Bed Ridden

 A misfortunate turn of events has left me stuck, bed ridden in a hotel. A hotel in Eureka Nevada none the less. If your first impulse is to ask, 'Where the h*** is Eureka?' Then you are not alone. Well it's in Nevada, and it's really a nice place once you meet the locals and get to see a sun set over the long, endless horizon. But I am stuck on this feeble bed unable to expand on the beauty of this place because I have yet to see much of it.

I begin in Flagstaff AZ a couple weeks earlier. One truck problem after another forced us to empty the set out of our lame 'bug-head' (lovingly named for its big windshield) and into another moving-truck (we didn't really name him, he didn't last long enough, and was soon replaced by an even larger model that probably needed a commercial drivers license to operate, but details...details.) Anyway. The first truck swap was done in a nasty wintery mix. Snow and rain joined forces and slapped us in the face with the worst of both worlds. The second truck swap wasn't this bad, but worse. A three day snow storm (the most Flagstaff has seen since the 80's) decided to hit us. A thick layer of snow was now on top of our loading pathway, making it icy and slick.  To our credit we managed the swap rather well, with limited bickering, smooth communication and no cases of frost bite. But in the frenzy of freezing pushes and pulls I forced our platform rack with all my might, and pulled my lower back.

Weeks had since went by and my injury was well taken care of with light lifting and several hot tubs. Yesterday, as we drove into Eureka, I was at the top of my health, able to lift more and walk with little to no pain. I thought a lite jog was in order. But of course it would be safer to warm up before any strenuous task like jogging, right?

So I did.

And pulled something. Probably pulled the same tender spot that was wounded earlier. Or pulled something else that just added to the initial injury...whatever the case, I'm hurting. Like a rusty spear launched itself through my back at an angle triggering the most immobilizing pain I've ever felt.

I'd go into details of my thought process, but that's not the point to this entry.

The point of this entry is to record my perspective as the rest of the cast diligently performs for the expecting schools and community members of Eureka Nevada. The first show was cleverly done without me. The rest of the cast shared the role of Petruchio and used my hat to help distinguish who was playing who. Tonight Micheal Barr (our producer) is joining the cast, filling in for Aaron who is covering for me. Both shows I'd give my spurs to see.

Instead I pathetically limp around the room in hopes to take it easy, gain my strength, and join them again. I am also anxious to hear their stories of a show full of uncertainty and curve balls. There is an energy, not anxiety though. A buzz that keeps everyone on stage alive, on their toes, open to any potential screw up and enthusiastic to everyone else as they collectively pull off another great show.

I send my apologies to everyone, but also my commendation

Bravo, my friends, Bravo.