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Thursday - 1,24,2002

Cosi fan Tutte

Dear Political Diary,

I don't know how to put this delicately. I drove all the way to Minneapolis last night so that I wouldn't have to be on the road this morning after downing a foul concoction intended to drain me like punctured radiator. 

Tonight my daughter sings Mozart. Tomorrow I get fiddled with.  We drove drove down to the Twin Cities last night so I could let Fleet's phosphosoda do its work with my Mother's bathroom within sprinting distance. My physician has assured me that once he's gotten a good unobstructed look at my innards I won't have to repeat the performance for another ten years. My Father and Wife ganged up on me. Dad set a bad precedent by succumbing to cancer fifteen years ago and Claudia wouldn't let me forget it.  

Mom was pleased to let me use her facilities all day - over and over again. My sister was just pleased. She found my predicament infinitely humorous. Ah, the indignities I endure to be a good Dad.

I don't get to enjoy Keely's marvelous voice so much now that she is in college. When she was a high school student I got to hear her regularly.  When she told us that she'd signed up for a J term musical performance class and would be performing we marked it on our calendar in indelible ink. She's good. Her voice coach and the J term teacher both leaned on her to add a music degree to her History major. They want her to take music theory before she applies to a conservatory.

Keely sang a naughty soprano duet from Cosi fan Tutte. The premise of Mozart opera was that women will cheat on their boyfriends if given half a chance. Keely's character was intrigued at the idea.

Claudia was in Minneapolis to attend the State Safety Council which left me alone with my Mom to interview her about family history between my bathroom breaks. Mom has always loved telling family stories. Over the years I've jotted some down for posterity. I took a lot of notes and over time I'll put them on my web page in a section called Antecedents.

My diet was restricted to clear liquids I couldn't even drink orange juice with pulp. You can bet that when the family dug into Thai takeout I got very little satisfaction from my beef broth.

Mom and Sis accompanied us to the Augsburg performance center and I made them take a seat at the back of the auditorium in case I needed to bolt for the men's room. Fortunately there was little left for the medication to act on and I got through the entire night without mishap. 

We saw eight eclectic bits from ancient to the modern. Keely's was one of the longer ones. One of her trio took the part of a servant who egged Keely on to experiment with men rather than get tied to just one.

Keely has a powerful voice and so was her duet partner. After her performance she was asked to join a music group and implored to consider a music degree. 

I made it home. Hallelujah!

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