Friday Suffs

I returned to the hotel around 11 at night and unloaded the car. Earlier, I had collected all the items I had accumulated (some books, cards, cables, and a few birthday gifts) into bags and put them in the trunk of the Hyundai. I got them and carried them into my room, realized I had forgotten my phone, walked back down to the car, realized the car keys were still in my room, returned to my room again, got the keys, walked down again, got my iPhone, and returned to my room. I was tired and soon put on my PJs and had no trouble sleeping into Saturday morning, my last full day in Michigan.

Before this, I took Jeanne, Deborah, and me in the Hyundai (the back seat is more comfortable than Deborah’s mini) to Detroit and the Fisher Theater. We were there for Suffs, the musical that has moved from a surprisingly short run on Broadway (I remember reading about its closing in the NYT) despite excellent reviews and multiple Tony awards.

It was wonderful and told the history, mostly forgotten now, about the leaders of the Suffragettes in the early 1900s. The songs were wonderful, the all-women cast’s depiction of Wilson as a lying, manipulative president was rightfully damning (and hinted at modern politics). Suffs has a hard ending as the ERA Amendment failed, the protection of the rights for people of color is still a dream, and the last song is about marching still.

We loved it. I enjoyed it and would watch it again.

The Fisher Theater is a reminder of the glories of the revised 1920s theaters that are mostly gone now. The tile work, high ceilings, and huge spaces, but somehow still intimate, are mostly replaced in the USA with giant spaces or just knocked down for the next thing. The insane stairs, low railings, and other safety violations open up the space when you finally find your seat. Bathrooms are hidden, but bars are found on most floors, suggesting a different time. Dark colors would have covered up all the smoke from tobacco. Parking was surprisingly easy, and using an app or getting help (what I did) made it free (that never happens!).

I plan to return to the theater and will try to fit it into my next trip.

Before this, Deborah and I spent some time together, including heading over to Slows Bar-B-Q and Pewabic Pottery. Deborah’s sandwich was disappointing, but my Duces (two meats) lunch was wonderful. I am always happy to return to Corktown! We crosted the East Village and the pottery. They had the work area open for self-guided tours, and that is always my favorite part of the visit. Pottery is so physical and yet magical, as glazes only come to life when fired. One (I did not ask the price) pot in the showroom had two glazing styles that flowed together, but a line separated the look. How could you do that? It’s beyond me. Wow!

Before all of this, I rose after waking every couple of hours. The road noise seems worse than I remember it, and the AC/Heater seems loud, too. But I did wake around 7 and made coffee from the instant coffee I brought with me. I turned on the shower to hot and hung a dress shirt in the steam. It will remove all the wrinkles, well, most.

I do the usual things like read the news (terrible, but stocks are up, and my IRA is now $10K up, yes up). I check the transactions in Quicken to ensure that everything is paid, that the money is safe, and that everything makes sense. It does. This combines US Banks, all my credit cards, PayPal, and even the mortgage. The IRA balance has to be updated manually, but the total is always visible in US Bank’s App.

Note: US Mid-sized company stock is still down (more than 14%), but overall, I am up

I write the blog, again, like this one, and then publish it. I dress and have just a few things downstairs. I am still stuffed from the last few days. I then connect with Deborah, and that completes the whole day.

Thanks for reading.