More Young Chautauqua

Peggy and I couldn’t stand it. Reading the information about all the Young Chautauqua morning programs made us decide to drive into Reno this morning, leaving the men to follow much later in the day. We watched 8 performances between 9:30 and noon, including our third-grade friend, Logan, as L. Frank Baum, author of the Oz books (there were 14). He was terrific and we can hardly wait to see who he portrays next year. It will undoubtedly be someone with facial hair, as that is his trademark. He portrayed Andrew Carnegie when he was six, under the official age for Young Chautauqua, but he had been pestering his mother since he was three and his sister was a Young Chautauquan.

Here are four of the performers that portrayed Margaret Mitchell (author of Gone with the Wind), L. Frank Baum, Marguerite Henry (author of Justin Morgan had a Horse and Misty of Chincoteague), and Anne Frank. They are answering questions from the audience.

We met Joy and Joan for lunch at 12:30 at Nothing to It, a small culinary school that serves lunch. They have become a sponsor of Chautauqua and the woman portraying Julia Child tomorrow night is having a cooking demonstration here tomorrow afternoon with Lara, the master chef who operates the school and restaurant. Unfortunately, the tickets are a bit above our price range or we would be here to watch. I had a most delicious spinach salad with bacon, portabella mushrooms, and sun-dried tomatoes.

After a bit of shopping at the Sierra Trading Post outlet, Peggy and I drove up to Joy’s house and we hung out until it was time to meet the guys at the amphitheater. Music tonight was the Second Baptist Church Choir and they had us clapping. Tonight’s presenters portrayed Paul Robeson and Woody Guthrie in a program entitled “This Land is Our Land.” I only knew Paul Robeson as a singer, not as an activist. He was accused of being a Communist by the House Committee on Un-American Activities and his career suffered.

Another great day!! Made even better by the phone message from Susie, Dr. Ball’s nurse. I don’t have to give him a shot of Procrit – his test results were okay. Not stellar, but okay. They don’t have the Myeloma blood results yet. They take a week or so.