Time For Me To Just Stand Up, and Travel New Land

There's a Judy Garland-Fred Astaire movie, I believe it's Easter Parade but I'm not totally sure, in which Fred plucks Judy from the chorus to be his new dance partner after hearing her sing a song, bucket in hand and apron on, with a chorus that goes "That's why I wish again that I was in Michigan, down on the farm."

We started off in Michigan nowhere near a farm, but rather in Detroit. I received this lovely email from my mother:

"Did you really play Detroit today?
Did you get to see 9 mile?
Lots of love,
MOM"

I think she was referring to 8 Mile, as in the Eminem movie. Although we didn't see 8 mile, we stayed on 14 mile, which is, like, almost twice as hardcore, I bet. Check out www.motopera.org - we played the absolutely beautiful Detroit Opera House to our personal-record-setting audience of 3,000 kids. I know - awesome, right?? Even more awesome, in my opinion, were the big comfy leather chairs in the dressing room. They looked like something that escaped from the men's club/cigar room Rose's evil fiancee, Cal, would have frequented in Titanic.

From Detroit to Kalamazoo, we actually did see some farms. I went jogging through a wetlands preserve (I saw two white-tailed deer), then out past the farms. From Kalamazoo to Saginaw, the farms only got greater in number, and prettier. The drive was perfect: a gorgeous fall day, sparkling blue skies, endless corn fields, and the Siawassee Nature Preserve for a jogging adventure when I arrived. I'm thinking of publishing a guide: Nature Trails, Targets and Cheap Strawberry Margaritas: The Midwest, Stephanie-Style. Seriously: the only way to survive tour is to escape the strip, find beauty in nature, and happiness at the bottom of a 5 dollar margarita.

I bet my guide would sell pretty well. Actually, in the van yesterday, someone made a comment about how he wished he could buy his very own Stephanie, to just have around all the time to spread sunshine and joy, etc.

Stage Manager: Where would you buy her? Steph-mart?
Me: Oh, please, not a mart. Exclusive boutiques only.
Other Actress: She'd come complete with little pink pillow, letterman's jacket and party heels.
Me: Maybe Target. I'd sell myself at Target.
(entire van snickers)
Me: Wait, not in the hooker way! Dammit!