Ally & Lexi

You've met these young women before. My sister Deborah's daughter Glennda and daughter-in-law Stacy. I will ALWAYS be grateful that Deb included me in her "girls trip" to New York City.

Stacy's daughter is Lexi and Glennda's daugher is Ally....both girls remembered the great
Aunt Rita Adventure we had last summer

Even though I didn't have much notice -- I managed to ramp up an adventure for THAT VERY NIGHT...

When I picked them up -- they had NO IDEA where we were going.

SHAKESPEARE, of course!!  The Complete Abridged Works of William Shakespeare was being performed that night in Rock Island, Illinois.  When we got there, I told them, "I don't know how much of this you'll understand...the truth is, I don't know how much of this I will understand..."

BUT I NEEDN'T HAVE WORRIED!  Turns out -- it was four guys doing a parody.  For example -- they did all of Shakespeare's comedies as a "rap number".  And they did Hamlet as SUPERHEROS!!

OMG!!  I truly don't think I've ever laughed so hard in my life.  This theater group is called the "Prenzie Players" and they've been around for ten years.  This was the first time I attended one of their shows.

After the show -- we went to Ross's 24-hour diner for our Magic Mountain.  It had been such a special night -- I wanted them to have a souvenir -- and a tye-died t-shirt seemed like just the right thing for this raucous Aunt Rita Adventure.

It was a perfect night.  The show was great.  The girls were amazing.  But the best part, for me, was just having the time to really talk to Ally and Lexi.  It is always fascinating to see the world through the eyes of a young person who is just starting out.  I remember youth and enthusiasm -- but it was a very long time ago.

Big dreams.  Change-the-world-idealism.  Judgment.  Wow.  For me, most of that remembers like a bad case of the measles...I vaguely remember it -- but I got over it.

I distinctly remember saying to my Dad, "all you care about is money".  It was 1966.  I was 18 and completely believed that I knew everything.  He just laughed at me.  I was furious. 

This is all reminding me of one of my favorite quotes.  "Old age and deceit will outsmart young and enthusiasm every single time."

Of course, I only started to like that quote after I hit the age of over-40.  I don't have it quite right.  But it's close.