The Tour Begins
I originally had planned that I would write a
detailed rundown of each of our 69 performances of "Three Little Pigs." After
four performances, however, I have determined that such a meticulous record
would be of little use to anybody.
We are now officially two days into our tour.
Yesterday we spent the day at Fairmeadows Elementary School in West Des Moines.
Today we did two performances at St. Joseph's Catholic School in Des Moines. I
originally had planned that I would write a detailed rundown of each of our 69
performances of "Three Little Pigs." After four performances, however, I have
determined that such a meticulous record would be of little use to anybody. It's
like a major league baseball season. Over the course of 162 games, there will be
highs and lows, boring parts and exciting parts. Not many people may be
interested in reading the particulars of each and every day, but a general
picture of the overall arc of the year might prove more insightful (and much
less boring).
After four performances
of this little children's gem, the show is already taking on a life of its own,
which is to say that it already looks a bit different than it did during our
final rehearsals. Freed from the domineering gaze of our director, we can make
changes and experiment at will. I wasn't surprised in the least to find that
8-year-olds have a better idea than a 57-year-old of what's funny to
8-year-olds. As the days and performances pile up on the calendar, I'm confident
we'll be able to fiddle around in such a way that will keep the show fresh to
both us and the children.
The most
interesting thing I've come across in a while was during our lunch at
Fairmeadows. After convincing us that we were going to be subjected to the same
fare as the kids in the cafeteria (a mysterious concoction called "Cheeseburger
Sticks"), the volunteers at the school provided us with a delicious catered
lunch. The spread included various wraps, the most notable of which contained
chicken salad. The teachers eating lunch with us told us that, instead of
mayonnaise, the chicken salad was made with fresh Maytag blue cheese. I had
heard of "Maytag" bleu cheese many times before - I had seen it in stores and on
restaurant menus - but I didn't realize that Maytag Blue was a local Iowa
product.
With my curiosity spurred by
how absolutely delicious the chicken salad was, I did a little bit of research
and learned that Maytag Blue was invented in 1941 at Iowa State University by
Fred Maytag, who in addition to being a dairy pioneer, was the president of the
appliance company that still bears his name. Having always been an avid eater of
blue cheese, I was delighted to find out that I'm close to the source. My wife,
Katie, will probably detect a slight trace of provincial boosterism here. She
repeatedly implores me not to like Iowa "too much," lest I get any strange
ideas. The cheese heritage and reasonable property values (compared to the east
coast) are appealing, but she needs not fear. Maytag Blue is readily available
and easily delivered anywhere in the world: http://www.maytagblue.com.
Certain members of my readership (I
suppose I'm included in that group, right?) may still be curious about the
aforementioned "Cheeseburger Sticks." We never got close to them, so I have no
idea what they might be or what they might taste like. Judging from the name, it
sounds a bit like a logistical challenge. Some kind of dipping sauce must be
involved. I'm not sure if I was more relieved or disappointed about being spared
this intriguing culinary creation. With many more public schools on our
schedule, however, the likelihood of another run-in with Cheeseburger Sticks is
high. If anybody knows anything about these things, please feel free to
enlighten me.
Posted: Tue - February 1, 2005 at 04:50 PM