The Play and Nastia and Keishon oh boy*

 *Say it like you're in the Wizard of OZ and you're entering the dark forest, Lions and Tigers and Bears, oh my

Somehow Nastia has gotten involved with a group of kids, yes they are kids because they are all younger then her. This has been a trend with her since she and David broke up. She gets involved with guys, Taj who are younger than her and I am going to guess not a challenge to her. Not because they are dumb, but because they are younger and of course boys mature slower than girls and yes I did occasionally pay attention in class. On top of that Nastia's maturity has always lagged behind her physical age. It comes from growing up in an orphanage. Nastia has succeed in using her extensive charm and her looks to avoid doing things that a normal person her age would have to do. She has me wrapped around her little finger I'm sure you all know. I know it and most of the time I don't care and that is the problem, I'm her enabler. I wish I wasn't and sometimes I break out long enough to tell her she has to do things, but most of the time I hear Teri telling me I am doing her no favor. 

Now this play thing I have only slightly talked about. It was one of those things in my life that was on the periphery of the periphery. So far away I couldn't see what was coming. Every so often Nastia would say she is going to hang out with Keishon and watch them rehearse the play. Now it's the middle of COVID and no one is putting on plays. So I'd tell her to be careful and wear a mask and I don't want you going and all that. I never thought that they would put on the play and I never thought I'd end up going. I was told, if I remember correctly the play was based on another play called Into the woods. I'm only vaguely familiar with the first. Nastia tells me she would like me to come to the play. It is going to be put on on three nights. I tell her I can't go to all three nights, but I will go to Friday nights. It's a long time away and it doesn't impact me now (bad habit I have of scheduling things in the future and not worrying about them until they smack me in the face) So I'm going to this play on Friday night during a lull in COVID  in the northeast(for all you future people COVID ravaged the northeast and the south stood all tall and got political saying they would never have this problem and the cure can't be worse than the disease and they didn't follow the rules the way the northeast did and now they are paying a very heavy and unnecessary toll)  

The weather forecast said it would rain on Friday. When I got up that morning it was raining. By afternoon it had cleared and I thought I guess I'm going to a play tonight. At four-thirty I'm getting ready to print out all of my weekend work when a bunch of faxes come in and I spend the next hour entering all of the data, well most of it. I got to be around ten after six and I knew I needed to get out of there. I get in my car and traffic is starting to resemble rush hour, but not quite as heavy as I remember it. It seems like a bad dream all that heavy traffic and the hour sometimes more it took me to drive home. Now it's twenty minutes at eighty miles an hour. I get home, grab a folding chair feed the dogs so Nastia (I'm wrapped around her little finger) doesn't get yelled at by her mother. I get in my car. GPS says that Dutch Gardens is on New Hempstead road and my mom said it is behind the courthouse. I go there and there are no sign for Dutch Gardens. It is also five minutes after curtain (there is no curtin, I'm using it as a whatcha call it, an expression) GPS wants me to go to north Main Street, so I go. I half expected to at this point I'd drive onto railroad tracks if GPS said to, it doesn't, but it takes me to the parking lot for Hospice. So I drive back to New Hempstead road and drive past the courthouse up to where another park is. It lightly starts to sprinkle. I turn around and go into the jail parking lot, I figure why not. NO park, no signs anywhere. I end up back at the courthouse town office building. I park near some stairs going toward where I figure the courthouse is. I'm so sure I'm in the wrong place I leave the chair and Nastia's blanket in the car. I walk up the steps and a little sign and I mean little points you in the general direction of Dutch Gardens. I start to get the feeling the town doesn't want to let anyone know about their little secret treasure. I get the chair and blanket and it is very dark walking the path. In the close distance (is there such a thing) I see a small gathering of people and some lights. I open my chair and sit

in the back. I text Nastia I'm here and she doesn't answer. The rain gets heavier and I write in my phone 'The rain is too heavy, I'm going.' I don't send the text yet. I get up and I stand watching the play. I decide to move under a tree. It's safe right, (yeah I know it's the worst place to be when there is lightning) I dry under the tree. An animated women in the back near me (during COVID that's about twenty feet or so away, she's jumping around making sure no one needs an umbrella and she laughs at all the jokes and she leads the clapping. I think she is the director and the only one older then Nastia) offers me an umbrella, I decline. I reopen my chair and sit down. The rain gets heavy and I can't really hear and I didn't see the start so I am a little lost. The actors and actress are for the most part good. At a shortened intermission Nastia comes over and gets the blanket I bought. We talk a bit. she is sitting up close but alone. I feel sorry for her. The play runs about a little under two hours and at the end Nastia comes over again and I ask if she is ready to go. I've had it and I haven't had dinner. She wants to say goodbye to Keishan, (she later admits she would like to date him, all nineteen, maybe twenty years of him) but she sees he is with his Albany College friends and so she doesn't I again feel sorry that she doesn't feel comfortable enough to just go over. ON the flip side I can leave. we go towards the car and Nastia keeps heading toward where north Main street would be. I tell her I didn't find that spot. I parked way over in the courthouse parking lot and yes somewhere on North Main street there is an entrance to Dutch Gardens Park. I get french fries and a soda from McDonalds for a light late dinner and we are home by 9:15. I warm shower and a relaxing evening watching a now returned cable TV (out for three days) caps off he evening.

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