There used to be a yearly balloon rally outside of Aspen. I remember the one in 1983 the best. There was one balloon that lifted off and it had writing on it that I couldn’t quite make out in the mist. But then it all came clear. It said: “Decadence – A Way of Life.” I can so relate.
It’s Thursday, the day of the first concert of Renée Fleming in South Africa. Suddenly it has all become real and I need to get ready for the show.
I have the blood of Africa running through my veins, and now I’ll be leaving some of that same blood on the old continent. More about that later. If I may make a suggestion – if you ever get the chance to go on tour somewhere exotic on the coattails of Renée Fleming – TAKE IT! Renée and her family (daughters, brother & family, mom, personal assistant) got into Durban, South Africa on Tuesday morning. Tuesday at lunch we had our “presentation.” This is when the schedule was revealed.
South Africa has always been an important part in my history and now I’m going back, this time on the coattails of Renée Fleming. Nothing to do now but grab the bags and head to the airport. After a long day arguing with Delta airlines I end up …….. sleeping in my own bed? This is not a good start.
Well, it’s happened again. There goes another bitter confrontation centered around the Minnesota Orchestra lockout. What I wonder, though, is how people could manage to have so disparate views about what has happened?
Somewhere my friend, Ernest Fleischmann, is chuckling.
Facebook is a very dangerous place. You can find yourself deep in all sorts of either totally ludicrous exchanges or heavy philosophical discussions. Sometimes those “friends” of yours can pose a real challenge as did one of mine recently. Here’s my response:
This has been the summer of my discontent. Practically the only thing that hasn’t gone wrong is that my wife didn’t file for divorce and neither of my children ran away to the circus. We need to get away. Enter the Zulu nation…