A Good Story & A Walk in the Rain

I've heard that when it's not a good experience it makes a good story.  I actually think the experience was okay (although not what we'd planned).

Every summer (for the past couple of years) we've gone to Shakespeare in High Park.  Sean thinks it's been 4 years.  He's wrong because in 2010 they did Romeo & Juliet, and we didn't see it.  We've seen A Winter's Tale, Midsummer Night's Dream, and this summer- Macbeth.  This year they're doing 2 plays, and so we headed down this evening to see the second play, Taming of the Shrew.  We arrived early to ensure a spot in line, bringing a Frisbee, books, sudoku, and food.  We were second in line.  The kids and Sean played Frisbee while we waited.  When the gate opened, we found great seats.  The weather was a bit humid, but no problem.  We enjoyed our picnic dinner.  However, throughout dinner the sky had started to darken.  Just as I was cleaning up, rain drops began to fall.  Quickly it changed from drizzle to rain to deluge. Jesse huddled under a plastic bag.  Keren huddled against Jesse.  Sean held the garbage bag over his head as Gavi tried to hide under him.  I sat in the middle quickly getting drenched, but enjoying my peach in the warm rain.  Rain doesn't necessarily mean a show cancellation, but lightening does.  When the first flash showed, followed by a quick burst of thunder, the ushers announced the show's cancellation and asked everyone to quickly and orderly move to the hilltop and out of the amphitheatre.  It seems it's a bad idea to sit in a large open, slightly elevated area, surrounded by tall metal poles with metal lights on them.  Oh well.

Luckily it was warm.  The kids and we plodded back to the car; turned on the heat, and headed home.  We were all laughing at how wet we were.  The only way we could have been wetter would have been to jump in a lake, even then I'm not sure.  Still, there's something really wonderful about a summer rainstorm.  Everyone should walk in one once in his/her lifetime.**

Instead of Taming of the Shrew, we watched Shakespeare in Love.  Gavi & Keren drank hot chocolate.  We quizzed Jesse and Gavi on which lines were quoted or mis-quoted, and from where, and on which actors he knew, and from where.  He did pretty well.

** The evening reminded me of one summer Shabbat while still at JTS.  My classmate, Dan Wolpe, and I went to David Kornberg's for Shabbat.  Shabbat afternoon it poured. Dan and I went for a walk.  Everyone else thought we were nuts, but we had the greatest time.  We sang (Singing in the Rain).  We walked.  We splashed and jumped.  Everyone should do that at least once every decade.  Warm rain during the day in a thing not to be missed.