Yesterday morning I ate leftover mini-muffins (and yogurt and applesauce), walked the dog in the rain, bathed and dressed in black, and headed to the Fellowship. We sang and enjoyed the service. Afterwards, I talked to some people. I met my parents for lunch and invited Ange to join us. We said we would meet at Last Resort, but it was too crowded, so we went to Casa Mia instead. They had brunch. My parents met me at Ray's office, where we left one car for him, then drove me to the Classic Center.

There wasn't much I could do for a while, just waiting for the tech crew to set up. They had only had an hour to get ready. There is a church that meets there in the morning (who had left a lot of litter). Then there were some things that didn't work quite right. Eventually, we were set. A group of women performing a Zumba number ran through their routine first. Then we did a cue-to-cue for the contestants, getting a preview of the show (without costumes). I sat in the sound booth, following along on my script, with a headset on, telling the union sound man when to push play. He had to deal with adjusting the volume on the various mikes (and the video) and making sure everything worked right. Part of my job, it seems, is to be reassuring and calm that everything will be fine. I enjoy it and it is not very stressful, since this is my fourth year (I think).

There were many really good performances this year and it was a lot of fun. Joan spoke movingly about domestic violence--about a little boy who asked her to teach him taekwondo so he could keep his father from hurting his mother, for instance. Going into the show, they did not expect to make as much money as they had other years, because of the economy and the difficulty of maintaining the same level of excitement about an event like this. At the end of the night, we were all practically in tears. They raised over $92,000! I wish I could say I had come up with the idea, but I did have a small part in making it happen.

I visited Ray and my parents and lots of other people I knew during the two intermissions--and paid for 10 votes for my favorite couple, who started out gathered around a trash can, to the tune of "The Sun'll come out tomorrow..." and then changed to "Movin' on Up" from the Jeffersons. It was cute and they were having a great time. And she is white and he is black.

After the show, Ray and I went to the Last Resort for dessert with Becky and Kent. It was nice to have him home. I fantasized about a dessert restaurant, like we used to have--The Flamingo Room or Sweet Indulgences. I wondered if it would be possible to make a success of it.

It was after 11 when we went to bed and I woke dreaming of tragedy and homelessness. But all will be well. For me, anyway.