Oh lord. It’s in the nineties with lots of humidity – for the whole week.
I’m not the type of girl who thrives in a humid climate. Oh no. I wilt, I get testy, my brain turns to mush. Yesterday’s drive to Williamstown and back was smack dab in the midst of high temps and humidity. On the way back, the temperature gauge on our 12 year old car kept moving towards HOT. This same thing happened to us last year, mostly in the summer. Our mechanic could never figure out what was causing it, at least not enough to charge us a lot of money for something he was unsure of. When this happens, I have to add coolant. Fortunately, I always carry some with me. So there I was, on a country road, searching for a place to pull over. I ended up in the parking lot of a motel, where I then had to wait thirty minutes for the car to cool down. Hot sun. Sweat. Not a pretty picture. Eventually I added the coolant and it was smooth sailing.
Until I ran into a severe thunderstorm as I drove through the Berkshires. Lightning strikes everywhere, rain so heavy I could barely see the car in front of me, hail, you name it. A precarious Hudson River bridge crossing where I could barely see the side of the bridge. Cars slowing to a crawl. Cars pulled over on the side of the road. This went on for quite a long time.
I was more than ready to see my driveway awaiting me at the end of this journey.
The bee balm is starting to blossom.
Williamstown is charming. I’ve been there before, but the last time I saw something at that theater was in the mid-eighties and a whole new complex has been erected in the meantime. I didn’t have time to do anything other than help Don get settled. He’s staying in student housing; sort of like a dorm, but nicer. He’s in a house that has individual rooms, a common room and a nice kitchen. The dorm room I lived in never had a hardwood floor or tall, beautiful windows. I distinctly remember tile floors and cinderblock walls. There is no air conditioning, however. We brought along a fan and the theater provided him with two more. I hope he had some cool air during the night.
As he slept on his twin bed. 6 foot 4 inch Don on a dorm-room-sized bed. Oh boy.
Coneflower
He shares a bathroom with another actor. Fortunately, that actor is an old friend of ours who is also in Pygmalion. She is a wonderful actress and her partner of many years is also an old friend of Don’s. When I spoke to him last night, he said that it was so nice having both of them there and it helped make his birthday a little more special.
Because I did drop him off and leave smack dab in the middle of his birthday.
The Williamstown Theater Festival is a major force in the theater and well respected and lots of well known, even famous, actors work there. Don’s already spotted several. When I went there in the mid-eighties, I saw a play directed by Joanne Woodward. It was opening night and I spotted Paul Newman in the audience. Afterward, I saw them walk away from the theater, hand-in-hand. That image is still vivid in my mind, all these many years later.
Hydrangeas have bloomed
I have to get going and water my moisture-starved plants. There’s a chance of a thunderstorm or two almost every day this week. Good. The garden could use a good rain.
Happy Tuesday.
