I lost my wedding ring at the Chinese restaurant

I don't normally wear a wedding ring. This is because I am no longer married. But, I haven't pawned it or sold it, or given it away. The only time I wear it now is when I am on stage playing a married character. Wearing the ring was such a part of me for so many years, that after I put it on for onstage work, I often forget to take it off. Well, a bunch of us were at a Chinese restaurant the other day and I was certain I lost the ring waiting for some takeout. I reported it the next day, but they hadn't seen it and ... The next time I ate there, it showed up in my Moo-goo-gai-pan. I mean, it was in my fortune cookie. I mean, actually, I didn't lose it there.

After walking and scouring the sidewalk inbetween the Chinese place and City Hall, I gave up for the day. I reported it missing at City Hall, too. I also thought it could be in the car.

It wasn't in the car. It was at the bottom of the ice water in the cooler on stage right. It slipped off in the icy water, when I was restocking the water bottles.

So there ya have it. I didn't panic when it was missing, but, I wanted to find it.

As an extra, here is the Kenny Harbolt quote of the day for Saturday. "It should be bigger. It should be redder. And it should be imaginary."

He may have been speaking of Clifford, the big red dog. But he wasn't.

Chapter IV - A New Hope

I made a formal offer on a house in New Boston , Ohio yesterday. If accepted I could be in the house working within a month and actually living in it by June. It needs a good deal of work, some of which I can do, and some of which I will have to learn how to do.

Right now, we are in a final negotiation phase where I will find out what closing costs the credit union is willing to waive or eat.

I know very few people in New Boston, but it is a part of the Portsmouth, Ohio area. New Boston, like most of Southern Ohio, is an economically depressed place, but it has what many towns do not have. It has a WalMart. They are building a new Uber WalMart on the spot where a thriving industry once stood - the New Boston Coke Plant. That will be about 8 minutes from my house. The current WalMart is about 3 minutes.

I have a dream for my house. It will be the grandest house in my small neighborhood. I'll meet the neighbors and never learn their names, always choosing to call them, "old sport" instead. I'll cultivate a rumor that I have a secret past, having once killed a man. I want my house to be an inviting place where everyone is welcome, and parties happen, and people I've never met are invited by mutual friends. The 5 piece orchestra will play, and people can dance the Charleston. In the wee hours of the morning, when the party is over, and only one perpetual guest remains, playing the piano softly, I will stand on my front porch and look out into the distance and the fog for a glimpse of a green light.