Sunday, Oct. 3

Up around 7:30, and did a treadmill session and resistance exercises after breakfast. After that, I busied myself gathering stuff to take on a trip to the capital city later. Hubbie made a pot of coffee for the thermos, and I bagged a variety of cookies for an evening snack on the trip home. Also took things that Shih Tzu would need, as well as an audiobook on CD for our entertainment during the two-hour trip. Bottled water, medications, warm jackets, and a afghan for Mother to throw over legs were among the things I gathered. Anytime, we go anywhere, even for a few hours, it looks like we're packing for a week's vacation.

After a lunch of leftovers, we donned our dressy duds and left for the big city around 2 p.m. We stopped at a couple of stores in the city, and then went to our favorite seafood restaurant for an early supper.

Since Mother was having tummy troubles, we each had bowls of creamy clam chowder (a little salty), with cheddar cheese biscuits. Because I'm allergic to yellow dye, the waiter arranged to have a few biscuits baked without cheese in them for me, which was very accommodating. Following the soup, Hubbie and I shared a sampler plate of seafood that included bacon wrapped scallops, crab/lobster stuffed mushrooms, and lightly battered shrimp.

Afterward, we went to our state's repertory theater to see the musical production of Andrew Lloyd Webber's "Evita." We arrived just before 6 p.m. for the 7 p.m. performance, because we were required to pick up our reserved tickets at the box office by a certain time to assure they were not sold to someone else.

While we waited, couples dressed in 1940's Argentine dance costumes, took to a small platform (one couple at a time) to demonstrate the very sensual Argentine Tango. It was really fun to watch these young couples dance.

We also enjoyed browsing the theater's collection of art in the lobby.

At 6:30, we were allowed to enter the theater. Because Mother is sort of claustophobic, I arranged for seats on the front row of the second mezzanine. They were good seats, except the space between the seats and the railing is so narrow, we couldn't stretch our legs. Also, the railing blocked the view of the very front of the stage, so we had to lean forward slightly to look down over the railing when the actors were in that area.

The show was wonderful, though, thanks to professional actors cast not only from local talent, but from folks coming from Broadway and other theaters. The play lasted about two hours, but seemed like only minutes.

As we were leaving, we noticed a hispanic boy, maybe ten or eleven years old, was crying, while his Mother tried to console him. Obviously, he was overcome by the very moving death scene at the end of the play. The family had been sitting in the row behind us.

Eva Peron, about whom the play was written, came from humble beginnings, and as a teenager went to Buenes Airies to persue a career as an actress, before meeting and seducing the man who would become leader of Argentina.

She was involved in many charitable works, even organizing a foundation to help the poor and the workers. She was popular among the common people, but snubbed by society, and unpopular with the political and military regime. She died of cancer at the age of thirty-three.

Of course the best loved song from the play is "Don't Cry For Me, Argentina," but others, like "Another Suitcase in Another Hall," are also familiar to audiences.

The play ended at 9 p.m. Before we started for home, we poured cups of coffee, and chose the cookies we wanted.

Light Sunday traffic made traveling to and from the capital city much more pleasant. We arrived home around 11:30. Naturally, after the stimulating evening and then a cup of caffeine coffee, I was unable to go to sleep right away. It was nearly 2 a.m. before I drifted off.