Friday with Dracula

Friday morning, I rise before 8. I am sleeping well at the house but resisting heating it as we head into fall mornings with temperatures in the mid-50s (13C) at sunrise. I hate to waste money and also generate carbon. The orchids enjoy the 66F (19C) at night. I found the French Press, coffee (liberal), and the electric kettle in the kitchen and assembled breakfast. I added a banana and a small yogurt.

I spent the sunny morning trying to recall Thursday and write its story. It is not always easy to remember the previous day in enough detail to write the story, so I spent a few minutes formulating a framework for the day. I applied boilerplates that have been successful in thousands of blog entries. While creating a plan in my mind, I also read some emails, reviewed the news (mostly political), and updated Quicken with the transactions for the last few days. I correct or accept the categorization of the transactions. All my credit cards and bank accounts daily download to Quicken. I am relieved that US Bank transactions are direct debits from utilities and other expenses. My miles-earning Alaska Airlines card is now the card I use. AMEX is also just a few items now. Better.

I noticed that my 40-pants fit better. I am not walking that much these days back from Chicago, but every day in the Windy City was 10K+ steps. Despite the deep-dish pizza and Chicago dogs, I may have lost more weight. This is my plan; I would rather spend the money not on trainers and gyms but on flights and hotels and get my steps in there. It is good for my mind and body. I keep not having high-calorie meals while I travel, as the meals often disappoint. A good pizza, never that expensive, was always better.

I wrote for a few hours, finished, and posted the update to the blog. Next, I found the mail had been delivered. I held the mail and then asked for a delivery of all the accumulated mail. The mail included a Kickstarter and a book I had made in India.

The book is a leather-bound reprint from a scan of the original book. I searched the Internet for used old travel books from the period I was interested in, in this case, London in the 1880s-90s. Libraries and people generally throw away old, dated material like travel books. The books are a treasure trove of details now lost and forgotten. My collection of 1925 Egyptian travel guides provides a clear view of the expected experience of a visit nearly a century ago.

For example, if I was playing a version of a role-playing game set in 1880s London and my players were trying to smuggle, as they would, firearms into England, what is the procedure for clearing their luggage? Charles A. Gillig’s Guide to London and Important Suburban Districts: Specially Compiled for the Use of American Travellers, 1887, covers this process and the exchange rates and coinage. Unknown to me, the landing for Americans would be in Liverpool, not London, and one can arrange for one’s bags to be checked by the train to London. Prices of First, Second, and Third class are provided, and Third class is recommended for the thrifty traveler. This should help me with my Sherlock Holmes stories, so I acquired a copy of the book. It took two months to arrive.

A small Kickstarter Dungeons and Dragons 5E adventure book was also fulfilled. I wanted to see how the authors arranged the material and created a challenge for powerful adventurers. I was less impressed, I am afraid. Best to say nothing more.

I am still tired and stiff, and I have decided that there is no reason to return to walking today. I was also not cooking today, so I went to BJ’s Brewhouse via Air Volvo for a beer and lunch. I sit at the bar, which disappoints Mel and Eric, my usual waiters, who have tables today. Rachel is at the bar and finds me, with some difficulty, a lunch menu. I order the Italian-style lunch and a beer. The food was excellent.

Mel will be my waiter if I decide to hold a wake for Susie with drinks and appetizers on Sunday, 13 October, the anniversary of her passing. I have only to call BJ’s and get a few tables set in the bar area. I am thinking about it.

Corwin appears at the house after I return and rest briefly after a heavy lunch and beer. We talk about history, and Corwin collects his mail, some of which still appears here. He heads out, and I finish chores at the house, like putting away the laundry from yesterday.

I put on my black suit for “Dracula: A Comedy of Terrors” at Theatre in the Grove in Forest Grove at 7:30. I added a blood-red vest and a tie with shields hung in a tree. The usual pocket watch and black leather shoes. I want to look the part. My Homburg hat finishes the look.

(Sun!)

Dondrea and Z appear, and we board Air Volvo for the rest of the trip to Forest Grove. I supply trinkets from my Chicago trip. Z gets a 007 Science T-shirt from the Museum of Industrial Arts. Dondrea, a bookworm, gets an O’Keeffe book on the artist’s NYC paintings (which Dondrea and I both like better than the flowers and desert images that follow the NYC works). I also provide Dondrea with a book of James Bond sayings. Lastly, I found two sets of post earrings that Susie never wore (still in the original containers) that are more Victorian. I gave them to Dondrea and Z, who used the new earrings to update their look.

We stopped at The Grand Lodge and had dinner at the Iron Grill. It seemed to be the most spookish place for food in the area. Z had a strange concoction of Poke Nachos over cajan tater tots (no chips). Dondrea and I shared two appetizers, a flatbread, and a hummus platter. We also had even more cajan tater tots to share.

We reboarded Air Volvo and managed to park near the theater, but we soon had two blood bags (cranberry juice: B type) and our seats. Folks loved my look for the play. The play had only five actors, a stage, lights, and sound people. Dracula only played one part. The others did three or more. We saw some rapid changes; overall, it was well done, funny, and risque. We will return in March 2025 for “Arsenic and Old Lace.”

I have seen Dracula and know the play and the book well. They started by literally throwing the book away, and I noticed all the changes (the ship that wrecks is Demeter in the book, but they called the Stoker after the author–a fun change). Only a few lines of the original were kept (“enter of your own free will,” I heard), and the staging was sparse. Van Helsing was now German and a woman. They gleefully raided material from Monte Python, the Marx Brothers, Dick Van Dyke, Mel Brooks, and Saturday Night Live. Running jokes and set pieces worked, and even people were props. If I were to pick a few words, I would say Fearless Acting and Funny.

Still laughing, we (called by friends the DMZ when together) found Air Volvo and were soon at The Volvo Cave. Dondrea and Z headed home in their car. Next, I disassembled my outfit, requiring care not to lose or wrinkle things. I was tired, and it was not late on a Friday (jet lag). I showered and soon was in my PJs, reading and next sleeping. I slept through the night.

Thanks for reading!