Po-tay-to, Po-tah-ta

Here we are in Twin Falls, Idaho after a refreshing week in Missoula. Had a lot of fun, several great beers (Kettle House and Bayern breweries, for the beer lovers), got to dress as the Little Caesars pizza dude for Halloween, and even baked a cherry chip cake with my birthday buddy Jes in honor of our birthday. Yes, I know it's in February, but since Jes and I won't be together to celebrate our birthday when the time comes, we felt it would be okay to do so now.

We took US 93 all the way down here from Missoula, driving through the Rockies nearly the entire way. The sky was blue, the sun was shining, and serrated teeth of the Sawtooth range greeted us as we winded our way over mountain passes. After passing through small, humble towns for much of the past two months it came as quite a shock to arrive in Sun Valley. With little warning, ramshackle mountain homes gave way to palatial vacation homes, golf course developments, and posh boutiques and restaurants. It was designed in that traditional mountain west way, but couldn't hide the wealth that separated it from every other town nearby. As we left Sun Valley we passed the airfield and wondered which of the small planes and jets were owned by Hollywood celebrities.

Not long after Sun Valley the mountains subsided and gave way to high desert scrub. We arrived in Twin Falls, the largest town we've been in so far this fall tour. We're also staying in a hotel for the first time this tour. I do love homestays, but it's nice to have complete privacy for a week. Plus I have a terrific view of Target and Applebee's. Staying with us at the Shilo Inn are a number of Border Patrol officers. Wondering what the border patrol was doing in southern Idaho, I guessed that it must have to do with illegal immigration and migrant workers, given the surrounding potato and beet fields. Coming home one night we ran into one of the officers and he confirmed my suspicions. I have yet to see one farm, but their presence is given away by the nearly constant aroma of manure.

This week we had 112 audition, our second largest group thus far, and boy did they have talent. Trying to cut down to 60 kids from this group was very difficult with so many great ones. We ended up with a good cast, but also had to watch some teary eyed kids walk away with their heads down and a reassuring hand on the back from mom or dad. There were even a couple of parents in tears! Not the best part of the job, but unfortunately a necessary one. There's a pretty good article about the auditions in the Twin Falls Times-News that you can read on their website, check the Related Sites column for the link. And if you look on their homepage there is a video column on the right that has a video of us rehearsing. That's me with the Pumpkins and Mallory with the Lords and Ladies. Fun stuff.

During a rehearsal earlier in the week, I was asking some of the kids some basic info about Idaho like state flower, bird, etc. Mallory piped up and mentioned to the kids that I had told her that Idaho, while famous for its potatoes, was not the state that produced the most. That title goes to Washington, a fact I bragged to the children about. And boy did I get some flak for that one. In about 1.6 seconds, 10-15 kids were yelling at me and arguing the point. They can argue with me, but I know that there are more potatoes coming out of the Evergreen State than any other state in the union. Maybe Idaho potatoes taste better, I don't know.

Speaking of Idaho, we were doing an Improv workshop with a group of 9th graders and while playing a game called Character Slam, we got an unexpected reminder of our locale. The game works like this: four or five students stand in a line and I will randomly point to one and give them a character that they immediately have to act out with a short action and phrase. Some of the usuals are fireman, doctor, person shopping, etc. I pointed to one young man and said "senator." He then assumed a squatting pose with his hand low to the ground, reached over to his side, and said "bathroom stall." Everyone lost it. Not the most appropriate, but very funny. Senator Craig, Twin Falls salutes you.