tear-down session which may have been one of the most impressive things we did as a cast. The entire set (including many pieces that drop from the ceiling as well as 4 different platforms the largest of which was 8 feet deep, 4 feet high, and about 30-40 feet wide. Myself and another elder cast member (I was the oldest) took electric drills and rapidly took out all the screws as people followed behind picking up screws and carrying away the wood. The whold set was gone and the stage was swept and empty in about 45 minutes.
Friday night, I saw "The Dark Knight" at our local theater (which was surprisingly pretty full for a 9:50 p.m. showing). I can't say I loved it. I think you should see it though. I've heard some call it the best movie of the summer, others the best of the decade. Recently I've had cause to be more discerning about my entertainment and (while I know it's all "just acting") the scenes with the Joker/Heath Ledger in them made me intensely uncomfortable somewhat inexplicably. Overall I just kind of dislike the idea portrayed by the movie that those who endeavor to do good in a hostile and corrupt environment will always end up appearing the bad guy because they are
too good. However, I approve whole-heartedly with the admonition to persevere in doing good (even though the Dark Knight himself often crosses the line).
Beyond my theatrical experiences, this week was Ribfest in Warren. While I only made it down to the festivities 2 out of 4 days, I ended up having ribs three days in a row and some brisket last night. The whole to-do is excellently put on and even in its fifth year it draws a pretty big crowd. It was especially nice this year because they changed locations for the event and I drove by the park almost every trip I made during the day for work. Driving truck is going great. It's kind of a difficult environment in which to work, faith-wise but on the whole things are good. This summer I've been blessed to use the "new" truck almost every day which is really great. Someday I'll take pictures of it but for now, here's one of my and one of the older trucks we have (a '97):
I often joke that if gas/diesel was not on its way to like $10/gal., I would get my CDL and drive semi for a few years after college.
In other news, I recently finished David Copperfield. For some reason, I have this attraction to extremely long books (this was 750 pages) and they take me a while to read. Last summer I started The Brothers Karamazov but never finished so I'm starting it again now. David Copperfield may be one of my all time favorite books. Perhaps the allure of long books for me is that it gives the author plenty of time to completely wrap up the plot and to extensively; there are no loose ends and there are no abrupt endings. My complaint about many movies has long been that they do not sufficiently tie up all the loose ends of the plot. I need more closure than most movies (and even some books) off. I was somewhat dismayed as I was perusing Facebook shortly after finishing the tome and saw a note by a Houghton graduate detailing the classic books they had read. Their entry for David Copperfield noted, "my least favorite Dickens novel EVER." Regardless of others opinions though, David Copperfield was a great read.
I'm progressing slowly through Richard Foster's "A Celebration of Discipline" which examines the classic Christian disciplines (prayer, study, fasting, simplicity, etc.). Much of it has profoundly impacted me and I recommend it to anyone.
As far as rooming, etc. are concerned, I'm kind of torn. I'd prefer to be with Shane again but beyond that I don't have much preference. Shane's point is apt though in that if we're splitting up and leaving one room as a common room (of which I am highly in favor) I don't think you could fit more than 2 people in that room closest to the door so it would have to be three and two which I think is okay. I'm a big fan of having a living/common room of some kind though.
Anyway, I hope you're all doing well and I hope to hear from you each again soon (especially as regards your feelings about my post on our rooming and kitchen situations in the fall).
Peace!
near Mont Pellier. We were staying with a friend whose house was built around 1600. The last one is a creek in the back of the house that was really really cold and refreshing to play around in.
At left is the view from the back patio of the house
This is Susanna and I sitting on the patio, enjoying a moment together.
Here is a picture of Zan and myself with a view of a huge valley and the tallest viaduct (kind of like a bridge) in the world. The tallest support is taller than the Eiffel Tower!
This one is a sunset that was the reward of about an hour of hiking and bush-whacking up the mountainside that we could see from the patio in France. Little did we know that we would be hiking/jogging back for a couple of hours, finally retunring home at 11:30 at night. I think it was worth it.
This is the day that we went hiking in the French Alps.
Susanna and I celebrated one year and five months of being together on the 5th of July. Our anniversary was really on the 4th, but we had our night out on the town on the 5th because it wasn't raining. It was thoroughly wonderful!!
Well, that's all for now. I've gotta run (literally). There may be more later. 
