Finally, it arrives. The day of my last performance of the year. Huzzah! And our non-air-conditioned high school gymnasium won’t be too much of a sauna, as it’s supposed to be 65 and sunny today. Huzzah! Two tunes, then schoooool’s out. For. Summah.

The march to downtown Akron

Yesterday’s Monsanto rally was excellent. We heard some great speakers, one of whom began her speech with the phrase “I am a GMO.” Her father was a Vietnam veteran, repeatedly exposed to Agent Orange, the Monsanto concoction sprayed as a defoliant in the jungles of southeast Asia. The soldiers were reassured by the government (through the Monsanto folks) that the chemical was safe; that it only denuded the vegetation so as to make it difficult for the enemy to hide. Consequently, they were not given any kind of protective clothing, eye shields, special showers afterwards, nothing. We all know what happened next.

So, back to this girl. She was born in 1972 with webbed hands and foot, and with her left leg missing from the thigh down. Her family’s claim against Monsanto and the military — along with the claims of thousands of others whose maladies have been traced back to Agent Orange — have been hung up in red tape for 40 years.

But there is hope. Millions marched yesterday, worldwide. It certainly won’t affect Monsanto’s profit margin — at least not yet. But the prospect of what they want to do for the future is frightening, and we have to do whatever is necessary to bring it to light. If they want to make their poison, fine. But they should be required to label it as such.

OK, on to summer. It’s almost here!  Seventeen days till we leave for the Odyssey. I hope to fill them up with fun, sun, family, friends, and oh yeah, finally getting around to that “spring cleaning” thing. Oy.

What’s up for you this Memorial Day weekend?

Another year comes to an end, and I’m thinking about the next seven, and how I’ll feel at the end. Lucky seven. Seven more Christmas concerts, seven more mainstage musicals, seven more Dinner Theatres, seven more spring concerts, seven more graduation gigs, and two more choir tours. Yep, we’re down to it. How will I handle it at the end of the “seven?” Will I say, “Yay, I’m outta here!”? Or will I say, “Hmmm…maybe a couple years more”?

Frankly, I don’t know. I’m gunning for “A.” But no time to think about that now, in the throes of a major NyQuil hangover, a half hour behind schedule for getting to school, and having not even made breakfast yet. Stupid cold anyhow. I need to get better for tomorrow’s chilly walk in downtown Akron, when we shake our collective fist at Monsanto. Those criminals have got to be stopped.

But after that, it’s on to some much-needed vacation time. Time with family, then taking off for points south and west. This has been among the toughest school years in my career; let’s hope it was the worst, and the rest will be better.

Summer brings new hope, anyway.

Hey, and it’s Finkday — what the world?! Have a great weekend, my awesome fiends. Drop a line, either in the comments or in the water at the lake. Relax time!

FO

…go the days, down the May drain. Yay. 

Remember all those commitments I yammered on about a week ago? Well, I’m down to the last two. Auditions tonight, then graduation on Sunday. Then it’s allllllllll over.

A friend posted this on Facebook this morning. Very interesting, and timely too, since it was written in 1933:

Too true.

Have a goody today — we’re halfway there. I’m off to make pick up the donuts. Heh.

Chief Wahoo, that is. Could the Indians actually be for real this year? Too soon to tell. But man…I was in my room after school yesterday, having just met with my fiend Stoney. After she left, I turned on the TV to see if the game was over, and just as the picture came into view, I witnessed a walk-off, 3-run homer in the bottom of the 10th, by Yan Gomes. Wahoo!

I jumped around like a fool for about 5 seconds, then got down to the business of getting ready for the biggest concert of the year (spring, high school). I must say, they came through beautifully for their audience, and I hope people found something they liked.

A friend posted this picture on Facebook — she’s so talented with capturing stuff like this. We did “Seven Bridges Road,” and I wasn’t initially sure how it would be received (it wasn’t one of the Eagles’ megahits), but it ended up being an audience favorite, judging from the comments I heard after the concert. It sure was fun to play and sing. Always good to have my trusty rhythm section with me as well.

As usual, the audience was kind and the kids gave it all they had. A good performance. And I will have fond memories of the eleven graduating seniors we honored.

The rest of the week should be comparatively easy — Academic Awards ceremonies tonight, Fiddler auditions tomorrow night, and that about wraps it up for my evening commitments for the year. Wow, I can actually be home to cook dinner on Thursday…

Did you have a good Monday?

PS — please text REDCROSS to 90999 to give $10 to American Red Cross Disaster Relief for the people in Oklahoma. Do this today and I’ll join you.

FO

That’s me (and Eddie Kendricks and BTO) this weekend. Had an awesome time at two birthday parties, a wedding (the cake pops were a hit, what a relief), and a fun — and profitable! — night out with the Thriller yesterday. Today, it’s a preschool graduation, followed by grocery shopping and getting ducks lined up for tomorrow night’s high school concert: the source of most of my stress the last three weeks or so. Get through that, and it’s basically smooth sailing. Next Sunday should be OK; we’ll sing two tunes for graduation, and then it’s over. Really, really over.

Head down, but eyes on the goal. I got this.

How was your weekend? Are you happy that, for at least today, the Indians are in first place? Please, join me in my pathetic celebration of what is sure to be a temporary, halcyon dream.