At Last!

Hello, and welcome back to the blog that has been grossly overdue for some time now! I'm Beth and I'll be your host through another harrowing installment of: "Tour Happenings 2006!" Fasten your Seatbelts folks, it has been a VERY bumpy ride for the past few weeks.

The first order of business: Heartfelt Thanks are in order for my dear relatives who have taken me in, taken me out, taken me into their hearts and shown me a greatn time on this side of the continent! Those crazy and wonderful Carnathans! First Aunt Jane and Uncle Chip in Colorado, then Mr. and Mrs. Jesse Carnathan in Seattle- I was treated like a foreign dignitary or a traveling diplomat. In denver I was treated to a home cooked meal of delicious steak with loads of fresh veggies (which I don't get nearly enough of on the road) and even home-made desert-- I took an entire plate of brownies back to my tour mates and they nearly wept with joy- the yummy squares of love were devoured not only for dessert that very night but also for breakfast the next morning!!

Then I went to Colorado Springs for a day, where it SNOWED! Snow in mid October, it was magical, and very exciting (though confusing to my inner calender). After which we returned to Denver to play the same theatre {Don't ask, I've learned it is better not to think too hard about why THE OFFICE does what they do}. So, as an extra bonus I got to visit with Uncle Chip & Aunt Jane again, this time over a delicious Chinese Dinner where I tried Lamb and Moo Shoo!!!! It was really a pleasure visiting with them, catching up on years of happenings, seeing wedding photos and generally enjoying being in the bosom of my loved ones- It's a pleasant thing to find out you like your relatives, that you genuinely enjoy their company and can talk easily with them at length. I feel as though I have really made friends in them.

As if that weren't fantastic enough, I then got to see my Awesome cousin Jesse and his beautiful wife Kandace. They took me to a really atmospheric and delectable restaurant in Seattle where we enjoyed a great evening of cathing-up and laughs. I teased Jesse about how geeky we always thought he and Paul were growing up, and how weird it was having cousins all the way out in Colorado- but then told him how excited and delighted we all were when we found out how funny, cool, and FUN they are now that we're adults! Jesse and Kandace showed me a really great time and again I felt as though I'd made friends as well as touched base with long lost relatives. Kandace is really wonderful- warm and friendly and gracious and I'm so glad to have her as a cousin- and though it is mushy, she and Jesse are a wonderful, sweet and fun couple of people to be around. I told them I look forward to treating them to dinner when I have a place someday.

2 Oxen are Dead...

We took a highway route that is basically the famous Oregon Trail and continually made jokes about our wagon wheel breaking or finding a river that was too wide to ford. The running joke was about dead oxen, or which one of us would be the first to succumb to a fatal snake bite. Little did we know that our joking would turn out to be prophetic!
In many ways we have felt like those pioneers of the westward expansion- our belongings breaking, our endurance being constantly tried and battled day-in and day-out with new and unforseeable challenges, we have seen new and awe-inspiring sights and we have all, I think, felt humbled and blessed by the experiences as we long to see it through to the conclusion and pine for home simultaneously. And, as in that treasured childhood game of ours, One member of our party fell off the proverbial covered wagon.

After a great deal of unnecessary struggle, angst, misery, akwardness, and mendacity- Our Stage Manager decided to QUIT THE TOUR. I'll have you know that this decision was not argued by any member of our company- it really is best- but I know many of us felt betrayed, let down or even mildly disgusted. Quitting isn't an easy thing to stomach, even if you know it is the best option. This tour proved too much for him and he made the move I think to preserve his own sanity and well-being----- but one can't help but feel he took the only life-raft off a sinking ship (and we all know the rule of the sea: The captain goes down with the ship! [not the other rule of the sea which allows cannibalism if no land is in sight, we haven't resorted to that . . . YET]).
Ultimately I wish him no ill will, but I must say this: In this or any profession you must be accountable for your actions and must always make yourself equal to the responsibilities given you. In this life you must have a modicum (at least) of common sense and decency and mus endeavor to THINK. Think before you do something, think about the ramifications of your actions, think about how you are affecting those around you and think ahead. Open your eyes and SEE.
It astonishes me that anyone could get through life without these essentials, let alone achieve a position of leadership and responsibility.

After the news that he'd quit life on tour got a bit bizarre- or more bizarre than it had already been. We were presented with a distinct air of somebody who ahs checked out- somebody who was just barely going through the minimum requirements to get the days completed, and we fended for ourselves. I am proud that we all hung together DESPITE and put on some great shows and didn't resort to that 'other' rule of the sea and kill him for his blood! (Please read this with a sense of humor, I am, of course, not vampiric--- though my irish REARDON temper did threaten to let my itching fingers wrap around his throat once or a hundred times! heeeeheeeeheee)
Then we had a substitute stage manager for about a week, which was already much better though still a bit akward since she was so transitional we couldn't really feel settled. We were like a family being bounced around to different foster parents! You already feel uprooted due to the fact that you're away from all your friends and family, seeing places unfamiliar and foreign, and sleeping in a different bed nightly- and now you're presented with new management of a sudden- really quite strange and unsettling. I had serious knots in my stomach quite often, I'm glad I didn't get an ULCER!!!

We had a neat little halloween party in Reno with goody bags and scary stories on the T.V. - very low-key but nice because a huge dead weight had been removed from around our necks, and we all toasted to a new beginning.

Friends and Enemies, A new beginning it has been! Ashley arrived at the advent of November and has been absolutely wonderful. We all told ourselves that we didn't have to like her personally as long as she got the job done, but the bonus is we like her AND she does her job! What a novel idea. She is competant, reliable, handy, resourceful, laid back, unflappable and very professional. She is also a really fun person to hang out with outside of work. The Chamber tour has recieved new blood and it shows- we all smile alot more, we are more pleasant in the morning on the way to work, and we feel more optimistic and positive about life in general. It had been really rough for a while with a whole gossip magazine's worth of scandal, lies, miscommunications and drama (drama? on a THEATRE tour? never!), but she has brought a clarity. a focus. direction and simply relief. The churning and knotting in mys stomach is finally easing. I'm enjoying my friends and enjoying the scenery and even the lame continental breakfasts alot more!

Next time on BLOG:
-The Winchester Mystery House
-My close call with St. Christopher
-What's the deal with my crappy eqiptment?
-November = the birthday month
-A New Englander in the wild west on THANKSGIVING (my thoughts and trepidations)

Tune in Next Time Folks!

Love, BETH

P.S. I hope you enjoyed the slideshow- did you like seeing me with my first Tumbleweed?!?!?!?!