My hand will barely scrawl out that four in 2014 – wow, where did 2013 go? After the nice long Christmas break, this bright new year awaits us, brimming with possibilities. Do I dare take another shot at those elusive resolutions? Will this be the year I get back into a workout routine? Will I spend less time online and more time fully engaged with my family? Is it possible I will finally figure out the fine art of punctuality? As if the universe knows that I will need a good story to go along with this last hope, cue the tale of the Fresh Beat Band outing.
After missing the beginning of the 2012 Fresh show, I vowed to myself and to my kids that our fannies would be in those seats before the lights went down and the music cranked up this go-round. I had had the tickets in-hand since July, for Pete’s sake, so the mid-December date had been marked on the calendar for months. We’d meet the excited 7-year-old friend we were taking along with us at (where else?) Chick-fil-A for a quick bite at five o’clock sharp and then be on our way downtown for the six-thirty show. I remembered the parking deck we’d used that was not too far from Carpenter Theatre last time, so I’d plan to head there if I didn’t snag some closer street parking first. In typical fashion, I failed to close the laptop when I needed to in order to move this plan into motion. I can recoup the lost time, I thought, eat fast, no playing around, and if there is no traffic, we can still make it. Left and right, my schedule was comprised; a tough time getting three booster seats across the back seat of my car here, a “code two” bathroom situation for my younger son there. The perfect punctuality plan was starting to look as if it would end in usual Thompson fashion – us sneaking in after the show started, while others craned to look around our obtrusive and rude family. Ugh. As we zipped down I-95 though (and I said zipping, not speeding!), I realized we were making great time, and if we could only find a close parking space, we could still slide in before six-thirty. “Whoo hoo!” I squealed to the three pint-sized passengers as we skipped down the sidewalk toward the theater with seven whole minutes to spare. “I can’t believe we’re actually early!” And what a great parking space I scored, just a block down from Carpenter Theatre! It does seem a little quiet down here for a show night, I thought, as we crossed Sixth Street. Odd. I pulled out the tickets – you know, the ones I’ve had since July – to hand them to the attendant. I nearly fainted when I caught a glimpse of two words on the top one: LANDMARK THEATER.
Maybe we’ll catch the opening number of the 2014 show. If I resolve to make a change, maybe, just maybe, it will happen.
We look forward to seeing you around town in 2014. We’ll be out and about, keeping you informed, enlightened, and inspired with each fresh new issue of RFM!
