PREVIOUSLY ON SUITCASE PROTOCOL:
I'd been anticipating the trip to La Grange, but when the day arrived, my allergies were assaulting my head, and my energy was low. Still, I grabbed my props and hit the road, listening to the Texas Longhorns lose on the way.
Back when we trekked to Houston fairly regularly for Astros games, La Grange was our halfway stop, for kolaches at Weikel's Bakery. We'd visited the historical site many years ago, so I was delighted to discover the bakery also carried a new beer named for the brewery, and grabbed a couple of six packs.
See Martha's excellent recounting of our day. I'll only add that the source of my allergies disappeared about halfway there, and I breathed fresh air without sneezing, coughing, or sniffling. On my way home, I sang along to a playlist as serendipitous as Martha's.
Handoff: Friday, October 9, 2020
Location: Aunt Pearl's porch, Austin, TX
Involved Parties: Lisette Wilson, Will Mercer (Aunt Pearl)
Best read while listening to: Patsy Cline and Hank Williams
We'd had a hectic workweek, but by the time Friday arrived, it was all Will and I could do to finish the release notes for a code update planned for Sunday, before finalizing our plans for the suitcase exchange. I'd stay in my spy persona, and Will would revisit an onstage persona: Aunt Pearl.
I've had the pleasure of watching Will perform in several plays, from community theater to a national tour. The last public event I attended, back in February, was to watch Will star in a production of Harvey.
When touring theater is a thing again, if you have an opportunity to see Will in any of the Greater Tuna productions, or anything really, do yourself a favor and go.
After filming, we finished off the beer from my previous trip, sitting in the shade, telling stories.
A gift. A long-forgotten college memory of filming a spoof of a favorite TV show, with friends sending holiday greetings to another friend, living in New York, unable to return home for Christmas for the first time. We "picked her up" at her childhood home and took a drag down Main Street, then hit the highway for Austin. I created the logo for our show on a Mac Plus, using MacPaint and a dot matrix printer, lamenting that it couldn't be in color. We had a video camera, two VCRs, and some cables. And a lot of fun. When I returned home, I touched base with my co-conspirator in that endeavor and reminisced. We wondered if either of us still has a copy, stuck away in a closet, or on a high shelf, but are certain neither of us has a VCR.