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Getting Caught Up Here
First, a bit of shameless self-promotion:
Saturday night (tomorrow!) I’m part of a storytelling show at The Stagecoach Theatre in Ashburn, Virginia. The theme is Wild West and stories about frontiers. It’s being live-streamed, so you don’t have to be local to attend. Tickets and more information are at
the theatre’s website.
Speaking of which, did you know that Mr. Spock had 3 ears?
There was the back left ear, the back right ear, and the final front ear.
I’m also going to be part of a Halloween show on Monday October 30th. More details on that to follow.
So, let’s see, what I have done over the past couple of weeks?
Globe Life Field: I’m now back to having gone to a game at every major league ballpark. The coolest part of this is that, when I posted to the Ballpark Chasers Facebook group to ask about transportation options, a women there (Jenn, which must stand for Jenn-erous) offered to pick me up and take me with her and her daughter! My flight into DFW was delayed by weather and I then had to deal with the confusion of getting to the Hyatt, which is a short walk from Terminal C, but lacking in signage until you’re halfway there. Apparently driving there is equally confusing. But we got to the game in plenty of time.
We walked around before the game, including Texas Live, a busy entertainment district. I had to have a photo with Nolan Ryan’s statue, since I remember his days as a relief pitcher with the Mets.
Here’s the obligatory clock photo.
And the obligatory picture of the field.
Overall, I’d say it was a middle of the road ballpark. I understand the weather problem in Texas, but baseball is not intended to be an indoor sport. And the weather was perfectly comfortable, so there was really no excuse not to have the roof open. I also thought that the concessions were rather weak, emphasizing quantity over quality. Blue Bell ice cream is a good nod to local tastes, at least.
As for the game, at least the people around me were actually paying attention to the game and talking about baseball, instead of texting everyone in creation telling them how cool they were to be at a game. (That was my experience at the previous Rangers’ ballpark.) I do wish that more people sang along to “Take Me Out to the Ballgame,” however. And I really wish the Rangers hadn’t beaten up so badly on my Red Sox, who lost in a 15-4 rout.
After the game, we walked up to the Rangers Hall of Fame plaques, so I could take this picture. I knew my father had a namesake who was a sportscaster, but I was still amused.
My trip home went smoothly. My next baseball focus will probably be on going to all the AAA ballparks. I also want to go to next year’s season opener in Seoul. I need to research how to get tickets for that.
NSO Gala: I went to the 2023 season opening gala of the National Symphony Orchestra. I just went to the concert part, but it was fun seeing people dressed to the nines for the reception beforehand. The reason I braved the rain to go was that the main feature was Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition. Before that, there were short works by Gioachino Rossini, Edward Elgar, and Carlos Simon. Simon’s piece, Fate Now Conquers was intended as an homage to Beethoven - essentially, a response to his Seventh Symphony. It was also interesting to see him come out for a bow at the end. Wow, is he young!
As for Pictures at an Exhibition, they did the Ravel orchestration. I actually prefer the solo piano version, but I realize that’s a slightly eccentric preference. At any rate, it’s one of my favorite pieces, largely because it is so evocative of how I react to walking around art exhibitions. I don’t think Mussorgsky knew what a great suite of music it was and I have this imaginary conversation in my head in which Rimsky-Korsakov tells him it’s a masterpiece and, when Mussorgsky protests, Rimsky-Korsakov says, “oh, don’t be so modest, Modest.”
The Medicare Saga: My phone appointment with the Social Security people was a little stressful, since they called about 15 minutes late. And, midway through, the fire alarm in my condo complex went off. I was able to get through the call by going out to my car for it, but it was stressful. And I still have to go down to their office to provide them with some documentation. Er, no, I am not going to put my birth certificate and such in the mail. My appointment for that is Monday. That may get seriously screwed up if the government shuts down.
On the plus side, I got the benefit payments site working for me, though it took nearly 40 minutes on the phone, roughly 30 minutes of which were trying to persuade the person I was talking to that I was getting an error message when I tried to reset my password. Eventually, she tried it herself and she realized she needed to transfer me to the person who could send me an email to reset it.
I also succeeded in creating an account with a company they’ve now contracted with that has something to do with Medicare open enrollment. But, fundamentally, I still need to get my medicare card in order to move forward.
Other stuff: Other things I’ve done included Yom Kippur services, one of my book clubs, and a Travelers’ Century Club meeting.
Also, a friend posted a copy of this wonderful painting by Phil Lockwood on Facebook.
The Office at Night. It’s an amazing homage to Edward Hopper. I see new details every time I look at it.
Saturday night (tomorrow!) I’m part of a storytelling show at The Stagecoach Theatre in Ashburn, Virginia. The theme is Wild West and stories about frontiers. It’s being live-streamed, so you don’t have to be local to attend. Tickets and more information are at
the theatre’s website.
Speaking of which, did you know that Mr. Spock had 3 ears?
There was the back left ear, the back right ear, and the final front ear.
I’m also going to be part of a Halloween show on Monday October 30th. More details on that to follow.
So, let’s see, what I have done over the past couple of weeks?
Globe Life Field: I’m now back to having gone to a game at every major league ballpark. The coolest part of this is that, when I posted to the Ballpark Chasers Facebook group to ask about transportation options, a women there (Jenn, which must stand for Jenn-erous) offered to pick me up and take me with her and her daughter! My flight into DFW was delayed by weather and I then had to deal with the confusion of getting to the Hyatt, which is a short walk from Terminal C, but lacking in signage until you’re halfway there. Apparently driving there is equally confusing. But we got to the game in plenty of time.
We walked around before the game, including Texas Live, a busy entertainment district. I had to have a photo with Nolan Ryan’s statue, since I remember his days as a relief pitcher with the Mets.
Here’s the obligatory clock photo.
And the obligatory picture of the field.
Overall, I’d say it was a middle of the road ballpark. I understand the weather problem in Texas, but baseball is not intended to be an indoor sport. And the weather was perfectly comfortable, so there was really no excuse not to have the roof open. I also thought that the concessions were rather weak, emphasizing quantity over quality. Blue Bell ice cream is a good nod to local tastes, at least.
As for the game, at least the people around me were actually paying attention to the game and talking about baseball, instead of texting everyone in creation telling them how cool they were to be at a game. (That was my experience at the previous Rangers’ ballpark.) I do wish that more people sang along to “Take Me Out to the Ballgame,” however. And I really wish the Rangers hadn’t beaten up so badly on my Red Sox, who lost in a 15-4 rout.
After the game, we walked up to the Rangers Hall of Fame plaques, so I could take this picture. I knew my father had a namesake who was a sportscaster, but I was still amused.
My trip home went smoothly. My next baseball focus will probably be on going to all the AAA ballparks. I also want to go to next year’s season opener in Seoul. I need to research how to get tickets for that.
NSO Gala: I went to the 2023 season opening gala of the National Symphony Orchestra. I just went to the concert part, but it was fun seeing people dressed to the nines for the reception beforehand. The reason I braved the rain to go was that the main feature was Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition. Before that, there were short works by Gioachino Rossini, Edward Elgar, and Carlos Simon. Simon’s piece, Fate Now Conquers was intended as an homage to Beethoven - essentially, a response to his Seventh Symphony. It was also interesting to see him come out for a bow at the end. Wow, is he young!
As for Pictures at an Exhibition, they did the Ravel orchestration. I actually prefer the solo piano version, but I realize that’s a slightly eccentric preference. At any rate, it’s one of my favorite pieces, largely because it is so evocative of how I react to walking around art exhibitions. I don’t think Mussorgsky knew what a great suite of music it was and I have this imaginary conversation in my head in which Rimsky-Korsakov tells him it’s a masterpiece and, when Mussorgsky protests, Rimsky-Korsakov says, “oh, don’t be so modest, Modest.”
The Medicare Saga: My phone appointment with the Social Security people was a little stressful, since they called about 15 minutes late. And, midway through, the fire alarm in my condo complex went off. I was able to get through the call by going out to my car for it, but it was stressful. And I still have to go down to their office to provide them with some documentation. Er, no, I am not going to put my birth certificate and such in the mail. My appointment for that is Monday. That may get seriously screwed up if the government shuts down.
On the plus side, I got the benefit payments site working for me, though it took nearly 40 minutes on the phone, roughly 30 minutes of which were trying to persuade the person I was talking to that I was getting an error message when I tried to reset my password. Eventually, she tried it herself and she realized she needed to transfer me to the person who could send me an email to reset it.
I also succeeded in creating an account with a company they’ve now contracted with that has something to do with Medicare open enrollment. But, fundamentally, I still need to get my medicare card in order to move forward.
Other stuff: Other things I’ve done included Yom Kippur services, one of my book clubs, and a Travelers’ Century Club meeting.
Also, a friend posted a copy of this wonderful painting by Phil Lockwood on Facebook.
The Office at Night. It’s an amazing homage to Edward Hopper. I see new details every time I look at it.
no subject
Good luck with getting benefits set up, that's always a struggle.
Pictures at an Exhibition