Saturday Show and Games

I woke at 7ish, rolled over, and rose thirty minutes later. A pot of brewed coffee was waiting for me, as I had assembled the coffee the night before and put the dishes in the dishwasher, but it was nearly empty, and I did not run it. I spent most of the morning writing the blog, talking to Deborah, and doing my usual online tasks.

After I showered, shaved, and dressed, I tried something new. I put on suspenders under my sweater vest. I picked a brown silk-like tie from some forgotten wedding. I figured a chocolate-colored tie would fit the “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” play at a local middle school. Z was playing Willy Wonka for the first time.

I boarded Air VW the Gray and stopped by Safeway, where I got flowers (they have the best—always fresh) and a box of chocolates for Z. I planned to stop for lunch on my way to the middle school on the other side of Beaverton and into the start of the West Hills near Beaverton (technically Portland and details here).

I stopped by a local place I had visited once for an Asian-styled rice bowl, but it was closed and being rebuilt as a new place, also Asian-style. McDonald’s provided lunch with their newish crunchy chicken strips. I had that with fries and a Diet Coke. I could eat it while driving. I arrived earlier than I planned.

Dondrea was already in line for the show. I forgot cash for the ticket, but Dondrea covered me. We numbered ten folks! Time went by fast, and soon the show started. Their new mics worked, and we could hear most lines and singing. Z’s position included telling the story; Z was on stage for most of the show.

Willy Wonka’s part includes singing high and low notes, all slowly voiced. Z handled them well and was moving while she sang. The new mics helped. Instead of many props, much of the show required imagination, which I thought fit well with the source material. The material also gave solos to many characters besides Wonka and Charlie; I thought it an excellent middle school choice for a talented group.

The school had an outbreak of flu, and hundreds of kids were out last week. The play was moved to Saturday, and today was Dondrea’s only chance to see it; she is traveling on Sunday until mid-next week. It was excellent, and the cast shone brightly.

After that, I got home, dropped the tie, and quickly warmed up some leftover Jambalaya. It was still good, but big pieces of meat would have made it a better meal. Next time! I then jumped back into Air VW the Gray, recrossed Beaverton, and headed into Portland. I arrived only a few minutes before 6.

We did a teach, and it went on for a while. Legendary Academy was a heavy game thick with errata for this first (and likely only) printing—it was an abandoned Kickstarter completed by others. The theme was a training sandbox for legendary heroes and villains. I played Robin Hood. Richard was King Arthur, Kathleen was the sorceress Morgan, and Chris was Paul Bunyan, and also the score order (I came in last with 100 points). I tried to follow, but I was not enjoying all the rules, and Richard was a bit frustrated with me and let me know. This distracted me from my play, and I made a few more mistakes. Your turn involves using your deck and then a ‘class’ to do more deck building (and pruning) from a skill tree of cards. Each character had different skill and special powers.

I thought it was OK, but at first, I felt it dragged and was a poor choice for four players. With the game ending, with me a few points below Chris, we chatted briefly and then headed home. Kathleen had a car now, so I drove directly home. I was in bed before 2 and fell immediately asleep.

Thanks for reading.