The Guthrie Theatre-Minneapolis

What does this have to do with travel, you might ask? The performances over the years at the Guthrie Theatre have allowed me to travel to different places and countries over several different centuries in the company of an unforgettable cast of characters.

Tonight we saw Hamlet, the last scheduled play ending its run at the original theatre. At the end of the month the Guthrie will be in their new state-of-the-art buildings on the banks of the Mississippi River in downtown Minneapolis. In 1963 under the direction of the visionary Sir Tyrone Guthrie, the theatre opened with Shakespeare's Hamlet-a $3.oo ticket. We saw the first performance done in tuxedo and have come full circle with tonight's play, set in the 1940's-a $42.00 ticket. Both stellar performances! In all, over the years I have seen four different versions of Hamlet on Guthrie's thrust stage. Each completely different from one another.

I can't help but feel nostalgic about the place because I have many memories. Taking students to a variety of plays there frequently had mixed results, based upon behavior, but always worthwhile because each play reinforced my teaching. During the first season I was sprayed with Hume Cronyn's spittle as I sat in a front row watching him in The Miser. In 1967 while hugely pregnant and wearing a red dress, I and my husband arrived late for a matinee performance of The House of Atreus. While being seated in the darkened balcony with steep steps, I experienced vertigo but hands shot out from both sides of the aisle, protecting me from a fall-- and without interrupting the play. I wept with Emily in Our Town when she declared, "Oh Earth, you are too beautiful to realize!" Tears also flowed in The Glass Menagerie, but I shed tears of mirth while watching Lysistrata and Tartuffe. I've taken countless small children there, including my own and my grandchildren, to see their very first performance of the seasonal The Christmas Carol. The child who was terrified is still willing to return, though! Death of a Salesman leaves me shattered, yet when I reluctantly agreed to go see it with my husband in both 1992 and 2005 I wasn't sorry. Recently The People's Temple made me change my mind about the followers of Jones who drank poisoned Kool-Aid and died en masse.

The Guthrie Theatre also had people of music and letters perform on stage in different kinds of performances. I enjoyed The Blind Boys of Alabama and Lyle Lovett. I saw, heard, and swooned while watching Seamus Heaney, and Nadine Gordimer left me speechless with admiration.

Although I am anxious to see the new Guthrie and to enjoy more theatre there, I shall miss the old Guthrie. It has served me and the community very, very well!

Our Pets-St Paul

Jim and I have had pets almost since the day we were married. The following animals currently reside with us. During the tough years, I probably would have gotten rid of my kids instead of my animals, who could not talk back and loved us, honored us, and obeyed without question (just kidding!).

Brandy, the black cat, belongs to our grandkids, Dominique and Olivia.
Photo by Kati Neher©

John Finch, named after a former colleague (who was thrilled at the honor) is the longest living finch on record-20 years old and still going strong!
Maggi, our shelter dog, although quite sick with kidney problems, is the sweetest dog in the universe. And, recently diagnosed with hip Dysplasia (4/28/06); she's too young--only four. Poor Maggi!

The bird with the top notch is Chica, as serene as Sadie is difficult!

Sadie is the charming parrot who bites everyone except Kate

Photos of birds and dog by Kate Mura©

Birthdays-St Paul

Is it possible that my daughter Kati has all these candles on her birthday cake?

Poetry Month-Planet Earth

Yes, re-entry into so-called "normal life" is not always easy, but poetry lightens the load. Since April is Poetry Month, I decided to add a few poems here and there that I love. This is the first one.

The Waking

I wake to sleep and take my waking slow.
I feel my fate in what I cannot fear.
I learn by going where I have to go.

We think by feeling. What is there to know?
I hear my being dance from ear to ear.
I wake to sleep and take my waking slow.

Of those so close beside me, which are you?
God bless the Ground! I shall walk softly there,
And learn by going where I have to go.

Light takes the Tree; but who can tell us how?
The lowly worm climbs up a winding stair;
I wake to sleep and take my waking slow.

Great Nature has another thing to do
To you and me; so take the lively air,
And, lovely, learn by going where to go.

This shaking keeps me steady. I should know.
What falls away is always. And is near.
I wake to sleep, and take my waking slow.
I learn by going where I have to go.

--Theodore Roethke

Home Again-México to USA

Picture: Dominique leaving reluctantly for home--¡Hasta Luego!

I have mixed emotions about returning, and I assume that is normal. The weather here is comfortable and warm for Minnesota. But, I miss the friendly people, the sound of the pounding surf, walking on the beach, and fantasizing about living in México. And the sun, of course!

Now I have to figure out what I want to do with the rest of my life.

México Pictures for family and friends.

Mary's Sandwich Shoppe was a favorite place for our grandkids who enjoyed the hot dogs and burgers! Rueben, the friendly waiter, took good care of us. Mary's is owned by a former Derham Hall graduate, St. Paul, MN, who lives in Mazatlán with her husband and children!



The Equestrians: Jaime and 'Livie
Dom makes a salad as Kati watches and while grandfather and Olivia rest.

I'm still trying to figure out how to identify photos, still experimenting with the content and not quite sure how to do what I want. Family pictures are interspersed with condo photos. Below one photo is of the master bedroom and another of the view from our fifth floor balcony. Mazatlán is experiencing a building boom with escalating prices. Costa Bonita is quite luxurious but the price is right--currently! I doubt that we will stay there again because it is quite far from town, an area I prefer. Beach and ambiance is great and I'd recommend it if you prefer to beach and surf, but it's hard to get involved with Mexican culture.

Kate and Jaime at leisure, and the way we used the internet during the bright sunshiny day on a balcony, the only location for a wireless signal.

The Best Show in Town-Costa Bonita, Mazatlán

(Disclaimer: The photo obviously is not mine but one which is available free from an internet site.)

In the morning a pod of dolphins swim past our condo going south. In the evening, they return in a northernly direction. Knowing that we are leaving tomorrow night, nature provided us tonight at about 6:30 with a 30 minute show of dolphins cavorting in the ocean. Afterwards we walked the shore to see another fantastic sunset. Good-bye Mazatlán.

Eclipse Zona Dorada Mazatlán México

This is a lovely piece of metal artwork that daughter Kati bought and brought back to her Minnesota home last Friday. It is a fairly standard Mexican image, but the piece is really quite beautiful and unique, executed by a very talented Mexican artist. It has several different kinds of metals and measures about 24"x 24". I wish that I had seen it first! It's a lovely addition to her home and a great memory! Click on the picture for a larger, more detailed image.
Photo by Kati Neher ©

Four Different Vacations Mazatlán México

During this month we have had four separate and distinct vacations: first, enjoying getting to know the area by ourselves; second, sharing our beautiful condo with two friends from California/Colorado; third; playing with daughter and two grandkids; and, now this final week, enjoying a different "way of life" with grand-daughter Olivia, age 4. Each week has been totally unique and different from the others. What will we do next year to top this one? I think that I would like to explore more areas of México, too.

I am ready to move for a period of three to six months, during our cold, snowy, icy, and unpleasant winter Minnesota weather, but Jaime is definitely not ready to retire to a life of ease. And, I doubt that he ever will be. It's a bit of a dilemma, but one that has several solutions which I am now pondering. I would not want to miss the wonderful summer months in St. Paul and environs. Both Minnesota and Wisconsin have spring, summer, and fall months that are more than just enjoyable. Despite humidity and mosquitos, the area is leafy green, dreamy river and lake blue, and activity-filled with walks, biking, canoeing, music, movies, theatre, and friends.

Life is good!

The "dump tour" Mazatlán México

On Tuesday the five of us, Jaime, daughter Kati, grandson Dominique age 12, granddaughter Olivia age 4, and I as well as 20 other people of various ages, including several adolescents and young adults went to the Vineyard (a non-denominational church) early in the morning to make sandwiches to take to the people who work and live on the fringes of the one city dump that services the city of Mazatlán. The whole process of making and packaging the sandwiches and then adding oranges and water is assembly-line perfect. Energetic volunteers oversaw the work, and even Olivia assisted by placing cheese atop the ham, which others placed in large buns that had previously been cut by other worker bees. You get the picture.

Able bodied men and young boys loaded the food on a rickety bus and we all piled in. Before arriving at the dump, we visited several extremely poor colonials (neighborhoods) and toured the extremely basic churches/community centers to see what the Mexicans are being taught to do for themselves. Most fascinating was one center that makes and sells rudimentary water filter systems. Our last stop before the dump was a school for pre-school ninos. Again, very basic and rudimentary according to our standards. This country needs far more, of course.

The dump tour itself should be a mandatory visit for all tourists. It is difficult to describe the living conditions of the people in the shacks surrounding the dump. When the bus pulled into the outer fringes of the dump, men and a few women flocked to the bus. People of all ages interrupted their work to get the food with aqua being especially appreciated, sometimes preferred. Before we arrived the tour director explained that recycycling goes through several stages, beginning with the maids at the resorts going through the garbage to collect aluminum cans for which they can earn the most money, and finally the garbage collectors who take their share before arriving at the dump. The men and women rifling through the mounds of what is left look primarily for cardboard boxes and any kind of material that can be sold. Some carried the boxes on their backs, others loaded them on a few rusty trucks, and others loaded them on donkey-pulled carts. On the way out, we stopped in an area where children ran to meet the bus to get their special bags of food. A blind woman led by a friend is a regular visitor, energetic ninos cavorted spiritedly around the bus, and one woman arrived with what looked like a newborn child, wrapped carefully in a clean yellow bunting. Several others and I walked up a narrow dirt path with food for the ancient abuela, a routine. Her hovel is exactly that--no human being should have to live like that.

Surprisingly there was no proselytizing on the tour nor was their a request for money, just a prayer before we boarded the bus and an explanation of the work done by the members of the church IF we wanted to contribute funds now or in the future. Quite amazing. The trips to the dump are reduced to only two a week after the tourist season ends since much of the volunteer work for that particular project is assisted by people like those on this trip. I'm sure that I am over-simplifying. The people who stay here year round and who continue the charitable services are the ones to be admired and applauded.

The only disquieting and ironic note was that before taking our leave of one another, we all shared information on where to go for the best restaurants in Mazatlán.

I wonder how much effect this has on impressionable minds, like Dominique's and Olivia's, who was a real trouper on the bus and helped in all of the various stages. Her shyness surfaced only when greeted by children her own age. I'm convinced that daughter Kati's profession as a social worker is a result of her high school trip to Costa Rica with Amigos de las Americas when as a 16-yr-old she lived with a family for six weeks, doing volunteer dental hygiene with ninos in villages close to San Jose.

Enough for today.

Grandkids Arrive! Mazatlán Mexico

Seeing the ocean and sand for the first time through the fresh eyes of a four-year-old is far more interesting than any other age group's impressions. My daughter and two children arrived after dark on Friday so the morning opened up a new world. Because Olivia and I are the early risers, we walked the beach together. Until instructed otherwise, to find seashells she used sand toys to dig deep holes (buried treasure) rather than search the surface. A bit hesitant of the waves she stayed a safe distance from them initially, but is now a little braver. Because she knows nothing of what we take for granted, it is a refreshing experience being with her. I wish that I could get into her mind to discover what she is "thinking" as she sees surf and sand for the first time, hops on a bus - again for the first time, and listens to incomprehensible Spanish sounds.

12-year old Dominique is more blasé, but enjoys both surf and pool. Because our location is more remote, he declared that he preferred being in a downtown area, where he and I stayed in Puerto Villarta last spring. The street artists, who are absent in this city, captivated him last April during his spring break. The evenings there for him were far more interesting than the nights here. Despite missing the action, he likes our accommodations much better in Mazatlán.

Small children also force changes in one's plans. Yesterday we cut short our visit to El Centro after breakfast and grocery shopping. Although energetic, Olivia needed a nap, and I was happy to accommodate her.

This day again dawns bright and clear. As soon as they awaken the halls will echo (somewhat unfortunately!) with their voices and our day will hold new surprises.