New Experiences

In part, retirement is for trying new things; and I've been doing so.

Two months ago, a call went out for entertainers for a monthly gathering of LGBT patients at Laguna Honda Hospital. I volunteered to sing for the group, since I have a fairly decent voice and can be very funny. After warning the entertainment wrangler that I wouldn't have any accompaniment and I would be using notes to remember the words, I eventually put together a song list that started and ended with the funniest songs and wandered through campfire songs, protest songs, and a few Broadway show tunes in the middle. The event was also a Halloween party, so I brought a rat mask that I had just bought at the Castro street fair, and I opened with the most macabre songs I could think of, Leaping Lesbians, and Rikkety Tikkety Tin. I closed with the M.T.A. song (Did he ever return? No, he never returned) and Aunt Clara (whose picture is turned to the wall). I was a little concerned about boring folks and/or losing my voice, but neither happened. Lots of applause, and a fervent appreciation from a former music teacher. And I also got a cupcake, a Coke, and a skeleton necklace for my efforts. Now I'm starting to think about weaving some stand-up comedy into the songs. . . .

Another new adventure came when Jan and I were driving back up 101 from having tracked down a part for her new (very old) car in Santa Clara. I spotted the Malibu Grand Prix raceway and miniature golf place and got us to stop. I'd always wanted to drive a go kart. So we did. We bought four laps each, and waited interminably in scorching sun for our turn to put on sweaty helmets, scoot into our vehicles, and locate the pedals _ I needed a pillow behind me to reach them. It was a major hoot. My only disappointments were not being able to reach full speed - the track had too many turns for that. And I wasn't able to get lap records for how fast I went. The attendant missed me, and they weren't available when I went back for them. But, it was a lot of fun, and I could be persuaded to do it again.

My third new experience was last Saturday. I'd been receiving e-mails about a human banner on Ocean Beach, saying "Tax the Rich". Not enough people signed up, so they changed it to "Tax the 1%." I made the final decision to go when I received an e-mail from the music director of my show. The personal touch is best, it seems. Couldn't get a friend of my own to join me, but ran into Terry Baum, Nancy Schimmel, and Suzy Hara, a former Bendroid. Supervisors Eric Mar and John Avalos were also there. The music director had written advising us to bring blankets, since we were to lie down for part of the festivities, and I brought a beach towel. Sure wish I'd worn a sun hat. Anyway, the group was festive and engaged, around 1,000 of us, and the helicopter came as scheduled and took many lovely pictures of us. We're to receive our own postcards of the best shot. The event was planned a year ago, but resonated nicely with the Occupy Wall Street actions currently underway.