It's Saturday night, our last in this town, and we couldn't be happier. Now don't get me wrong, this town is a great town, full of very hospitable and gracious people. And it's not that the kids were awful either, we had a good crew, no worse than any other week. So what has made this week so rough? It's hard to pin down one particular thing, but if I had to choose one, I'd say the weather.
It was hot this week, mid 90s all day with some humidity. We've had a lot of hot weather this summer, but this week we were performing in an outdoor amphitheatre. Fortunately, Monday through Wednesday we were in an air conditioned building. Well, half of the time we were, the other half was outside in the shade. Not the best, but do-able. However, Thursday we moved to the amphitheatre, the south-facing amphitheatre with a shade-free cement stage. Did I mention it was mid 90s? The cement absorbed and reflected the heat with tremendous efficiency becoming the Plymouth Parks and Recreation version of a giant kid baking oven.
With no shade and a oven-like stage, our rehearsal melted and dripped through our hands. We pushed the kids to wear sunblock and forced them to drink water and sit in the shade when not on stage, but the heat had the upper hand. Scenes we had learned the previous days evaporated in front of our eyes. Kids couldn't remember blocking. Songs felt more like death marches than joyful ditties. Blank stares met our eyes, at least when our eyes weren't blurred by the sweat from our brows. We knew we had to do something when one of our beggars told me he didn't feel good.
Two hours later, Mallory and I find ourselves sitting in the waiting room of the emergency room with an overheated beggar and his mother and sister. Now, Mallory is a certified EMT and did an excellent job getting him back home, inside, with fluids and cold packs, but eventually advised a trip to the hospital to get some IV fluids. He wasn't getting any worse, but he wasn't getting any better, but after a bag of fluids in the ER, he was back in good shape. Without the hospital, he would have had a much longer recovery. I'm so very lucky to have an EMT as my tour partner.
While going to the ER with a kid was by far the worst event of the week, it was only one of many little snafus that made this week our toughest. But no matter the difficulties, we were still able to put on a great show and give those kids the opportunity to shine. And it wasn't all challenges this week. We had a wonderful crew of mothers who brought us lunch each day and two delightful families hosting us, plus several dinners with families during the week.
We also had a great time touring the South Bend Chocolate Company today and having a few samples. Ironically, the factory is on Sample Street. We also walked around the Notre Dame campus (very pretty) and did our best referee stances in front of the "Touchdown Jesus" mural. It isn't really called "Touchdown Jesus," but in this college football mecca, it's an appropriate nickname.
We're off to Wheaton, Illinois, our last week for the summer tour. I'm very excited because I'll get to see my sister and brother-in-law and their new little boy, Isaak! Isaak is my first nephew and this will be my first visit. Should be fun. Oh, and don't you love that pencil? I have no idea what it means or what it's for, it just sits by an empty lot. And those strange creatures are the boys at my homestay, Ian and Hayden. Fun kids.
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