Mark.

Please ignore the photobombing goober to the left there.

Have you ever waited in line just to give someone a hug?  I mean, sure, maybe Santa Claus when you were a kid, but other than that?  It's not uncommon whenever we kids are all together to see my sisters and me line up for the opportunity to embrace my dad.  It usually starts with one of us going over to hug him, at which point we all catch on and sort of swarm and dance around impatiently until it's our turn.  I think the high demand says it all--we know where to go to feel safe and loved, and we know that he'll let us be silly weirdos in the process.

Happy Father's Day, Pappy.  I wish I could hug you in person today, but you can bet that when I'm home next I'll be making up for lost time.

All the world's a stage.

One of my favorite things about summer in New York is the wealth of awesome (free!) outdoor activities around the city, including Shakespeare in the Park.  This year they're doing a month of As You Like It followed by Stephen Sondheim's Into the Woods (which will star Amy Adams).

 

Since tickets are free, you can wait in one of a couple different standby lines, or try the "virtual line" on their website.  In three summers of attempting the virtual line dozens of times, I had never once gotten tickets that way and ended up having to do standby.  UNTIL!  On my first attempt this summer, I got an email telling me I had two tickets waiting for me that very night.  Victory!  

 

I was joined by the lovely Karrie, and it couldn't have been a more beautiful night: 

See?

I'd never seen or read As You Like It before, so I did a quick skim of the plot on Wikipedia to be able to follow along a little easier.  The sets were awesome, sort of a mid-19th century frontier setting with log cabins and banjo music.  Apparently it's known as Shakespeare's musical comedy because there are several songs included in the play.  For this production the music was folk/bluegrass played onstage with banjos, guitars, and fiddles, and was composed by none other than Steve Martin.  It was fantastic.  Karrie and I couldn't get over how much we loved the music--definitely one of the highlights of a very funny and enjoyable show.

Next week there will be a gala celebrating 50 years of Shakespeare in the Park that includes a one-night-only staging of Romeo and Juliet starring... Kevin Kline and Meryl Streep.  Anyone wanna spot me $1500 so I can go?