Supporting the Arts in North Texas

I know that to most people, the terms "arts" and "north Texas" seem like contradictory statements, and yet I have long held that it is precisely BECAUSE we live in the middle of God-forsaken nowhere that the arts are more important than ever to denizens of these little towns on the prarie. We need to drag ourselves, kicking and screaming some days, to a higher plane of existence, the one where the ancient Greeks suggested catharsis would occur if one was properly stimulated and inspired by art. I am happy to say this year I got to truly experience just such a thrill - several times over. Most major metropolitan areas celebrate the start of each new season of artistic performances in the fall....here ( perhaps due to the fact that autumn exists on the calendar in name only) we tend to experience our cultural season in the spring, and the offerings come fast and furious, often creating a devil's dilemma : which event shall I attend?
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It is with a renewed sense of joy each year that I get to spend a few pleasant hours at the Ft Worth Opera Festival. I have been going to operas of various sorts since a young teen (read "My Knight at the Opera" in this blog, May 2008) .The experience of attending the opera is made more fun for me by the frequent arrival of an out of town friend whom I refer to as "the Johnny Appleseed of Opera", for he spreads his enthusasm, knowledge and love of this genre wherever he goes. It is infectuous. He manages to bring together a vibrant salon of family, friends old and new, music professionals and artists into a Moveable Feast of shared artistic joie de vivre, so one doesn't merely attend a performance with him, one participates in an event peopled by others who share their ideas and enthusiasms over food and drink in a day long celebration of friendship, music, and frivolity.
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In previous years, I have cautiously avoided anything new or advant guarde and have stuck to the traditional classic style operas made famous in days of yore. The costumes, composers, story lines and melodies were all safely familiar and enjoyable, much as one watches a classic movie repeatedly, precisely because one knows that Rick will let Ilsa leave with Viktor Laslo on that last plane out of Casablanca, and will walk off into the mist with Inspector Renault. What is plesantly safe is enjoyable but rarely expands one's horizons. This year, however, at my friend Johnny Appleseed's urging, I ventured out of my comfy zone and into unchartered water. "Here be Monsters", the edge of the map reads, and thus begins one's journey into unknown lands.
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It was an excting trip, as I attended Ft Worth Opera Festival's production of "Dead Man Walking", an opera in the modern style. (Modern characters, music, topics.) I cried through several purse-size packets of tissues and enjoyed myself thoroughly - catharsis was acheived. I must confess that I was a bit leary, at first, not being too excited about the movie by the same name. Sure, it's an important topic; Susan Sarandon and Sean Penn did respectable jobs in their roles. The movie chose to emphasize the issue of the death penalty itself, and its relative ethical or legal merits. Ok, important stuff, needs to be discussed, but .......snoozer. So off I went to see the opera built on the same story-line, fully expecting to get in a really good 2 hour nap. Wrong ! The opera version of "Dead Man Walking", written by Jake Heggie , takes the same basic story premise but shifts the emphasis. Instead of focusing on the issue of the death penalty, the opera storyline delves more into the characters of Sister Helen Prejean and the convicted murderer, Joe. Perhaps because operas tend to have long ( singing) passages of characters exploring their thoughts and feelings, this version of the story explores more deeply the relationship between the two main characters. It skips right over the whole "is the death penalty warranted " political issue and goes right to the heart of the story, which is : Can a human being who has committed an evil act be forgiven? What does it mean to seek redemption? Is it possible for humans to forgive another for atrocities ? Without being saccharine or tritely religious, this was a deeply spiritual work of art, as it explored the topics of sin vs redemption, trying to find the worth of all humans, even the most despised, how does one help someone who is flawed or evil, what is one's role in humanity ? Other reviews will comment on the singers' execution of their operatic skills.....as a neophyte music critic, I leave that to the professionals. What I would like to share with the world is the idea that this version of the story "Dead Man Walking" was a truly moving, profound, arts experience, brought to life via the creative vision that Ft Worth Opera director Darren Woods shows in everything he does. I am lucky to have been dragged, kicking and screaming, and to have experienced it.

Along with the many fine opera, theater, symphony and other artistic performances available for the sampling this spring in north Texas, we have many "arts and craft" festivals where various folk trot out their wares for show and for sale. 75% of the stuff that one sees at these venues is wretched, miserably hideous (entire poster sized pictures made of thread, glued down into pseudo "native " designs; whirly doodads and gimcracks that get your attention as colorful wheels spin on the breeze, but serve no real purpose; t-shirts with various ugly sayings on them; odd clothing, tankards, figurines and weapons left over from the Renaissance Festival; kitschy gadgets, bought today in the heat of passion, forgotten tomorrow to lie unwanted in some body's garage sale). The remaining few booths have some odds and ends of worthwhile stuff - I tend to favor jewelry-makers, potters, and caramel corn poppers. It is with much anticipation that I managed to swing by the Cottonwood Art Festival in Richardson a few weekends back - so many of these venues have been rained out this year ( as Roseanne Rosanna Danna would say, "It's lak my daddy always said.....it's always sumpin.") and swoop in to my painter friend Bonnie Seibert's booth to snag a painting. Hubster, in a fit of generosity, gave me a signed (blank amount) check made out to Bonnie and told me I could select my own Mother's Day Gift from her collection - really, this is the best way to handle these matters. I was deliriously happy, and got exactly what I wanted. I arrived early for the best selection and chose a painting from what Bonnie calls her "imaginary Paris in the 1920's" series. My mom, who is often my companion at these events, purchased a little girl standing in some flowers in a meadow- very Marna Towteeish of her. We are fortunate, in these harsh economic times, to have jobs that, while they will never make us rich, will never make us poor, either, and so I feel it is incumbent on me to do what I can to support the arts and various artists. I am quite happy to do this duty, as often as possible.

Heretic's Daughter, Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society

The Heretic's Daughter by Kathleen Kent

This historical novel, based on legends handed down by members of the author's own family, revisits people and events of the Salem Witch trials . This time around, the story of a woman accused of witchcraft is told from the point of view of her children, specifically one of her daughters. The material is familiar to anyone who has read or taught Miller's play The Crucible, and some of the characters, real historical individuals, overlap. There is very little that is new or earth-shattering here, however, the novel is interesting and well-written. The author researched her material well and one gets a broader sense of the period, the townspeople, the times, the issues. This book could make a nice companion piece to teaching American colonial history or Miller's play.

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society

by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows
One of the most charming and fun books I have read in awhile; I have been busy recommending it to all I know. In spite of the difficult to say title ( try saying it 5 times fast ), GLPPPS was a welcome respite from the serious tomes that have occupied my reading list of late. Basic storyline involves small island off the coast of France during WW2, cast of lovable eccentric characters, Nazis and resistance to them, and an unlikely love story. What's not to like about that ? This story is well-written, creative, not cliche-filled, and impossible to put down. Many friends have recommend books to me of late that they thought I would enjoy, but which turned out to be pure drivel, so badly written I could not make it through the first paragraph. This is not one of those books.

Little House on the Prairie

It appears that I am the only parent I know who requires my own children to help out around the home. While I do not live on a farm - far from it, I live in suburbia, and the actual chores around here are more often things like helping clean up the kitchen after dinner or mowing the lawn than those which children in days of yore frequently engaged in, such as feeding livestock, gathering eggs, bringing in the crops - there are occasional days when our entire little nuclear family rallies around some specific project or other.
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Last fall, all three of my sons ( 2 I gave birth to, one just hangs around all the time) helped hubster rebuild our fence. This project involved clearing brush, tearing down the old falling down rotted fence, digging new post holes, pouring concrete and sinking in metal posts, and then nailing up the wooden boards, leveling it all , etc. It took several weekends to complete; our yard is large. We will probably repeat this project for grammy's home, later this summer.
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Frequently we seem to be repainting various portions of this house. It reminds me of the Oliver Wendall Douglas' home on that old tv show, "Green Acres", which as soon as they painted a board, the wood just sucked up the paint with a slurping sound, and continued to look unpainted and shabby. I don't know what it is - harsh climate, wrong paints ( we keep reading and re-reading "Consumer Reports" to buy the supposedly "best" ones, to no avail - I am starting to think maybe siding isn't such a bad idea, after all ) , this house constantly appears as though it needs to be painted. In the early years, hubster and I did it all. Our motto was :"Reidy and Reidy Painters, the quality's not great but the price is right". Change that now to "Reidy and Sons, Painters" for the kids, now teens, help us with that job, too, and last spring were each responsible for a different side of the house - scraping, taping, prepping, painting, trim and all.
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Ever since they were babies, I have gotten my sons to help me in the kitchen. As toddlers they were always in there, anyways, wanting little tastes of things I was cooking. Soon they were old enough to roll out cookies or help crack eggs ( that was always their favorite task, they would approach it so seriously, with such worried expressions on their little faces as they carefully tapped the eggs over a bowl) or mash potatoes. The last several holiday meals they have become veritable sous chefs, fully responsible for all the desserts and side dishes : the chopping, mixing and saute-ing, each responsible for his own particular dishes under the master chef's ( that would be me) watchful eye. They are getting to be pretty good cooks.
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Hubster has long been "Mr Fix-it", and routinely handles all our electrical , wood-working, and automotive repairs, as well as most of the minor plumbing ones, too. It's handy to be married to an engineer.....he is starting to teach his vast array of knowledge in this area to the boys. How to maintain their own cars, how to not electrocute oneself. GFT's first husband was completely inept in all these areas, and spent countless thousands paying others to do trivial things like change the car's oil. What a useless human being he was. Even my own sister once built my mother an entire yard fence with nothing more than a hammer, boards, nails and a piece of string with a weight attached to it as a plumb line, for a leveller. It lasted 20 years, until the wood started to rot.
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This weekend was the first one where the weather wasn't too cold, windy or rainy to do yard work, so we were all out there together : cleaning up winter's mess and getting things ready for spring. Raking leaves, trimming hedges, weeding, tearing out and cleaning up old flower beds, raking and roto-tilling new ones. As we worked all day long, various groups of my children's friends sauntered by, lolling in the weekend sunshine. My children were not happy about his, and grumbled loudly about how their parents are slave-drivers, it's totally unfair, so embarrassing, etc. (Never mind that I bought them each tickets to Six Flags in exchange for their labors. I'm not completely evil, just mostly evil.)
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Which got me to thinking : Am I the only parent who requires their children to work around the house anymore ? Come to think of it, I have NEVER driven by and seen other kids in the neighborhood engaged in similar pursuits. I know at various points when my students are writing journals, when the topic has been "How do you spend your weekends?" or "What do you do to help your family?", I almost never see students mention working on chores around home. It could be this topic is not cool and no one wants to mention it. However, given the fact that almost the entire neighborhood walked by this weekend, almost as if to see the mind-boggling sight of their peers, aka my children, working so hideously while the others were free to roam and have fun, it would seem that no one else really does require their kids to do this sort of thing. Why is that, I wonder ? Is everyone so wealthy nowadays that they can afford to hire gardeners and painters and such ? Do they assume they will always be wealthy, and that having skill in these tasks is a waste of time ? While hubster and I could pay others to do these chores, we choose not to, ( for now - some day we will be too old, and have no choice) always preferring to save in some areas so that we may spend in others. But there is a larger reason, which is : When my children leave home, if they haven't spent years practicing all these skills, how will they know how to take care of themselves, and run their own homes ?
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Hubster and I both grew up in middle-class families in middle class neighborhoods, and helping out around the house was expected for many reasons. It was seen as something which taught responsibility, and built character. It was seen as a way to pass skills and knowledge of particular tasks on to the next generation. It was an activity which saved money . My mother-in-law likes to think it brought the family together in ways that are positive, and while hubster cringes when she says things like, "We'll rake leaves ! We'll sing songs ! It'll be fun ! ", there is some truth to the matter, just not in the way that she thinks. The family that learns to work together practices valuable skills in give and take, of putting one's own desires aside for a bit, working for the common good. It creates a bond among participants that transfers to other family dynamics. Who is going to be caring for me in my old age ? I hope it will be my children, and that instead of viewing the days we spent working together as a moment of hideous labor, they will instead have some appreciation of what sacrifices parents make, in terms of time and effort and re-channeling of interests, to create that stable loving family the children benefited from growing up in. If we are fortunate, this dynamic will get passed on to their children, and on and on to future generations. Is that a value which has no place in modern society ? I pondered these many thoughts, as I was raking leaves.

Spring Road Trips : N'Awlins, Y'All

My three sons at Court of Two Sisters : Note to self, all-you-can-eat jazz buffet a really good idea with hungry kids

Call me crazy, but I took my three teens ( 2 I gave birth to, one just lives at my house all the time) to New Orleans for spring break this year. Travelling with teenagers brings its own special joys and difficulties . They are an odd mixture of "I hate you ! I hate this! Aw, mom, do we HAVE to ?" and yet loving every minute of whatever you are making them do......on this particular trip, I got to experience the kids : a) checking out , and getting checked out by other teens ( girls, natch) every where they went , b) eating pretty much everything that wasn't nailed down, c)watching them smile surreptitiously when they thought I wasn't looking, d) the sight of them taking the hotel bedspreads, tying them on like Superman capes, tying toilet paper around their heads and poking out eye holes like Zorro, and jumping up and down on the hotel beds.
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New Orleans at spring break is full of people from all over the world. The weather is perfect, with warm spring breezes, soft balmy sunshine, and cool evenings. In the Garden District all the parks are blooming and full of beautiful flowers. We saw families with kids of all ages revelling in the lovely spring weather, groups of drunken frat boys, bridesmaid parties and weddings every where we went, school groups from all over America, participants in several different conventions ( a teachers convention, a medical convention) tourists from France, Germany, Japan, and Russia. It was a hootenanny.
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GFT loves New Orleans; like Tennessee Williams, I consider it my adopted ancestral home. I have been numerous times, and taken pretty much every man that has been a significant part of my life. (Or at least tried to; humorous anecdote from days long past about drunkenly trying to hide in airplane restroom, on flight from Kansas City to Houston, continuing to New Orleans, with one of said boyfriends......). It is a city I never grow tired of. I love sharing it with family and friends, revisiting old fave hang-outs, as well as discovering fun new things to do.

Tomster enjoying cafe au lait and beignets at Cafe du Monde late one night



New Orleans, like Paris, is a movable feast. I'm sure it's possible to get a bad meal here, but so far I have been lucky and avoided this fate. There are literally 1000's of wonderful restaurants to chose from...I always say, a trip to New Orleans is essentially a hop from one great meal to the next, with a few little sight-seeing events scattered in-between. Just enough to walk off the last meal, and get hungry again for the next. Cajun food, soul food, seafood, BBQ, Po-Boys, fine Creole cuisine, incredible desserts, fried chicken, gumbo, catfish, red beans and rice. You name it, it's here. Mostly I stick to places I've eaten before, or recommendations from friends. I have a few old haunts I always pay homage to, such as Johnny's PoBoys, Arnaud's, Galatoires, Antoines, Brennans, Acme Oyster House, Camilla Grill, or Cafe du Monde, but was introduced to several new ( to me) different great spots when I joined my college alumni group at a bowl game there a few years back.



There is always the obligatory stroll down Bourbon Street. I was surprised to see entire families taking in this Disney-like version of American sin and pulchritude - ma, pa, granny and grandpa too, jr and the tots - all walking in stately fashion down the middle of the street, babies in strollers, as drunken revellers carried on all around them. Not to mention the strip joint barkers, prostitutes, cross-dressers, drunken frat boys and /or sailors, people tossing mardi gras beads off the balconies at college girls with their shirts held open to encourage them, con artists, street musicians, pick-pockets, cops on horses, tour guides, you name it, they are all there. I try to pay my respects to the swinging legs, a Bourbon Street icon that has been a part of the scene as long as I can remember. This year, I couldn't find them, but maybe I didn't look hard enough.

DK and Stallion watch Jackson Square roll by on the riverboat cruise

There are many other fun cultural and educational things to do in NOLA beside just eating or hitting the bars and getting drunk on Bourbon street. New Orleans has so many different faces, with enough variety to please anyone. (One of these days, my mom and I are going to go and just visit plantation homes up and down the Mississippi River outside of town. I have been to some of them, but not all, and I think that would be a fun trip all on its own. Most years, I pay homage to Oak Alley at a minimum, just to commune with the trees.) This trip I concentrated on family and kid friendly places. An afternoon spent on a steamboat , travelling the mighty Mississippi was a grand adventure for all of us.

The Big Easy

An interesting and fun thing to do with kids in New Orleans is visit the Audubon complex at the Riverwalk ( easy walking distance, about 5-10 min, from the French Quarter, along the river), which houses an aquarium, an IMAX theater, and block away, an Insectarium. We wanted to make it to the WWII museum, a few blocks further, which is run as a branch of the Smithsonian, but ran out of time on this trip. We'll just have to come back and do it next time !

I wouldn't recommend this for very young children, but for teens and tween who play music or are interested in music, a Preservation Hall jazz concert can be quite enjoyable. My son Will was a drummer in a jazz band for years at school, his friend Dan was a trumpet player, and younger son Tom still plays violin - so this was fun for them. It ranks right up there on my own personal list of "1000 Places to Visit" in one's lifetime. On St Peters St, between Bourbon and Royal. Note : Show starts at 8:00 nightly, but get in line by 6:30 or you won't get a seat. Tickets are cash only, no credit cards (handy ATM next door.) This tiny venue only holds about 40-50 people at a time.

One of the new things we tried on this trip was a history-tall tales-ghost-stories walking tour. These are quite popular now in the French Quarter; some are run in the daytime but many are in the evening. We were tired and cranky when we started but by the time we were finished, we realized the time just flew and we really enjoyed it. A break halfway through to get ice cream and libations in "Pirates Alley" was just the ticket to keep us going. (Google "New Orleans walking tours, there are many diff ones available.)

Upon a friend's recommendation, we visited the insectarium. About 15 minutes into this great little branch of the Audubon complex, I was feeling kinda queasy ( was it the hordes of squealing two year olds ? or the exhibits of roaches, maggots, snakes, crocodiles -really, they are not insects - beetles and pupae ? hard to say which was worse.... ) and muttering to myself, "why the hell did I ever decide to do this ? I don't even like insects !" Then we came to the butterfly room - a lovely Japanese temple with koy pond and every kind of beautiful butterfly you can imagine, all flying around freely, landing on people's head's or clothing. It was tres charming, and I loved it.

My 3 sons at Preservation Hall- the band we saw this time was highly interactive, and roused the audience into a joyous sing-a-long. You know how I hate that kind of stuff, but this one was fun.

With all the fun things there are to do in this city, we barely scratched the surface. Did not make it over to the Audubon Zoo, plantation row , the Camilla Grill, the Garden District, the cemetery, WW2 Museum, the swamp tour, Tupitinas or Tulane this trip. We'll just have to go back.

Fun Things to Do With Kids in New Orleans

1)Audubon zoo now has an aquarium, insectarium, and IMAX and all that stuff
http://www.auduboninstitute.org/

2)Ride the riverboat (Eat there if you want, or not. We did it in the afternoon, then ate elsewhere)
https://owa.dentonisd.org/owa/redir.aspx?C=9966fb2c06f04269bf680dd5d5e92747&URL=http%3a%2f%2fwww.steamboatnatchez.com%2f

3)Ride the trolley car ( around $1 each way - catch it near Jax Brewery. Takes you all the way to cemetery and back) . Cheap thrills.

4)Go to Preservation Hall and listen to jazz music (concerts are in the eves only, get there 1+ hour early to line up outside to get a seat- the line is long and starts early and it is first come, first serve- only room for 20-30 in that little tiny room) Those old guys are really awesome to watch- everyone should do this once in their lives
https://owa.dentonisd.org/owa/redir.aspx?C=9966fb2c06f04269bf680dd5d5e92747&URL=http%3a%2f%2fwww.preservationhall.com%2fhome.php

5)Jackson Square, Cathedral. Some great shops there , on your left as you stand and face the river (back to the cathedral, garden in front of you). Rick always buys hot sauce at that hot sauce shop there.

6)1 day side trip– tour plantation homes up and down Mississippi river . My personal fave is Oak Alley, you can pick up brochures with maps for the others while at Oak Alley.
https://owa.dentonisd.org/owa/redir.aspx?C=9966fb2c06f04269bf680dd5d5e92747&URL=http%3a%2f%2fwww.oakalleyplantation.com%2f

7)Eat at lots of wonderful restaurants: NOLA has the best dining in the world ! Too many to list all; I prefer to avoid the chain restaurants . Mostly I looked for less expensive places to take my kids, with one big splurge meal for the trip. Some of my personal faves :
a)Brennans for breakfast ( order eggs huichard and bananas foster ! they set the ice cream on fire at your table and it’s super cool to watch ! ) tres $$$$ expensive but worth it ! cheaper at breakfast than dinner…if you want a big splurge for dinner, my personal fave is Antoine’s, I went there on a high school trip and have loved it ever since, but Commander’s Palace, Arnaud’s or Galatoires are the top oldies and goodies
b)Central Grocery – get a muffaletta for lunch (big round po boy sandwich with olives – if you don’t like olives, you won’t like this ) . Johnny's also has a variety of poboys, like a sub sandwich (with and without olives) and other stuff, etc
c)Café du Monde for breakfast or late night ( beignets and coffee)
d)Brunch ( breakfast /lunch) at Court of Two Sisters- not to be missed, all you can eat buffet -everything from build your own omelets to gumbo to all the shrimp you can eat
e)Arnaud's Oyster House- right around the corner from the main Arnaud's, and shares the same kitchen, but is much lower priced-red beans and rice, gumbo, poboys, fried shrimp
e)Lots of folk swear by K-Paul’s, Gautreau’s, Bon Ton’s , Maspero’s, although I have not been there
f)Popeyes if you want cheap spicy fried chicken, although we have one here in Denton now, it is not so exotic
g)One night, just to get away from the hordes of people on Bourbon St, we popped in to Bourbon House ( looks like a bar) on the corner and just ordered bread pudding and coffee…it was the best I’ve ever had . I never even liked it till I ate it that time (tastes sort like a cinnamon roll as a desert ? )
h)Camilla Grill – out near Tulane, wonderful breakfasts

The things to eat in NOLA are : red beans and rice, friend chicken, gumbo, jamblaya, seafood esp shrimp and crawfish

8)Stay in a hotel in the French Quarter ( go to expedia or orbitz and look for deals on rooms there –I like to stay away from Bourbon St, it’s too noisy- so pick a hotel a block or so away, check where the hotel you want is located before you book it).That way you can park your car and forget about it, and walk everywhere you need to go.

9)French Quarter - walk around, look at stuff, shop –be sure to find the many voodoo shops , Jax Brewery, etc, buy souvenirs. Everyone needs to walk down Bourbon Street at night once in their life- I made my kids pose by the swinging legs ….when you see it, you will know. Don’t look at the posters of naked girls too closely……

10)check out Tulane - eat at Camilla Grill ( wonderful breakfast) while in the Garden District neighborhood

11)There is a newish WW2 museum there that I hear is wonderful but I have not seen it yet

12)Tour the garden district – it is lovely in the springtime
https://owa.dentonisd.org/owa/redir.aspx?C=9966fb2c06f04269bf680dd5d5e92747&URL=http%3a%2f%2fwww.tour-new-orleans.com%2fgarden-district.htm

13)Take voodoo tour of the cemeteries
https://owa.dentonisd.org/owa/redir.aspx?C=9966fb2c06f04269bf680dd5d5e92747&URL=http%3a%2f%2fwww.neworleanstours.net%2f

14)You can swing by Natchez or Vicksburg and see those historic towns if you have time