well that was different

 

Yesterday I did a walk with Zoellner Arts Center. It was described as an Artistic Adventure and in conjunction with the Spring on the Southside activities.  I saw the post on social media, then my friend Pam sent it to me. It said an 1.5 hours of walking and performances. It was a collaboration with The Strike Anywhere Performance Ensemble and Lehigh. It took 2 years to build. 

 

SAPA's website describes it as "POP UP is an artistic treasure hunt. They gave us a map of the southside, but we spent 80% of our time on campus. The public is guided to a series of 5-15 site-specific performances via clues on a hand-painted map. Over the course of 3 days, performances pop-up on the street, in windows, parks, plazas and businesses throughout one neighborhood. These short apparitions of music, dance, theater and/or visual art are inspired by interviews with local residents and business owners about that neighborhood. By injecting a series of alternately playful, poetic or poignant performances in everyday spaces, the project is designed to shift how people perceive those places and to connect community members through art. The performances are sculpted through a live-composing sign language called Soundpainting."

Now that you've read that, do you have a clue what I did yesterday? Neither do I and I was there. It was very odd. Not sure what I was expecting but  I'm pretty sure what I saw wasn't it. I was confused from the beginning. I should have known it was going to be odd. Touchstone and Bill George were there. They only do alternative theater. (BTW Bill George has gotten old. I guess that means I have too.)

We scanned our tickets and in a bit a MC-ish character came out and yapped on about the show and said it would start shortly. It was drizzling. Then a man came and asked if anybody was there for the art tour. Well no. That began a half hour ago on the greenway. Like sheep everyone followed him as he yammered on about the flame sculpture (In A State of Rejuvenescense, 1996, David Cerulli) in the the courtyard. Then he moved on to the frieze from Taylor Stadium. I'm still standing at the start. It wasn't until dancers came out wearing the colors of the sculpture that I thought, oh, it was a distraction. I slowly joined the group. They did a dance around the statue. And then ran up the steep hillside that used to be the Taylor Stadium bleachers.

These performers ran a lot. Many of them needed to get to the next stop before us and Change. I thought the person with the bike was smart. They were never breathless.

We moved forward and went up Taylor street, the climbed the stairs next to J. Stewart Johnson's Between Classes (1994). Then we climbed the hill behind the Linderman Library and went in. Our clue was to look for a colorful sun. Between the hills and the stairs I was one of the last to arrive. No less than two people asked me if I wanted to take the van. That will happen the day after Hell freezes over. 

Everyone is going into the library and talking. Loud. I'm thinking WTF it's the weekend before finals. This place will be full (yes, even with the internet) and they didn't come to listen to your loud-ass mouths.  Now Lehigh did put up a sign that if you wanted quite go here, here and here because there would be a performance between 2-4 in the Rotunda. But still people. It's a library. Have some respect. Shut you ducking mouths. The performers told stories. Most of the time all at the same time. Like my house when I was a kid at dinner. Occasionally a person was allowed to speak solo. There was a Moravian, a steel worker, an immigrant laborer, a ghost hunter, a student, a Christmas tree and something else.  It was here I got the idea that the theme might be community. But I was not sure. I'm still very puzzled.

We walked thru the library, went downstairs and exited thru an emergency door. Downstairs is a gallery and the show looked interesting but I didn't look. I didn't want to leave the group. There was at least 50 people. We went down the hill toward Packer and found the woman (Okay, not sure, might have been a man or trans or non-binary. Just more to add to the confusion.) playing with the silks and fire. They was amazing. The two laborers were talking about the steel mill. It made no sense. I watched them--the best part of the whole thing. The reason I wonder about gender was there were many nipple slips and they barely had breasts. Would nipple slips be tolerated in a family show? None of the children noticed.

We crossed Packer Avenue (LU cop always blocking traffic.) and went thru to another courtyard and down Webster. There we had some comic relief.

Then it was down Morton and another alley. We crossed 4th and went back to Webster. (Why?) Then to the Greenway. Which I think the MC was calling Greenroad. There was a spool and signs and we all were attached to it walking down the Greenway. Again, not sure why. We did this for two blocks and then dropped the roap and headed to the steel ruins.

I stepped out of line and took the backside of Touchstone. I think I like the old mural better.

At the foundry we were met by Broughal students with swifts on sticks and ribbons. We gathered in the parking lot and manipulated the swifts with sticks. They were attached to a tulle canopy. They were making bird sounds.

The final stop was at ArtsQuest. The cast assembled and did a "choral" dance presentation.  The MC was the conductor. The capes from the first "act" came back into play and they were dancing around by the flywheel sculpture. It was at least 20 minutes but we could sit down. Please don't ask me what it was about. About 75% of the time they were talking or singing over each other. The birds made another appearance.

You had a choice of walking back or taking the Lehigh shuttle. I took the shuttle. The teacher from Broughal was praising the students for the great job they did. We ran a half hour over. I bet the parents were getting antsy waiting for them to come back.

I got home, changed, and left for the traditional theatre. I saw The Drowsy Chaperone. My sister-in-law couldn't use her ticket. I never heard of the show. It's a musical inside of a comedy. I guess it was a day for the unusual.

Miles/Steps:   The MC said 1.5 miles. My Fitbit was dead so I'll take their word for it.
Bathrooms:    I-5 at Zoellner

i did it. i walked a slow 5k

 

I drove down to Swarthmore today to do a volkssport walk. It was 1.5 hours each way. I'm crazy. But I knew that if I didn't have people with me I wouldn't do it.

And I was right. I wanted to quit so many times.

There were 21 people and one baby in a stroller. People came from four states, so I guess I'm not as crazy as I thought. I took a nap when I got home.

The walk began at the Swarthmore Public Library, near the commuter train train station. The walk went through Swarthmore and Swarthmore College. It reminded me a lot of Lehigh. The buildings were the same age, there was forested areas, and flowers. I thought about going to the adjacent Scott Arboretum, but frankly I was wiped out. 

 

I did walk the labyrinth. This is the second picture this week that shows my true size. I am a beached whale. The leggings I'm wearing are Pat's. She was almost 100 pounds lighter than me. Jury is still out if they go in the Goodwill bag.

At the start I was the only one doing the 5K. At the end, there were four of us. 

I was too tired to go to the festival that was being held. I had a great parking space for it too.

Miles/Steps:   My fitbit said 4 miles. I think the labyrinth messed with the results.
Weather:        66 and sunny at the end. Low 50s and cloudy/drizzle at the beginning.
Bathrooms:    I-4.5 at the library
Wildlife:         Heard one woodpecker

an eventful month

 

 

I needed a picture for this post. I really wanted to post a picture of my friends goats. They are over-the-top freaking cute. Cute enough that you'll forget I'm not talking about walking. But it's not nice to swipe things from Facebook. Then I thought I'd pick a rando picture from my 'keep' photos. I had zero for 2024. Sure I've taken pictures but they are not keepers. I had to go into my deleted folder to find something—the tulip tree across the street.

It is obvious: I haven't done any serious walking or exercise all month. It's been a tough one.

What's been going on. Let's start with the positive. My health has finally improved, and I got a thumbs-up from the doctor on Saturday. I go back once more in three months, and if I'm still good, I'm out of the woods. And I lost weight. Whoo hoo. 

I am still awful at hills. But then I always was. Most days I am walking from the remote lot to my classroom. And most importantly I am making plans for real walks. 

Closer to positive news. Sharon's shoulder is healing and she is less dependent on me. However, that means no more home care. I need to drag her to PT twice a week. PT is an hour, and I need a half hour to get her there and another to come home. Yet it's only three miles away. Why? She moves at a snails pace and getting her in and out of the car is an adventure. Hopefully by the end of May I can replace that time with walking time.

The bad news. The roomie has died. About 10 days ago. There was no fanfare or service. It's what she wanted. She was as stubborn as the day is long. She got a cold and I could see things unfolding like they did the last time, two years ago. It was also around Easter...she always got seriously ill around holidays. For several days I asked if she wanted me to call the doctor. She said no. As she got worse I changed it to "ambulance". She yelled "I don't want a f*ing ambulance." If you knew her when she was actively drinking she was a mean-ass drunk. That personality came back. I described it as bug-eyed with her talons out. The next morning she didn't answer. I called an ambulance. Three days later she was dead. RIP Pat.

Pat's death has put a whole lot of stuff in motion. When the EMT moved the bench in the hall there were generations of dust bunnies under it. I was mortified. I knew the house wasn't "clean" but I didn't realize how dirty it was. These dust bunnies should have paid rent. I had actually been looking for a cleaner for about two years, the last time she got sick.  Every day I drive past a house on Fiot. Their van has a housecleaning sign on it. I walked down, took a pic of the sign, and called them. My hope was to have it done before she got home. They came the day she ultimately died to give me the estimate.

I'm glad I spent the money and had the house deep cleaned. There was no way I'd get that done. I have a two page list of stuff to take care of. It will grow. It seemed cold and callous, but I cleaned out her clothes and took them to Goodwill.  Why? She didn't use her dressers. The drawers were mostly empty. She had all her clothes piled around her room. It seemed senseless to put them in the drawers so the cleaning people could clean, and then take them out later to give away. Many had tags on. Including shoes. Someone who wears a 5.5 is going to be happy at Goodwill. I'll be going to Goodwill at least once a week. The collection of glasses is going to the Lions Club. 

And then there is yarn and projects. This is all finished projects. Lap/Baby blankets; kitchen dish cloths, towels, and hot pads; and hats and scarves. All of these need homes. I will keep some. I will not keep all.

In February she had used up the bulk of her yarn and started to purchase some. Then my one sister-in-law brought her a garbage bag full. I'm packing everything up in grocery sacks. This is the yarn collection. Another sister in law called and asked if there was any yarn, her granddaughter was crocheting. She just picked it up.

The house is less cluttered. I don't even want to think about going to the third floor and her old room. It's probably a time warp from the 80s. Good thing vintage is cool. This summer I'll have my nephew help me. He can carry crap down the stairs and unload it at Goodwill.

 

So purging will be my job for the summer. Maybe next summer I can paint. And fix the kitchen floor. Meanwhile, I can just be delighted that the dishes are done regularly and there is a tablecloth on the table. First time in 21 years. I may not be so excited when I have to iron them again.

Change is in the air. I signed up for an art scavenger hunt at Lehigh, and I'll be attending the LBW walk in Swarthmore Saturday. I signed up for the AARP walks in May at local parks. I'm taking Sharon to PT twice a week and they have a chair exercise class the same day. I hope to go to at least some of them. And of course, the walking festival in Canada.

I joined a CSA before Pat went into the hospital. And now I am eating down all the unhealthy food. When I shop again I will not be feeding a fussy eater. This should be interesting

My readership has probably plummeted. I'll have to work on getting my readers back.