Update on Where Things Stand with Stuff

While I've written a few drive-by posts since I returned from Indiana for Carol's father's funeral, I never updated on what's been happening in the real world.

Our Halloween was a success despite the constant drizzle. The night started slow and there were many dead spots but we served the public from 7PM to the last at 9:30PM. Total numbers were down to about 50 trick or treaters (total guess) from the usual 70. Ben dressed up as Slender Man and opened the door for the kids. A surprising number of them screamed out, "Slender Man!" when he appeared.

After the funeral, Carol stayed with her mother for a week to get her back on her feet. Carol returned home by air and had quite the adventure. First, her flight from South Bend (Indiana) to Detroit was cancelled, so she had to rebook. The new flight made it to Detroit late and Carol had to run what she says was two miles through the terminal to barely make it aboard her already boarded flight to Baltimore. She gets on the plane and taxis out, only to sit on the tarmac. The pilot comes on the intercom and says that there's a fuel sensor error that shows they don't have enough fuel to make it to Baltimore. So, they return to the gate to get that fixed or, if that doesn't work, record the fuel level manually. Finally, they depart about an hour late. When they arrive at BWI in Baltimore, the airport crew pulls the bridge up to the plane, but the bridge gate doesn't open so no one can physically get off the plane. Another mechanic is called and they finally get the gate fixed and she can deplane. Other than that, no problem.

The day after Carol returned, we headed to James Madison to see Rachel in their mainstage production, The Trojan Women. This was the first time we'd gotten to see her in a JMU show (with lines) and the first mainstage she's been in, so it was a special treat. The show was excellent, an adaptation set in modern times informed by testimony from women survivors of the Serbian genocide. Rachel reports that they received standing ovations after most performances but our audience did not give one. For my part, the show was so moving and powerful, it felt inappropriate to even clap, much less stand.

And on Saturday, we had to go to another funeral.

And that's where things stand.