Ah...the charming, sinus-clearing sugary sweetness of Myer's Rum and coke...light on the coke, somewhat heavier on the rum. Myer's is the champ, rum-wise. As a mix (the hurricane, for example), sipped straight...really, anything you can do with vodka you can do with Myer's.

However, it is an offputting dark brown, which can lead to some less than attractive drinks - orange juice and Myer's comes immediately to mind. It still tastes good, though.

And really, I must apologize for the dearth of entries lately. Life, you know? gets in the way, it does. Still, it's nicer to be out doing stuff, rather than sitting and searching for topics to discuss.

So anyway...

Thursday night I accompanied Sonya to a political soiree at Libertyland, Memphis' venereable theme park. All the local politicians up for re-election this year were there, including the incumbent mayor, Dr. Willie Herenton, and his main challenger, Joe Ford, who represents the Ford Family, a longstanding political machine in Memphis. It should be an interesting race, as the Herenton vs. Ford thing has been bubbling under the surface of Memphis politics ever since Herenton became mayor in the early nineties. This is the first time the two camps have gone head-to-head.

Also, there was free red beans and rice from the Rendezvous (Memphis' uber-barbecue joint) and free beer from the good folks at Coors. How could I not have a good time?

Friday night the Wife and I attended a cookout at Jen and Scott's. This Jen (not the Jen of Jen-n-James fame) is a girl I went to high school with lo these many years ago. Lauren, another girl I went to high school with, was there also, and we had a lovely evening, quoting movies and bouncing gossip back and forth. They really liked our pictures from New Orleans last week, too. That much eye makeup provokes strong reactions. And Lauren's mom, Ardith, gave Sonya and I a couple of cookbooks. Thanks, Ardith!

Saturday morning I went and picked up Donna for a nice, incredibly hot run on Mud Island. Then back to the Williams Compound for a tasty lunch from Wendy's. Donna is (once again) a road widow while her husband, Local Superstar Bill Oates, tours the Orient with his band, The Big Bang.

Saturday night found us at Theatreworks, Memphis' finest venue for cutting-edge live theatre. It was the last night of Jen's (of Jen-n-James infamy) directorial opus, The Swan Queen and the Radical Faerie. It was a fine piece of work, accented by Jody, who played the radical faerie of the title and who nailed his part as a spoiled, AIDS-raddled gay artist. Jody also praised mine and the Wife's taste in movies (he'd been to our house when Jen and James were dogsitting and seen our extensive MST3K collection) and was amazed that I had more Stephen King hardbacks than he did.

He also got tickled at me, which does my ego no end of good. We were listening to the Rocky Horror soundtrack while striking the set (which Sonya and I got roped into) and during Sweet Transvestite, when Frank says "I'll remove the cause" I said, "but what about Marge and Homer and Bart and Lisa?"

[It's even funnier when you remember that The Cosby Show ran opposite The Simpsons once upon a time. I didn't invent the line, but I did hear it in a crowded theater once.]

By the way, if you get that whole riff you are just a bigger dork than I can possible imagine.

Afterwards we found ourselves at the Cast Party at Leah's (another member of the cast, who did an excellent Polish accent and an Irish accent in the course of the night's performance) tastefully appointed Midtown home.

[Just so you'll know, the Home-Buying Lust has settled upon Sonya and I once again. So many of our peers have homes - can't we have one, too? The answer, of course, is no, at least not until we manage to save up enough money for a down payment.]

The party was fun, but the Memphis theatre community is a close-knit, incestuous little group and they all know each other quite well. Sonya and I (and Jen's friend Christy) felt a bit on the fringes, I think. We ended up sitting with Jen on the deck out back, telling embarassing high school stories of drunkenness and debauchery - the "James falls out of his own truck" story was big hit.

Yesterday? I washed clothes, Sonya cleaned the bathroom. Woo-hoo!

Today doesn't even bear mentioning.

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