Small Town Stuff

I don't really come from a small town, but it's not like LA or NY that's for sure. Today, I was thinking about theater, baseball, fireworks displays & stuff like that. I think the small town stuff is so fun. Our farm team baseball games are smaller than pro games (of course) & I like it. Parking is easier, the stands (seats) are old and used to be wooden ( I haven't been there in a while so I don't know if they're still wooden) and I can see my old high school and what used to be called "tight wad hill" in the distance. The school sits on that hill now. I'll explain "tight wad hill" first. The people who didn't want to buy tickets sat up there. I think some hoped to catch a home run ball.

My grandpa would buy our tickets to the game around July 4th and there would be an awesome fireworks display after the game (very loud). We didn't sit on "tight wad hill" thank goodness.

So what I really want to talk about is small theaters. I have loved small town theater since I was a kid. Usually there are a lot of kids playing the characters. Some parents and some other adults are in every production. I went to the same production more than once many times. I saw "Jesus Christ, Superstar" several times. That isn't necessarily small town theater, but it would travel & appear in small venues. I also went to see "Gypsy" several times. I got away from visiting small theaters for awhile when I moved around a lot because of being associated with the military.

When the Navy took me to San Diego I met a friend with kids in a school for the performing arts and that was it...I was in heaven. I got to see performances a lot then and of course more than once. I volunteered with the choir group & got to know the kids better and I really enjoyed that. Now I enjoy college, high school and church performances.

My kids have even been involved in our church summer theater camp and I help out as much as I can. I see how much the kids learn in just eight days and I am amazed. The director and her staff have a gift that is an awesome thing to see in action.

I missed a lot of plays this year. I'm cutting back on spending so the entertainment fund for our family took a hit, but we'll fit a few in because it's character building and fun and necessary to do these things in spite of the economy.

I just realized I still call some of the actors by their character names when I see them in other plays because I don't remember their real names. Like "Doggie" and "Kittie" from "Jack and the Beanstalk. I'm a real groupie, I can't even remember their real names. Ha!

I won't turn my nose up at professional theater or ballgames though. My daughter and I had the privilege of receiving tickets from a friend who had two sick family members who couldn't go to see The Lion King. Oh my gosh! We loved it! My daughter didn't even ask to go out to the restroom like she usually does. We didn't even notice time passing. It was outstanding!!

I encourage you to try small town things once in a while if you haven't. It's fun! It's also good to support the arts and sports in any way we can. I enjoy the arts and sports even though I don't necessarily possess those talents I certainly enjoy being a consumer, spectator or observer. See you next post.