Sarasota, FL April 2009

     My college roommate, Pat,  joined me in Sarasota for an American Theatre Critics’ Conference and to celebrate our 80th birthdays.  Since one of our business meetings was held in the Marie Selby Botanical Gardens, we toured the facility after a catered lunch.  Our stroll through the facility which specialized in epiphytic plants (orchids) and bromiliads reminded me of hikes in Brazil and Ecuador which Paul and I took.
     After a sumptuous buffet that evening in the Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall located on Sarasota Bay, we saw George Bernard Shaw’s “The Devil’s Disciple.”  Imagine my surprise to see a “regular” OSF actor portraying the “devil’s disciple” as well as King Leontes in “Winter’s Tale” the following day.  Good food and entertaining plays followed us all week.