Today I went on a really cool bus trip with my Aunt Mary. She is my favorite aunt. We go on lots of trips together. She used to be a scientist. Now she is retired and travels a lot. She likes taking me places because I crack her up (at least she says so!).
Many times we go with lots of other senior citizens on organized tours. I think old people rock!! Seriously. In fact, I like old people so much that I used to do elder advocacy for the Mayor’s Office in the city where I live. It was awesome. But that’s another story.
Anyhow, we boarded a “Rabbit Transit” mini-bus parked in front of the local community center. There was a weird, possibly scary rabbit-head logo on the side of the bus, but it was okay because once we got on the bus I couldn’t see the scary rabbit-head logo anymore.
We buckled up, and we were on our way! I had brought a little paper Nordstrom bag with two Frescas and some parmesan Pepperidge Farm goldfish crackers along in case Aunt Mary and I got hungry, but somehow just knowing I had a snack readily available was enough to keep me from getting hungry. Aunt Mary didn’t want crackers either.
In no time at all, we arrived at the Rainbow Dinner (or in this case, lunch) Theater in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. On the way we passed cool stuff like Dutch Wonderland and the Dutch Haven Restaurant. The Dutch Haven Restaurant is shaped just like a windmill! I ate there once many years ago, when Lyndon Johnson was President. I am not implying that President Johnson ate with us, because he didn’t.
When we got to the theater, the bus dropped us off at the door, where we were personally greeted by the two principal actors in the play we were about to see. They were wonderfully friendly and pleasant, and it was real, not Public Relations Fake. I can tell the difference, yes, I can! It was a nice touch, especially for older people.
Inside, the place was huge. It was just a sea of round tables, and at them, a sea of old people, happily, healthily eating salads and sitting down and chatting. There must have been like 350 old people in that theater. It was very cool.
Aunt Mary and I sat down and ate our salads too. Soon they directed us to the food line. The food was actually really good. I mean, I actually ate. I had rare roast beef, baked fish, chicken cordon bleu, and string beans. Then, wonder of wonders, I went back for seconds. And then I had dessert. A scoop of strawberry ice cream. For me, that is a lot of food.
After lunch I sat, all warm and full of food, talking to the the people at my table. One of the guys was a Korean War veteran with a wonderful Korean wife he’d brought to the US many years ago. She was beautiful, and he was really funny. Next to me were and engineer and his wife whose children had gone to the school where my mother was a school nurse for awhile. Their children and grandchildren lived far away now, the man and his wife told me, and they missed them. And still another lady had on tons of jewelry, all of it lovely, and we had the best chat about how we loved our jewelry. Throughout all this, my seat-mate, the engineer guy, was madly snapping pics with a mini-digital camera he’d just bought, and we were totally hamming it up and posing and just generally being silly. It was great fun!
The play started then. It was called Not Now, Darling, and it was a good old-fashioned comedy-farce thingie with the usual slamming doors, mistaken identities, gentle double-entendres, and eye-bulging slapstick. We loved it. Really, I laughed so very hard! The set and costumes were awesome, and the actors were totally stop-on-a-dime professional. Remember, good comedy is really hard to do!
After the show, we bundled up and got back on the bus, where the engineer gentleman snapped a few more pics with his mini-digital camera. I chatted with that couple and Aunt Mary on the way home, and we exchanged e-mails. The guy promised to send me some of the shots he’d taken today.
I really had a wonderful day. I really did. I don’t often go on like this, but it’s just kind of bubbling up and out for some reason. I like hanging out with the old people. They are very, very cool.
That guy already sent me the pics, by the way. Told you he was nice.
He had a very nice wife of his own, really! But I do like older men these days…!