Wynton Marsalis

 

Today I worked from home, so nothing too exciting about that. My boss didn't make me come to campus to make up for working from home yesterday, and so far he hasn't said I have to come to campus Friday either. Travalon, meanwhile, has a new buddy at work.

After work I went to Adoration, as is usual for a Tuesday, and then Travalon met me at the church and we went to the Overture Center to see Wynton Marsalis and the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra. Just before the concert started, I felt a tickle in my throat, so I asked Travalon for a cough drop since he always has like fifteen on his person, but he couldn't find one in any of his pockets. The woman next to me offered me Tic Tacs, and to my surprise those worked. 

The concert was so good! They did a song by Chick Corea called "Tones for Joan's Bones" and another tune that was just the drum, the bass, and a guy whistling, among other pieces. The title of the concert was "Duke in Africa," but in the first half they didn't play any Duke Ellington, so I was like, what the heck? But then, guess what? The whole second half was nothing but Duke Ellington! The one disappointment I had with this concert, okay two, is that they didn't do an encore, and right up front by the piano there was what looked like some big tropical drum with a maraca on it, and apparently it was just for decoration because they never used it once. See I lied, I had a third disappointment, but not with the concert per se: at intermission, Travalon and I waited in line forever to get a drink, and I was all excited about the special mocktail for the concert that had blood orange and lime in it, but when we finally got to the front of the line, they said their credit card readers had just stopped working, so we could only pay in cash. Since we didn't have any cash, we couldn't get drinks. And in all the confusion over drinks, I forgot to take a photo of how beautiful the windows overlooking the Capitol were, with white Christmas lights and a blue glow. I'll just have to go back again sometime to take a photo.

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Monday Funday Antiquing

 

Today I had the day off of work for Martin Luther King Jr. Day, but there was no program up at the Capitol Building this year due to COVID. Travalon and I went to Portage because the coffeehouse had sent me another 10% off coupon after we went there last weekend, so we had lattes and Earl Gray scones with lavender icing. Those are as amazing as they sound, so Travalon asked how often they have them, and the answer is every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Not that it would be easy for us to get there on a weekday, but Travalon says maybe once in a while he could get some before work. Then we went to an antiques shop called the Big Chicken, where I found a couple of tiny religious medals for a whopping $3. Travalon bought a Texaco sign and books about England and King Arthur. Then we went to the antiques mall in Pardeeville, and Travalon found a Wyle E. Coyote mug with a big nose, some baseball figurines, and a book, while I found a rosary, a glass unicorn, and a glass Celtic cross. When I asked the proprietress if there were any more rosaries, she found another very cool one for me. And the prices there are super reasonable! I spent less on two rosaries than I am used to paying for a single one. So that was our big day off of work - antiquing. Tomorrow it's back to the grind for us, but Wednesday Travalon gets to work from home, and I am using a furlough day, so we will get a chance to watch Biden's inauguration. 

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Unicorn Night at the Duck Pond

I forgot to mention that last Thursday Travalon and I went on a Betty Lou luau cruise. The weather was cold and damp, so we didn’t wear Hawaiian shirts, but many of our fellow cruisers did. However, we were the only ones who sat outside because we were dressed for the elements. Why would I want to sit inside on a boat? I want to see the water. The food was delicious, and the hostesses were very attentive, and we enjoyed it immensely despite the weather. It was no worse than the time we were on that fishing boat in Alaska, and that was one of the most wonderful times of my life.

Wednesday evening Travalon and I went to Marshall Park for our health club’s summer picnic. I don’t remember them doing this other years, but I liked it better than their usual St. Patrick’s Day party in an overcrowded restaurant. We got there halfway through, and they were temporarily out of pizza, so I was a bit annoyed, but we had a free drink and then more pizza arrived. Better yet, we got to take a free pontoon boat ride in Bishop’s Bay. Our captain took us by the castle someone built in the Bishop’s Bay subdivision and by the little shanties that I love so much. It was a perfect night for a boat ride. Then several of us watched the full moon rise.

Last night Travalon and I went to a Mallards game. So many people were there that we had to park far away in the mall parking lot, but then a kid with a golf cart who was patrolling the parking lot gave us a ride to the lot entrance. It was Unicorn Night, so we each got a bobble head of Maynard the Mallard riding a unicorn that is pooping out a rainbow. A guy sitting near us had a light-up unicorn horn, and when I asked where he got it, he explained that it was for competing in a silly dance competition in the 7^th inning. He said, “Do you have a bobble head? I’ll trade – this is more unusual.” I thought about it, and we had two, so once he was done dancing, he gave me the unicorn horn headband, and I gave him one of our bobble heads. I immediately put the unicorn horn on and loved it, except for the pesky group of kids who kept trying to offer me $3 for it. I was like, “No way, man! I had to trade a bobble head for this!” Seriously, you would think they would at least offer a real amount of money if they were serious. And their mom had one, so why didn’t she just get more for them? The guy who gave it to me said he had also thrown out the first pitch (which we missed because of having to park so far away), and so he had gotten a game ball, but he gave that to a little kid right away. Imagine if I could have gotten a unicorn horn AND a game ball for a bobble head! Best trade ever!

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Unicorn Code of Ethics

When I was in sixth grade, I made a papier mache (which comes from the French for “chewed paper,” by the way) unicorn mask that defied gravity. It was so cool, with glitter-festooned cotton for a mane, that I was a unicorn for Halloween for several years, until for reasons I cannot explain Ma Hat took it upon herself to throw it away. Now all these years later, Toque McToque found this unicorn mask for sale. While it is out of stock and not nearly as cool as mine was, I do love the Unicorn Code of Ethics listed underneath it:

• 1. Unicorns never cheat.
• 2. Unicorns always lend a helping hand.
• 3. Unicorns don’t talk to strangers.
• 4. Unicorns respect the Earth.
• 5. Unicorns are never late.
• 6. Unicorns aren’t conceited.
• 7. Unicorns don’t judge people.
• 8. Unicorns always give 100%.
• 9. Unicorns graze on peace and love.
• 10. Unicorns don’t do drugs.

So if you are going to pose as a unicorn, remember that you must adhere to this code.

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