Saturday at the Opera

I had seen the look one time before. The forced smile could not cover the reality of the distaste for the opera. I thought I had learned from when I took my first wife, Kim, to Carmen in Seattle. This time Donna and I together chose the operas we would see at the Lyric in Chicago. The familiar Shakespearean tale of Macbeth by Verdi seemed a safe introduction. Before I entered her life, neither the symphony nor theater were part of Donna’s experience. Now she enjoys both – albeit with some qualifications on the symphony. The combination of symphony and theater held the false promise of combining the best of both.

I partly blame Chicago. That which makes it a great city is also what can make it unpleasant. Something is always going on in the City of Broad Shoulders. Saturday the Blackhawks raised the Stanley Cup banner and opened their home season, a country music festival took place at Millennium Park, and people were gathering for Sunday’s marathon. The Lyric’s Macbeth was just another of the multitude of events taking place. We allowed an hour to get from the northwest suburbs to the restaurant, twice the time it takes without traffic. Experience taught us Saturday evening traffic can be heavy, but with our I-Pass we would avoid the toll plazas and should be downtown with time to spare. Instead it took thirty-five minutes just to get to O’Hare and there the signs showed another 67 minutes travel time to the Loop. Amazingly once we canceled dinner reservations and got off the highway, traffic eased and we foolishly thought we might even be able to eat before the 7:30 curtain. By the time we parked and walked to the Lyric it was 7:00. Having never been to the Lyric and knowing there is no late seating, we went in, and contributed to what must be a primary profit center – wine and snack sales.

May I suggest to the Lyric when asked how to get to the first balcony, they not say go around the corner and go up the stairs to the fourth floor? Yes, the first – not the second – balcony is at least four floors up from the stage. Even with our binoculars, er, opera glasses, the faces on the stage were nearly impossible to see. By opera standards, these were not even the nose bleed seats! Somehow the acoustics were excellent even though our backs were against the wall. We are first time subscribers and these are the seats they gave us to encourage subscription renewal? Remember how I qualified Donna’s enjoyment of the symphony? Mahler and Schoenberg, for example, are definitely out. Well, Verdi can be added to the list.

I may generally be clueless, but I can learn. At Carmen, I took Kim’s assessment of “fine” to mean she would be willing to stay to the conclusion. At Macbeth, I took Donna’s “fine” to be the cue to get the heck out of Dodge. We left at the intermission. The night was not a complete loss. I enjoyed the music. Donna enjoyed the people watching. We also had an enjoyable dinner at P. F. Chang’s.

Anyone want tickets to Lohengrin?

Physical Heart Health

I suddenly awakened yesterday morning between midnight and 12:30 with acid reflux. It was violent enough to wake Donna who came over to clean up the vomit from the floor. Thankfully I did not throw up, but the burning in my mouth and throat confirmed it was not a dream. I was unable to go back to sleep because of the taste, anxiety, and squeezing in my chest. I finally went back to bed around 1:30 and slept until my alarm went off at 5:00.

When I left to catch the train I was again aware of the ache in my chest. It was not severe and I saw no reason not to go to work. Through the morning the ache to the left center of my chest continued and occasionally was mildly piercing. Radial pain had spread to my left shoulder and jaw. The pain was never as intense as I often experience with my atypical complex migraines. Given the symptoms were different enough from what I have experienced with migraines, considering I declined to go to the Emergency Room, and with encouragement and insistence from Donna, my primary care physician made room in his already double-booked schedule to see me. The doctor's assistant performed an electrocardiogram (EKG). My doctor and I then discussed alternatives and I elected to go to the hospital for ambulatory lab work. Thankfully, the results showed my triponin levels were not elevated. I am fine and the only change for the near term is to take pantoprazole (brand names of which are Protium and Protonix) to lessen the risk of erosion of my esophagus from the acid

The EKG results, though, are of interest. Yesterday's EKG differed from all previous ones in three ways.

1. While I continue to have an abnormal t-wave (it dips when it should be straight), the magnitude has substantially increased.
2. The abnormality is for the first time showing up on the V6 lead.
3. Medical personnel previously observed my abnormal t-wave was present only when I was horizontal for the EKG. Yesterday, there was no significant difference between the readings when I was horizontal and vertical.

I do not know what these differences mean and I am told they are not diagnostic, but are evidence of change that will monitored.

Did the Detroit Lions Really Win Sunday?

My understanding of the NFL rule that was applied Sunday to take away the apparent touchdown by Detroit's Calvin Johnson is the following.

If a player goes to the ground in the act of catching a pass (with or without contact by an opponent), he must maintain control of the ball after he touches the ground, whether in the field of play or the end zone. If he loses control of the ball, and the ball touches the ground before he regains control, the pass is incomplete. If he regains control prior to the ball touching the ground, the pass is complete.
(Reference: http://espn.go.com/blog/nfcnorth/post/_/id/16142/like-it-or-not-megatron-call-was-right)

The defense of the call is based on the second half of the first sentence. My objection to the call is the "if statement" in the first half of the sentence - the premise for the balance of the rule - is not applicable. Mr. Johnson was not in the act of catching a pass when he went to the ground, he had already caught the pass. The rule cited, then, does not apply. Rather than being an incompletion, it was a touchdown. If what I view as the correct interpretation had been applied, the game would have changed significantly, but I do not know if it would have resulted in a Lions victory. No one can know that even though the odds are highly stacked to support such a conclusion. Football is a game of improbabilities. Had the Lions been given the touchdown, improbable as it would seem, the Bears - with a superb placekicker - could still have won. We will never know.

Dogs and Polling Data

I guess the context has changed.

November 2008
The other [criterion in choosing a dog as a pet] is that "our preference would be to get a shelter dog," which would point to the possibility of a mixed breed, or, as Obama said, "a mutt, like me."

Silverman, Stephen M. "President-Elect Obama May Get a Mutt 'Like Me' - Barack Obama." People.com: The #1 Celebrity Site for Breaking News, Celebrity Pictures and Star Style. Time Inc., 07 Nov. 2008. Web. 07 Sept. 2010. http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20239003,00.html.

September 2010
He [President Obama] said interest groups he has battled "talk about me like a dog."

Superville, Darlene. "Obama Assails GOP, Promotes New Jobs Program." Post Business. The Washington Post Company, 06 Sept. 2010. Web. 07 Sept. 2010. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/09/06/AR2010090600805.html?wprss=rss_business/economy.

Day Trip to Volo

Less than two weeks ago I read an article stating the corn crop was at its ideal picking. We had other plans that weekend and could not get away to sample the corn. Yesterday, Donna and I made the trek to Volo, Illinois, where the article stated the corn was especially good. Volo is less than an hour away, yet we made a day of it. The tiny town has an automotive museum and a large antique mall. The museum was not up to the standards of the Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles or the Imperial Palace Hotel's automobile collection in Las Vegas, but considering it is in the middle of nowhere, it was a pleasant surprise. We found the cars too tightly packed for us to fully appreciate them. The acoustics were awful and we could not listen to any of the audio video displays. Yet the collection was nice, particularly if you have an interest in late-1960s and early-1970s American muscle cars. The picture is of Donna next to the Lotus Esprit used in Pretty Woman, starring Julia Roberts, and Donna's favorite, Richard Gere.


Aside from being next to a spot where Richard Gere had been, the antique mall was the highlight for Donna. She was unable to make it through each of the buildings but she added to her collection of tea cups. Amazingly, I made it through the mall without spending any money, although the temptation was great.

On the way out of town as the vendors were packing up, we remembered the reason for the trip and got a few ears of corn. The selection was fairly well picked over. I suspect we missed the prime time, but we are looking forward to trying the fresh corn tonight.

Summer Evening in Americana

Occasionally the America I knew when I was growing up can still be found. Last night was such an occasion. Donna and I went to a Summer Breeze concert at the Atcher park in Schaumburg, Illinois. The performance was by Frank Winkler and the Symphonic Pops Orchestra. They played Broadway favorites and light classics. It was also the premier of a nice work titled America's Hope. The weather was comfortable in the low 80s, with just a light breeze, and amazingly bugs were not a problem. Yesterday was a wonderful evening in the Midwest.

Hot Do(u)gs

I noticed Hot Doug's is closed through August 24 for vacation. Those of you outside of the Chicago area may ask why it is notable that a smallish, out of the way, hot dog stand is closed for a couple of weeks. To understand, you have to know the best hot dogs in the world are in Chicago. Forget Coney Island, New York, the arguments center around which stand in Chicago. I am not fond of Chicago-style dogs and regularly violate the cardinal rule of Chicago hot dogs by eating them with ketchup. That said, I am a fan of Gene & Jude's, where ketchup is not available and customers are thrown out if they bring it in. Yes, I am confined to eating in the parking lot and I hope this confessional does not put that at risk. I also enjoy the hot dogs and ambiance of Superdawg Drive-In even if Playboy's Girls Next Door are not there. Years ago when I first visited Chicago with my best friend, we ate at Gold Coast, yes, the hot dogs were so good I remember the place from more than thirty years ago. Nonetheless, they all fail in comparison to Hot Doug's.

In her last visit to Chicago, my daughter made me take her to Hot Doug's even though it meant driving past Gene & Jude's and Superdawg. We ended up waiting in line for 2 hours, 20 minutes for hot dogs! No one in line complained - neither the locals nor those who traveled from out of state just to eat there. Simply put we had the best hot dogs of our lives. We each ate two. I ate:
1) The Elvis Polish Sausage: Smoked and savory - just like the King;
and
2) The Marty Allen (formerly the Don Rickles) Thuringer: Hello der beef, pork and garlic.


Chelsea's selections were more exotic. She ate:
1) Hot Doug's BLT: Bacon Sausage with Avocado Mayonnaise, Iceberg Lettuce, Cherry Tomatoes and Hickory-Smoked Sweet Swiss Cheese;
and
2) The Thomas McKean (Celebrity Sausage for the day): Cherry and Apple Pork Sausage with Sweet Curry Mustard, Cocoa Cardona Cheese and Vodka-Infused Dried Fruit.

The fries look greasy, but they were fried in duck fat and were crisp. They did not even leave a hint of a grease stain.

Enjoy your vacation Hot Doug, you will be missed.