Iowa Loved The Band Perry and Thompson Square!

Our campus student activities organization was clever enough to sign up The Band Perry and Thompson Square for a performance before they began their rapid climb in popularity. Student concerts are usually held in the 'ballroom' of our student union. They are usually generally admission (no seating) shows. But on the day that the 600 general admission tickets went on sale, they were gone in a matter of a few hours. So they did some wheeling and dealing and managed to get the show moved to our Gallagher-Bluedorn Performing Arts Center - a lovely facility with acoustics designed specifically for quality symphony and other musical arts performances. I was delighted that 1) more tickets would be available (I missed out in the first sale), 2) it would be held in my favorite setting, and 3) we would have seats! (my knees are not up to standing all night). On Valentine's Day another 800-900 tickets went on sale and I snagged mine. They were still "General Admission" without specific seat assignments, but everyone knew that they would have a seat somewhere. Again, the entire venue sold out in short order!

On Thursday I dropped by the GBPAC at about 4:00 pm to ask if they knew how they would be handling the General Admission line-up, but since this was a student-organized show, not one of the regular performing arts shows, they were in the dark other than the doors were supposed to open at 7:00 for the 8:00 concert. The venue was still quiet at that time, although the first pair of attendees (a daughter and dad) were already in line. They told me they had driven 5 hours to get to the show!

I came back about 6:30. There were substantial lines of excited college students at both of the theatre's main doors leading to the floor seats. I instead chose a shorter line at one of the side-doors, hoping (but not certain) that they would in fact be taking tickets at that location as well.

Seven o'clock came and went and we heard that the bands were still setting up. They finally opened the doors about 7:20 and - yes!! - my side door was opened and I was actually able to get my very favorite seat for all the GBPAC shows - the very first seat in the right side "dress circle" area. These seats are slightly elevated about 6 feet above the floor level and offer a great view. My seat was in line with the 8th row of floor seats so I was a happy camper!

I was only familar with Thompson Square's hit music video song, but enjoyed all of their set. They are a perky young couple who are already showing skill at engaging the audience. I liked their songs but the first several seemed a bit similar in tone and tempo (perhaps just because I was unfamiliar with them), so I was happy when the second half of their set provided more diverse offerings. Here is Thursday night's "Let's Fight" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fiwl3cT0T1QAt  At one point they shot a little video of us - their very obliging and participatory audience, asking all of us to say the more Southern "Sure ("shor") 'nuff!" instead of "Cheese!"! : ) Thompson Square did a couple fun covers - Won't Back Down and also You Give Love a Bad Name (see below) . They had the audience singing along with their big hit "Are You Gonna Kiss Me or Not" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2l7gvGOcoDQ . (Is is just me, or does Kiefer Thompson singing the chorus of this song remind you of Kix Brooks singing "You Better Kiss Me, You're Gonna Miss Me"?)

During the week I had played several of The Band Perry's music videos before my classes to generate excitement about the Thursday night concert. But the music videos did not really prepare me for what a lively pistol of a performer Kimberly Perry is!!  She is charismatic and a real live-wire - you can't help but watch her, so her brothers are a bit neglected. She, like Keith Urban, knows the power of constant movement and bodily gestures to accompany one's playing and singing and uses them well. I was thoroughly wowed by The Band Perry! (Watch out Lady Antebellum - they are nipping at your heels!) Kim shared with us that they had just received the call that they had won the first round of the ACM "New Vocal Group" vote - congratulations Band Perry! Here they are doing "All Your Life"  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GNCFRIgs0MI

One tiny disappointment: despite the re-location of the show to the wonderful performing arts center venue, the sound was not as good as I had hoped. The vocals often got lost in all of the songs with substantial band accompaniment for both Thompson Square and The Band Perry. 

Since that is not usually the case in this location, I can only think that these bands' sound techs

were not used to this type of location and failed to balance the band and vocalists microphones properly. I heard this same comment from many, so I know it was not a matter of where I was sitting. On some of the more 'solo' pieces the vocals were great but on the more rockin' songs when the bands were playing loud the lyrics disappeared. Too bad!

The Band Perry covered a song from another of my favorites, the Rolling Stones - Honky-Tonk Woman with a few nods to Iowa included! : ) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KUDbbsRCZvE The whole performing arts center joined in on their biggest hit "If I Die Young" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o_MAy-koatw

Toe-Tapping Time in Tama With Kellie Pickler

I have enjoyed Kellie Pickler's singing and personality since her American Idol days, so when I heard she would be performing about an hour away, I asked my BFF Joan if she wanted to make it a "girls night out" and she was game. Tama, IA is the location of our closest Native American reservation and the associated Meskwaki casino which has a small ballroom size venue.

Kellie had a fair amount of lighting equipment with her on stage as well as an elevated platform for her drummer and keyboardist. (Sometimes there was a bit too much strob light and psychedelic spinning lights for my taste!)  I'm not sure that she had all of her regular band with her however, since a couple of the guys she introduced as "playing with us tonight" as if they might not be regulars. She said that traveling with all of them in the bus was like having the big brothers she had always wished for.

Kellie's set was a great combination of new and old, with selections from her newest album ("Making Me Fall in Love With You"), some from her American Idol days and some great oldies which were among my favorite songs for the evening. She mentioned during her show that her grandparents had brought her their old record player and record collection during a recent visit to Nashville and she had been reminiscing as she listened to all the songs that she grew up with. I just loved her renditions of "You Ain't Woman Enough to Take My Man" and "Stand By Your Man" and even a little "Jolene", "Two Doors Down" and "Nine to Five"! Kellie did remind me of Dolly several times during the night (and other times my buddy Joan  said she sounded like Reba!) During the more up-close-and-personal acoustic portion of her show, with Kellie and a few of the guys sitting on stools near stage edge, she also had a fun time with "I Wanna Be Married, I Wanna Be Single Too", telling us that her new hubby hated that song. She shared that her hubby ("my best friend") was with her in Iowa. Kellie mentioned she loved Keith Whitleys's music and sang a touching "Don't Close Your Eyes". (The ladies behind us got excited because they thought she said she was going to do a Keith Urban song : ). Her voice sounded just great on that sweet ballad.

Kelly told us a funny story about watching Dolly Parton (on television) with her grandparents when she was 7 or 8 years old,  all google-eyed  - admiring her singing, her fancy clothes and how pretty she was. Her grandma apparently was not as impressed with Dolly's physical charms and muttered "Whore!" at one point. Innocent Kellie decided then and there "That's what I wanna be when I grow up!" : )  I really enjoyed all of her little stories! But I think she needs  someone to interact with on stage to really show the more feisty 'ain't she a pistol' side of her personality that often showed up in interviews or with Simon Cowell. 

Kellie's I Wonder http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9iAhHpybbjE

I had watched many of Kellie's Youtube videos before coming to the show and had not seen her on television lately, so almost didn't recognize her when she came out on stage. Long straight blond hair has replaced her shorter, bouncy do and, with a more rounded angel's face, she looks more a woman than a teenager than her earlier days. Also she wore a rather unflattering, somewhat baggy tunic, making me wonder if she was expecting (but maybe she has just been enjoying the good life during her honeymoon).

Kellie saved Red High Heels for her encore and was sweet enough to invite everyone up for a handshake and an autograph after the show!

Perfect Pilobolus in Des Moines

When I saw that my very favorite dance troupe, Pilobolus Dance Theatre, had a date scheduled in Des Moines, I was sore tempted even though Des Moines (a little over 2 hrs aways) is not easy for my to do during the week. I searched for tickets and only turned up nosebleed seats in the Civic Center and thought, okay - its not worth traveling for that.

Well, about a month later I saw another posting about their show and decided to try again. I tried for a pair of seats and turned up nothing desirable. So I looked for a single and - success!! - it actually gave me Row A Seat 50!! First row!! I figured it was probably the last seat in the row but I considered it a sign that I should make the trip to Des Moines and bought the ticket.

But, still hoping my daughter might be able to go with, I searched for one more single. And YES - row A seat 49 came up!! (I don't know why my search for a pair of seats didn't reveal this set).

Poor Annie was experiencing flu symptoms the week of the performance and for a while it was uncertain whether she would be up to a night out. But she felt a little better and decided to come along with plenty of cough drops to stifle her cough. She was a trouper but I felt bad that she wasn't ffeeling herself.

We arrived at the Civic Center in time to catch a pre-show question and answer session with a member of the troupe, which was very interesting. When it ended and we headed into the main theatre, I told Annie that I thought we'd have the last 2 seats in the row. But no, the usher pointed us down that long row - were we on the opposite side?? Nope - seats 49 and 50 were smack dab in the center!! I don't know how we got so lucky - seats probably reserved for friends of the troupe must have been released late in ticket sales. So Annie and I had a very up-close and personal view of these extraordinary performers.

We had been given a bit of a heads-up about the program for the evening during the question and answer session which oriented us to each piece. The first untitled piece began with the two women in the company in long calico dresses, with one brushing the long hair of the other before putting her wide brimmed straw hat one. The music suggested the dance would be portraying early Americana, but very quickly we were wonderfully surprised - feeling a bit like we had fallen down Alices's rabbit hole just about the time that Alice ate the tidbit that made her grow to giant proportions. Suddenly these diminuative dancers (perhaps 5 feet tall) became about 8 feet tall as they swirled about the stage in their long dresses!! (Long dresses that now could not disguise rather hairy masculine legs. What a trippy experience! The piece continued with surprise after surprise, some funny, some thought-provoking, all allowing totally different impressions of "bodies" which no longer followed the usual rules of biology. What a fun and amazing piece!!

(They warned us before the show that use of any cameras was illegal, but I have found a couple little samples of this dance online).

"Untitled"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y5rNrqTcn7k&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Z1lZMpuPNw

Pilobolus is well known for doing incredible shadow work and has had pieces featured during the Oscars and other nationally televised shows. We got a small sample of their creative combinations of superb body control and the use of shadows in the second piece Wednesday night. Again I was lucky enough to find a bit of it captured online:

Shadowland: The Transformation

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QgvmlqqkofM

The third piece I had seen before but it was no less marvelous the second time. "Gnomen" makes use of all four supremely toned, muscular, incredibly strong, balanced and yet oh-so-gentle men in the company - men made all the more beautiful because they span the range of skin tones. They make such difficult feats of passing full-grown male bodies on meer finger tips (or even toe tips) seem so effortless, so graceful you'd think the bodies must be weightless, like in outspace. Each man in turned, just gave over his body to the others, with perfect trust on the timing, support, and (what looks like) the gentle touch of the others. This is such a stunning piece!

Intermission was followed by the totally light-hearted, humorous "Walklyndon" portraying th antics of athletic 'speed-walkers' rushing back and forth across the stage.

What Gnomen was for the men of the company, "Duet" was for the two Pilobolus women - intimate and varied interaction between two incredibly strong and supremely controlled  performers, sometimes so fused that they moved as one, other times one being completely dependent on the balance and strength of the other.

The final piece of the night was the really hard-hitting a rhythmic "Redline" with the entire troupe moving powerfully, making amazing moves continuously to a driving beat that sounded something like a massive fast-paced factory line. I felt out of breath just watching them!

Do see Pilobolus if you get a chance! They are unique and wonderful!

Postscript: Had to drop my daughter off in Ames by Iowa State University, then stopped at McDonalds for a big cup of caffeinated pop for my late-night ride home. Shortly after pulling out of their lot, the Ames police pulled me over. Seems that they want you to drive with your lights on at night in Ames : P

Blue About the Blue Man Group

     Tonight I was supposed to see a show by the Blue Man Group, who are scheduled for 3 sold-out shows at my university. Sadly tonight's show is a no-go. Apparently a sprinkler pipe broke over the stage, flooding the stage and orchestra pit before the front-section-ponchos-required Blue Man Group ever got a chance to create their unique show.  Although they hope the Wednesday and Thursday shows will happen as planned, I kind of doubt that they will be able to re-schedule tonight's performance considering how heavily booked those indigo guys are.

I have seen the Blue Man Group perform before. I remember well my first experience. I was attending a conference in Chicago and decided to look for some evening entertainment. I had heard the name "Blue Man Group" and had seen photos, but knew nothing more about them. What the heck, I thought - they seem to be popular. So I got a single ticket from my hotel concierge and headed off to the small theatre where they were in residence at the time. Given my last minute purchase I was surprised to discover my single seat was in the front row!! And I was doubly, no triply surprised when the usher handed me a plastic poncho with a hood as he seated me!! What the hey??!! But I put it on - forewarned is forearmed.

I thoroughly enjoyed the humorous, musical, percussive performance, constantly surprising and delighting the audience. And I was happy to have the ponchos when, during the antics of one of their they're-not-expecting-this routines. mashed bananas (or what looked and smelled like mashed bananas) came shooting out one Blue Man's chest (as I recall) onto the several front rows  of the audience! They love to shock us, then look out at the audience in wide-eyed innocence.

Tonight I would not have had to wear a poncho. I actually won the tickets (yay) but they were in the upper balcony, safe from any banana spray, foam, water, or (another of the Blue Man strategies) audience participation.  Too bad, because in this case the Blues can really brighten your day.

Keith Urban's Get Closer: Reflections From an Urban Addict

I have been reading some of the reviews of Keith Urban's new Get Closer album over the last few weeks. Although it is interesting to get the perspective of some of the "expert critics" and also is one way of getting a sense of what catches the attention of an 'outsider' listening to new music from Keith, I am pretty sure that what an ardent Urbanite hears as they experience a new album is often quite diffferent! We have a history with Keith that influences our perceptions and feelings in ways a music critic can't anticipate. I have lived with Get Closer for about a month now. I have given it time to seep into my soul, time for it to connect, time to discover what bits continue to play on that jukebox in my mind long after I turn my CD player or Ipod off. I have chosen to reflect on the expanded Target version because some of the very best tracks are not on the regular album. What do you hear when you are listening?

Put You In a Song - the full-sugar pop of the album but irresistible nevertheless. From the opening guitar lick and "Hey, hey!" to the very end, I can't help but sing along with the upbeat melody and move to the driving beat (hope I don't have an accident doing a little sit-down dancing in my car!). I love that "Onh - honh" after the first couplet, like that rhythmic bass guitar scratch in the background of the first verse (we'll be watching Jerry play that) and can't wait to see the little solo bridge in the middle performed live. I so identify with the sentiment of wanting to roll down the car's windows and let the world hear what is making me excited and happy. Does Keith realize how often we do this with his music, how often his music is "stuck in my head all day"? Another favorite bit of lyric "Gotta set you to a groo-oo-oove!"

You Gonna Fly - this tune, written by the LoCash Cowboys, brought to mind several country classics. The opening beat and "One, two, three" immediately made me think "Shania" - maybe her "Any Man of Mine", then "broken wing" made me think of Martina's "Broken Wing, and "back of my bed" made me think of Alan Jackson's Country Boy. What's with the crazy whistle?The overall tone of this high energy song made it the "Raise the Barn" of this album for me.

All For You - I love listening to Keith's sweet voice sing this touching song. One of my first thoughts as I listened was 'why did he choose to have a female provide back-up on this particular tune'? As a lovesong that most infer Keith is singing to Nic, it seemed a bit out of place to have a female back-up. Not that a woman couldn't express the basic sentiments of the song, but some of the lyrics are more masculine than the usual love duet ("make this grown man cry", "my arms will hold you tight"). Well, it sounded like a female to me - maybe Sarah or Karen- but then I found that the liner notes only list Russell Terrell as the backup singer! Is it really him that I hear??   I thought perhaps Keith was anticipating performing this song during the upcoming tour and planned to have a female from his opening acts join him some nights the way he used to for The Hard Way in the Be Here Tour. Or maybe he just liked the sound, pure and simple, whether it is Russell or some gal. Love Keith's spare guitarwork - wonderful sound and perfect accompaniment. Favorite bits of lyric: the intimacy of "my hand to pull your hair back away from your eyes" and "crazy, very crazy for you".

Long Hot Summer - the most overtly sexy song on the album. The verses being sung in that deep, slightly growly voice describing  a lover who aims to please in lines like "The picture in my mind of everything I'm gonna do" and " I gotta be the one who knows just what to do to you to get me that smile" raises more than a few goosebumps. A chorus that you can't help but sing along with is sure to make this a winner as a single and the rocking beat and guitar and banjo will make this a concert pleaser as well. Another favorite "lyric" following the little guitar bridge in the final chorus is Keith's "Unh-unh-unh-unh-unh-unh-unh-unh" : ). How does he makes these little sounds so damn appealing??

Without You - this song certainly sounds like it was written specifically for or by Keith, (although it was not) and Keith sings it from the heart. The slightly twangier, more country chorus as well as the instrumentation and arrangement take me back to early Urban songs like Tangled Up In Love or Don't Shut Me Out. I wonder if the new guy in the band might play the fiddle as well as the guitar for songs like this one? Seems like they'll need a fiddle player for the tour.

Georgia Woods - the big guitar song of the album. But long before that searing guitar solo, this is another great song that we will all be singing along with. Another sexy song with a mysterious and spell-binding intro and a chill giving bit of longing moan in Keith's voice. (I wondered if Keith and Darrell might be Guns n' Roses fans. The intro chord progression makes me think of Paradise City...). The "The sparks between you and me, We better be careful my love or these woods will be burning"brought to mind Homespun Love's "When we get to sparkin', We almost set the house on fire." I had to smile at the last line of the chorus "Gotta be fallin' 'cause I'm already callin' you baby, " because even I have been the beneficiary of more than one of Keith's "Baby"s at meet and greets! (and I was the one who was "falling" in those instances)!

Right on Back to You - "Rain" has been good to Keith and the rainstorm lead-in to this song is a nice touch. Keith's voice is as smooth as silk on this song that tugs at your heart. I appreciate Keith's ability to change his voice and intonation to suit the mood of each song. I can see the whole concert audience gently swaying to this song, perhaps holding their glowing cell phones over their heads. I find the drums a bit too loud on this piece, detracting a bit from the sensitive vocals and Keith's guitar solois a bit overshadowed, but I'm sure that won't be the case in a live performance.

Shut Out the Lights - a nice change of tone and tempo and recognition that, no matter how close you are, there are likely to be times of disagreement. I enjoy all that Keith brings to the song but might have toned down the 'big band climax' near the end. I love the guitar and final "I need you, I need you" ending.

I don't know what to think of the 8 track length of the 'regular' album, but I have noticed that Keith is not alone in releasing a shorter than usual new CDs so maybe it is just a sign of the times. But I feel sorry for those who did not seek out the extended version at Target stores because a couple of the bonus tracks are truly outstanding and should absolutely not be missed.

Big Promises - I love, love, love this song!! and am baffled why it wasn't included in the album proper. It certainly fits the Get Closer theme and shows yet another side of Keith's music (a bit like Tu Compania did on LPATWCT), so it is such a shame that all album purchasers are't hearing it. It makes me smile, it makes me move, it makes me sing and is one of my very favorites. The banjo is great and don't you just love the closing over-dubbed (is that the right term?) segment: 

Yes I know when I see your pretty little face, 

I'm gonna do the best I can, 

To give you every little thing that you'd ever need,

And I will always be your man.

In the middle of the night, for the rest of your life

I'll be forever true

I'll be lovin' you, lovin' you...

Does it remind you of the closing of If Ever I Could Love (another favorite of mine)?

The Luxury of Knowing - Thank you so much Faith Hill for calling the songs of Lori McKenna to Keith's attention. Keith absolutely kills this song! No one could sing it with greater expression or intensity. The song, in turn, just kills me. It makes my heart ache and my eyes tear - just so, so moving. It could have been the Stupid Boy of Get Closer but I so fear it will be overlooked since it is a bonus track not available to everyone. I guess I see why perhaps it may not have fit the Get Closer theme. It seems to express almost the antithesis of getting closer - loving someone who gives you no sense of security or their true feelings. But it is a magnificant rendition of a great song (thank you Lori!) and should have been a headliner. This, more than any other song on the album, makes me (like in Put You in a Song) press "Play, repeat". Please, please, please Keith include this in your concert setlist even though it was a bonus track!! The catch in his breath before the final verse brings me to my knees. Bravo Keith!

Winning - a perfectly fine, fun song but I have to say that I find it a jarring disconnection from the powerful emotions of The Luxury, and so I often press skip, not yet willing to give up the hold the previous song has on me. I think I would have reacted differently if Winning had been differently placed - perhaps after one of the upbeat rockers of the album. It wil probably be a fun song to see performed live.

The Four Live Concert Tracks - for those of us who lived these concert songs these tracks are just great. Although I did not see the Atlanta show that the first live track, Once in a Lifetime, was drawn from, I did attend many other LPATWCT tour shows. Each night, after the opening act, there would be the oh-so-eager anticipation buzzing through the audience as we waited for Keith to take the stage. Some nights there was the slowly growing LPATWCT beating heart on the giant videoscreen marking the passage of time, other nights we had an actual countdown clock. In either case the audience grew increasingly excited and just went crazy when we finally heard the opening beats of OIAL and saw Keith's spread-legged silhouette against that golden background as he stood at the top of the ramp that would bring him down to stagefront. Pavlovian conditioning is powerful and persistent, so when the opening strains of OIAL on that live track began to sound, once again my heart began to race and I felt the eager anticipation of an actual concert night all over again!! How fun to re-live (at least auditorily) the tour experience! 

I wonder whether the live tracks come from a couple different shows. because I swear I remember being there when Keith broke out laughing at some fans' antics as he began to sing You look Good in My Shirt. I also remember the rare night when he mentioned "Sweet Sunday" in Better Life. Even though I'm listening to a track on a CD, when Keith asks us "Let me hear you sing it to me now", I can't help but belt out the responses, and know just the moment, during the final guitar closing to that song that the confetti cannons would go off and shower us with silvery hearts! Sweet memories! And remembering "Everybody" as the final touchingly expansive song of the concert (and also the teary Everybody that was the final song of the entire tour that night in Lexington) still gives me a lump in my throat and oh-so-fond feelings for this very special singer and musician. So the live tracks worked very well for me. I'm not sure that those who have never seen Keith perform live get a good sense of the excitement and participatory experience of Keith's concerts though, because the sounds of the audience are somewhat muted on these tracks. Certainly we hear Keith and the band better with recordings from stage microphones, but we miss a little of the intensity of the crowd.

Thank you Keith for a very welcome addition to my music library. Can't wait for the live experience of Get Closer!

 

      It is hard to believe that we have been back home for 3 weeks and I still haven't had a moment to post more about our Italian adventure. Blame it on the end of the semester and the approaching holidays - it seems like I have been working around the clock either writing and grading exams or making a little headway on getting ready for Christmas. Final exams finally ended yesterday - hurray!

      Annie tells me it actually snowed in Rome this week!! A very rare occurrence indeed, so I'm pleased that Thanksgiving week we only had to deal with occasional light showers. Having the cobblestones of the piazza in front of St. Peter's at the Vatican glistening from a recent shower didn't detract in the least from the majesty of the surroundings. ( I also couldn't help but think of Tom Hanks and the excitement of Angels and Demons!). We all visited St. Peter's, then the rest of the family climbed the few hundred steps up to the top of the basilica for exceptional views of both the inside of the cathedral and outside, overlooking Rome. My knee wasn't up to the climb so I explored the fountains of the plaza. (I also almost had a fist-fight when, after I waited patiently for the dozen people ahead of me in the Vatican bathroom line, an Italian woman came in and tried to move right to the head of the line! I was having no part of that. She couldn't understand me and I couldn't understand her, but I guess my body language convinced her that I was not giving in. In general it seemed that Italy does not understand or participate in queuing up for anything!)

      Other days we visited other not-to be missed sights - the Coliseum, Trevi Fountain, the Pantheon, the Spanish steps and shopping district. One afternoon Annie and I went to the Rome Zoo. It wasn't quite as exciting as the Prague Zoo's bat caves and free-swinging chair lift, but we had a great time and particularly enjoyed "Potato time" on the monkey island, where each monkey claimed its two potatoes from the keeper, then scurried off to enjoy them.

On Thursday Annie and 5 of her roommates made us a very nice Thanksgiving dinner in their apartment. They couldn't find all the usual ingredients (no turkey or cranberries and Mom had to bring the makings for the green been casserole in her suitcase), but the chicken and fixings were great and the company even better! All of the various animals - lions, tigers, antelopes, elephants and more- seemed to be lined up at their enclosure fences or doors, watching expectantly for the arrival of the keeper and their delivery of their food treats, but we weren't patient enough to wait with them.

We ate far too much pasta, pizza, Italian bread and gelato, but it just didn't seem to be the right time to diet! : )m.

All too soon the week was over and we had to say "Arrivaderci Roma!" and hug Annie goodbye for a few weeks. We got up at 4:30 a.m. to catch our early connection to Paris and then on to Chicago. I had no better luck sleeping on the plane, so the drive from Chicago to Iowa seemed extra long. But it was nice to collapse in my own bed and give thanks once more for an extra-special Thanksgiving.

Off on a Roman Holiday!

     Early in August my daughter Annie went off to Rome to spend a semester abroad. Although Mom and Dad were quite nervous about sending their baby overseas, I couldn't very well complain since I had gone to Europe with girlfriends when I was in college. The College of Design of Iowa State University has a small campus right in the heart of historic Rome catering to Architecture students in the spring and Design students in the fall. Happily a whole contingent of Annie's Graphic Design buddies were also taking advantage of this wonderful opportunity, so she would have plenty of company as she adjusted to her new setting.

     Since we hadn't seen her in 3 months and Annie herself was suffering occasional bouts of homesickness, we decided to visit Annie over my university's Thanksgiving Break. Both of Annie's working big sisters (Engineer Sara and Psychologist Jen) also arranged to take extra days off during that holiday week so they could join us and we could all be together as a family. Of course I worried whether all the complicated airline arrangements and weather would cooperate, but amazingly everything went just as planned.

     Jim and I left Iowa Friday after work and drove to Chicago since we had a Saturday morning flight there. Sara, who lives in Chicago, flew with us - first to Atlanta, then on an Air Italia flight direct to Rome. Jim travels so much that he was able to get both Sara's and my ticket using frequent flyer miles! The flight was fine - we watched several movies. The airline tries to help passengers 'transition' to the new time zone by turning down the lights after dinner and passing out pillows and blankets. But someone like me, who doesn't always sleep well even in my own bed, has little luck sleeping in an airplane seat when my internal clock is saying it is well before midnight. We arrived in Rome when it was midnight in Iowa but 7 am in Italy - how confusing to my biorhythms! We were pleasantly surprised to find that Jen's flight from Newark arrived just moments after ours, so we caught up with her in the baggage area.

    Having heard that some unscrupulous cab drivers frequent the Rome airport, Jim arranged to have our hotel send a car out to collect us. We piled into a small mini-van of sorts and had our first Roman cab experience (which would be repeated many times over during the week).

Basically Roman drivers drive as fast as they possibly can, riding the bumper of the car in front of them even on rain slick streets, switching from lane to lane (IF only there were any lane markings on the wider streets!), trying to gain whatever minute driving advantage that they can - the heck with other vehicles or pedestrians!! Every one of them must still have Gladiator blood coursing through their veins! There are no speed limits, pedestrians in the crosswalk do NOT have the right of way and even red lights are optional and up to the discretion of the driver! Believe me - that ride woke us up despite our jet lag and most every ride during the week was a white knuckle, close-your-eyes-and-pray, try not to yelp in fear because it might distract the driver as you barrel through tiny cobblestone lanes barely 8 feet wide, adventure.

    Annie was waiting for us at our hotel and hurray, the whole fam-damily was together!

It was a bit too early for our rooms to be ready but the hotel invited us to partake of their European breakfast buffet (which I am missing, now that I am back home!) while we waited. Mmm. Croissants, Italian hard rolls and cheese, yummy Europeans yogurts, cappaccino...

Our hotel room overlooked the Roman ruins of Palantine Hill while the girls' room looked into the hotel courtyard lined with orange trees laden with fruit. I never thought of Rome as an "orange tree" area but even some of the downtown streets were lined with them.

       That afternoon we took our first exploratory walk down cobblestone lanes (ALL of Rome is paved in cobblestones) with delightful Italian names we tried (awkwardly) to roll off our tongues, past ancient churches, through arches and passageways that legions have passed through, with something historic on each and every corner - until we reached the studios were Annie and her classmates are studying graphic design. ISU's little campus is located on the Piazza des Cinque Scoles (plaza of 5 schools), with a burbling fountain in the center. Annie unlocked the huge doors and led us up older than old marble stairs to give us a tour of their various workrooms and to show us some of her design projects. Then we walked a bit farther until it began to rain (this is the rainy season in Rome). We ducked into a sidewalk cafe with a tent-like roof to enjoy our first pasta dinner of the week.  After dinner the time difference was catching up with us so we called it a night and headed back to Hotel Kolbe to recharge our batteries.