Revisiting, Revising

This week was a bit of a nostalgia trip for me. The tour path took us, in consecutive days, to three stops from Max & Ruby I: The Veterans Memorial Auditorium in Providence, RI (previous blog post here), Mechanics Hall in Worcester, MA (post from the Sally-Swims-a-Lot blog here), and the Merrill Auditorium (post here). And I was reminded, as I have been many times, that memories are not always 100% accurate, that places change over time, and that you can never go home.

Memory is a strange guide, isn't it? Some things stay consistent, while others grow enormously, shrink to a minuscule size or get forgotten all together. Take, for example, Mechanics Hall. Despite the fact that two cast members from Max & Ruby I got stuck in it, I completely forgot about the elevator. Plus, I thought the stage was the size of a postage stamp, when in fact it was really quite large. I did, however, remember that the theater is surrounded by oil paintings of important -- but now dead -- white guys. With the Veterans Memorial Auditorium in RI, all I remembered were the cheering kids, but completely forgot the tiny elevator, the wonderful crew and the beautiful auditorium. With the Merrill, my memories consisted entirely of the delicious cappuccino, the beautiful hotel and the lobster feast. I forgot that this theater has an autographed headshot from Carrot Top backstage, seats over 2000 kids, and has a balcony so high up that you feel like your singing to the heavens. Amazing what sticks and what doesn't.

And what's been great fun is the fact that all three locals provided new, distinct tales from the road. Our stop in RI placed us in perhaps the most terrifying hotel I've ever stayed in on a tour, an America's Best Value Inn that clearly rented a few rooms by the hour. Mechanics Hall boasted my first space-out during the tour (I was a few seconds late on an entrance, which caused Alaina to assume I must have been murdered backstage by a renegade child; I figured I must be getting tired.) And Merrill was notable once again for the mishap-filled lobster feast that preceded it (entry coming soon). I've got a few more repeats coming up, and I'll be interested to see how they fare in comparison to my memories of them. So far, everything's looking good.

Call tomorrow: 6:30am, Hilton Garden Inn, Waltham, MA. We're down a cow tomorrow. Should be interesting...

Kid Quote of the Day: Upon my announcement that a farmer without a farm is "nothing," one small child shouted, "You got that right!" Thanks, kid.