A Grand Day Out

On Sunday, I met two friends downtown to watch Simon Callow explicate Shakespeare.

On a beautiful, crisp, sunny day, I strolled from the train station towards Water Tower Place. Along the way I overtook a group of about 25 Red Hat Ladies. I wondered if they were going to the matinee show along with me. Would they take their hats off in the theater? But I turned onto Chestnut, and they kept walking north on Michigan Avenue.


I've never been in the Broadway Playouse, though I've seen several shows at CST at Navy Pier. The Broadway Playhouse has lightsabers in the ceiling.

I was politely chastised for taking that picture. Simon Callow was, quelle surprise, remarkable. He was very lively, jumping about the stage with swords and crowns, moving chairs around. He took the audience through eight stages of Shakespeare's life, from schoolboy to elderly sage; "Out, out brief candle." He wasn't miked, and I had to strain a bit to hear everything (boo, hearing loss), but he had such clear speech, and was so expressive, that I didn't miss much. During intermission we admired people's clothes. A woman walked by in a gorgeous unlined celery green wool coat and we all raised an eyebrow. Somehow I knew if we asked her where she got it, she'd say, "Oh, you know, Singapore." As one does.


 Afterwards, we went to the Mity Nice Grill for an early supper, and I had very tall nachos.

On our way out, I heard someone call my name. It was an old friend from my Museum of Contemporary Art days (25 years ago now). Once in a great while, you DO run into someone you know in a city of 9.8 million people! I had a horrible 30 seconds where I could not dredge up her name. I remembered everything else about her, she was at my wedding, for heaven's sake! She looked ageless. One of her cheerful friends (no red hats here) took our picture.

The truncated sign behind us says Mean people are ugly. Or as my friend said, "Eople are gly." I showed her pictures of Ben and promised to give her love to everyone.


On my way back to Ogilvie I spotted this piece of rogue knitting by the Wrigley Building. 

I walked more than five miles that day. Good thing I was wearing my new Born Magda boots.

It was an excellent day.