Well, Jekyll & Hyde is over. And I feel a little lost, to be honest. Our performances went very well & we had decent audiences each night. Our 2nd weekend generated more buzz than the first, but we got several comments from local theatre lovers that said it was the best realized show that they had ever seen in Lynchburg. Dad was able to come see it, and so were Patty & Laura (my aunt & cousin). I didn’t invite my mother because I didn’t want her to come. I know that sounds terrible, but hear me out.
Firstly, she is a mess & she wouldn’t be able to hold it together & act normal for that long. Secondly, she would be uncomfortable & utterly disapproving of the content of the show. Thirdly, she would insist on bringing my super-conservative grandmother & aunts to see it & that would have gone over like a lead balloon. I was playing a whore in one scene & my tits were practically shoved up to my collar bones. It would not have been a pleasant situation for anyone involved. Even having my dad see it I was nervous about the content. Luckily, I warned him about the hooker scene & had him sit on the opposite side of the stage so he couldn’t see me very well. He loved it, and was so proud. It made me cry. Brandon’s mom also came to see it. She brought me flowers, and was so lovely about it. She is incredibly conservative as well, but she had an open mind about it. She wasn’t terribly offended for which I was grateful.
This week myself, DaShay, Dustin, Tim, Tom, Brittany and Aaron went down to Aaron’s house in Newport News. We stayed for three days, and I actually had a great time. With one exception. Brittany. She drove all of us utterly insane, but she offended and alienated me to the very core of my being. I couldn’t even stomach riding in the car with her.
Day one: DaShay, Aaron & I drove his car and the others took Dustin’s. There was a hold-up before we even left Lynchburg because Tom’s car seats more people comfortably, uses less gas & is in better working condition. But Tom didn’t want to drive and so she just ignored every sound argument made to take her car. We got on the road late and wound up hitting terrible traffic when we got near the beach. The troupe in Dustin’s car stopped to see one of Tom’s friends on the way down, so our car wound up at Aaron’s house far earlier than they did. We had planned on going in to VA Beach but since they got there so late, we went to a nearer small beach-type town. It only had a kind of paddling area, about waist deep, but it had a walking mall area. So we walked in the water & then took off to explore the area. Aaron took DaShay and I and showed us the area; afterwards we all met up and looked around the little pavillion together. Once we got back to the house, we hung out for a bit and then pretty much called it an early night. DaShay & I stayed up talking late into the night, but it was a great conversation so neither of us missed the sleep 🙂
Day Two: We got up insanely early, slathered on sunscreen, filled our water bottles with margaritas, piled in the cars and drove to VA Beach. We spend the entire day there. Literally. I took SPF75 and came out of the water religiously to put it on, I even waited after putting it on. I followed all the stupid sunscreen rules that I have learned in my 25 odd years of getting awful sunburns whenever I go to any beach, anywhere. But I still managed to get so burnt I could barely raise my arms to get my bathing suit off. You should have seen the idiotic little dance I had to do in the public restroom stall just to pull the damned thing off. Imagine, if you will, a very small, completely metal version of your nearest public washroom. Next, place in your imaginary metal cubicle a beet-red, hopping moron with sand and seaweed falling from her body onto the cold concrete floor. One might wonder if she were practicing for some sort of underwater Jitterbug contest, but no my friends. This terrifying vision is none other than your favorite redhead trying with all her might to extricate herself from the torture chamber masquerading as a bathroom stall. It was rough. But I refused to complain about it. Brittany was complaining enough for all of us put together. While we were in the water, I spent a lot of time out away from the people by myself just floating. I love to float and just listen to the water sounds. But this time, there were families of dolphins within earshot. It was amazing! I got to listen to them all day. When we finally got back to Aaron’s house, his mom had made us spaghetti with a deer meat marinara sauce. Scrumptuous. After dinner, we all sat around and played games. I learned several new games that I was profoundly bad at and some that were not all that horrible. We did one, called Psychiatrist, in which 2 people remove themselves from the room during which time the remaining players all come up with a “malady” to portray. The affliction could be anything from personas to accents to physical attributes or racial origins. DaShay does the most hysterical ghetto impression; I thought we were all going to piss ourselves laughing. Overall, it was a late night, but so much fun. I knew the next day we were going to be spending an equal amount of time out in the sun, so before I went to bed I developed a strategy to keep me from blistering the next day.
Day Three: Another early morning, and we were all kicking ourselves for drinking so much the day/night before. And how did we try and alleviate our chagrin? By filling our water bottles with tequila sunrise for the day. I love alcohol on the beach! I must have looked like an idiot in my long sleeve shirt to prevent further sunburn. But it worked. We swam and ate a good buffet lunch and swam some more. On the way back from the beach today, there was a drive shaft from a tractor trailer laying in the right lane of the highway. Aaron, Brittany & I were able to avoid it, but Dustin hit it. It popped his tire and jarred the car really badly. But after the tire was changed, and the cops were called, the trooper escorted us to the truck that had dropped its shaft & mediated while sh*t hit the fan. We made it back to Aaron’s house & ate dinner and kind of just sat around and talked. Brittany showed her ass by telling us how she supports Liberty University’s policy to expel its homosexual students or send them to what I call “straight camp” (where they are told how to be straight because god wouldn’t want them to be gay). It is repulsive & amoral and completely reprehensible. She goes on to say “well, straight people get in trouble for sex too. And you get in trouble for getting a divorce.” Ok, really? You sure about that? So, if you’re caught having sex so they send you to abstinence camp where you’re told that god would never have made you with a sex drive and you have to abstain for the rest of your life or be sentenced to hell? And if you get a divorce do you get expelled? Well, honey, you had premarital sex at that university with a youth pastor and then proceeded to marry & divorce him. Guess what. You’re still there and haven’t been ostracized at all. What an idiot.
Day Four: We headed back into Lynchburg pretty late, as usual. This time, no one wanted to ride with Brittany, but I flat out refused. I was so hurt & insulted by her whole view point that I couldn’t even stomach her company at all. Tom, DaShay, Aaron & I were in one car, and poor Dustin & Tim were stuck with Brittany. Our car made a pit stop in some little town close to Newport News and Dustin’s kept going. A few minutes later, we get a call that Dustin’s car has dropped its brake system and cannot be driven. Cut to us pulling up to see Dustin, Tim & Brittany standing by the side of the road. We attempt to use my AAA that, unbeknownst to me, had just expired & then we try Brittany’s, but hers will only cover a 20mi. tow which would get us about halfway to Completely-Unhelpful-ville. During all this time manipulative little Brittany has been jockeying for position in Aaron’s car. Her reasoning? Well, number one she is completely in love with the man. And number two, her own comfort and convenience is her utmost concern and somehow waiting on a tow truck didn’t fit in with her grand little plan. We were already leaving a day early because of her & now she pretty much pushes her way into the working car to leave sooner. Cut to everyone in Aaron’s car getting ready to leave (and this should have left Tim, Dustin & Brittany to wait for the tow truck) and who should happen to have plopped herself squarely in my seat with no hope of being able to move her? Yep, you guessed it. So I quickly grabbed my stuff from his car & tucked in to wait it out with 2 of my favorite people in the world 🙂 A damn sight better than riding with her for an hour plus. And it was a good thing she wasn’t in the towed car. Because we couldn’t all fit up front, we had to ride in the car. But the two in the front had to recline completely which left me all squished up in the back. It really wasn’t bad, but if it had been the other person instead of me, all they would have heard was complaining all the way back into Appomattox. Fast forward and we are at Dustin’s father’s bodyshop in Appo. We get the truck and have a nice cozy ride back into Lynchburg.
With all of this having been said, it was still a magnificent trip and so much fun was had by… most. I really love the beach and cannot wait to go back again when the weather permits.
As always, I remain,
Your favorite red-head
The hurdles & hopes of a modern day mess 