Haiku #206 - Real American: Gumby

Forgot your lunch or
need to clear a football field?
Gumby is your man.

from left: Gumby, Horsehead, 5ive (holding Gumby's lunch box)

Profession: security guard
Etymology of nickname: a supervisor who didn't want to remember his name
Professional triumph: running a guy off a football field during a rainstorm and getting invited to do security at NFL games
Random fact: loves comic books (Batman)

Haiku #205 - Mexican Energy Bars

good thing we have those
Mexican energy bars
hiking in desert

Haiku #204 - Tucson

it may be prickly
but i love it anyway
saguaro cactus

Haiku #203 - Tucson

Cherie kindly contributed this haiku:

the day is over
haven't written a haiku
guess this one will work

Check out her blog!

Haiku #202 - Mellow Trombone

lying on the floor
"how come we don't have couches?"
mellow forever

Haiku #201 - Kokopelli Goes Home!

Kokopelli desk lamp at hotel! He's home!

in the arid land

of cactus and big sky where

kokopelli plays

I'm home!  Sort of.  Tucson is the closest this tour will go to my hometown, about a 3.5 hour drive.  My sister went to the U of A, and my aunt has lived here for a long time, so I've spent a fair amount of time in this town.  Looking forward to seeing family and visiting some favorite Tucson haunts!

Haiku #200 - Cousins!

holiday weekends
my cousins and I performed
in the living room


My cousins from San Francisco came down tonight - we had dinner and then they got to see me conduct the show.  Yay!  I have three cousins close to my age on my dad's side, and when we got together on holiday weekends growing up, we'd put on plays (or, as I fondly remember them, whimsical absurdtaculars) in the living room.  Usually twisted fairy tales, as I recall.  One of them is currently in L.A. going to school for animation, and he's the one who designed the playbill for our one-night-only production of Little Red Riding Hoodlum. Good times with family. Ciao, San Jose!

Haiku #199 - Heat Wave!

San Jose heat wave
ninety degrees in April...
ready for Tucson!

Haiku #198 - Kokopelli Goes to San Francisco

on a perfect day
we'll get in a car and drive
to San Francisco

Kurt, Cherie, Clarkie, and I covered a lot of ground on our day trip - Lombard St., the Fisherman's Wharf and Ghirardelli factory, Chinatown (dim sum for lunch!), Golden Gate Bridge, and the Castro.  The weather was perfect!  A nice outing heading into a five-show weekend - two more days in San Jose, then Tucson next week!

Haiku #196 & 197 - Refrigerator Haiku

Cherie got the Geek edition of refrigerator poetry at the Tech Museum yesterday, and we put it to use today:

Cherie <3's my autobiographical haiku

and

Cherie's rhyming haiku, left; Awkward Giraffe, right

Haiku #195 - Tech Museum

gadgets and gizmos
so many things to play with
at the Tech Muse'm


Went with Kurt, Cherie, and Christina to the Tech Museum this morning - played with hands-on exhibits, experienced a simulated roller coaster and a simulated earthquake, and saw Born to Be Wild at the Imax. It was nice to be reminded what amazing things we are capable of doing, when we choose to use our consciousness for good...


I liked this quote:

"Optimism is an essential ingredient for innovation.
How else can the individual welcome change over security,
adventure over staying in safe places?" -Bob Noyce

Haiku #194 - Kokopelli Goes to San Jose

Guadalupe River Park, San Jose

in the river park
kokopelli strikes a pose
in the butt statue

Haiku #193 - San Jose

to the city by
the city by the bay - but
do you know the way?


Several people in our company have been singing "Do You Know the Way to San Jose" the past couple days, because that is what artsy nerds do when they're about to go to San Jose.  We're here for a week - looking forward to finding out what it is besides beside the City by the Bay. Looking forward to seeing my Bay Area cousins later this week!

Haiku #192 - Spokane

choc'late martini
when served with good company
can cure sturm und drang

End-of-week chillin' with Natalie, Cherie, me, Christina, Clarkie and Kurt

Haiku #191 - Milonga

get your Latin jams
in unexpected places
Milonga, Spokane


Gabe, who plays Piragua Guy, has a friend/previous tour buddy in Spokane with a band called Milonga, and a bunch of us went out to hear them tonight.  Lots of dancing and enjoying the music, and then they made us finish our drinks and kicked us out promptly at 1:30. Oh well...it was fun while it lasted!

Haiku #191 - Kurt's Family!

adventure stories

and anecdotes over drinks

with Kurt's family

Kurt's parents, aunts, sister and sister's friend drove to Spokane for the weekend, and Cherie and I joined them for drinks after the show.  So fun to see our fearless leader with his family!

Haiku #190 - Mr. Rainier

a gray ribbon winds
through miles of yellow plain and
mountain majesty

Mr. Rainier from the bus window

Haiku #189 - Olympia, WA

a familiar face
in the audience makes the
show even better


My best friend from college drove down from Seattle to see the show tonight!  On to Spokane through the weekend.

Haiku #188 - Yakima, WA

a train ran through it

bringing road attractions like

vaudeville and pictures

The Capitol Theater, where we performed in Yakima

Haiku #187 - Kokopelli Goes to Seattle

caught the Space Needle
and Kokopelli in a
drive-by photograph

I got to see my best friend last night in Seattle, and also a high school friend I hadn't seen in over a decade!  We had a drink and apps at an awesome happy hour in Queen Anne.  My first time to Seattle, just a quick overnight.  I hope to go back soon!  We're in Washington state this week - Yakima, Olympia and Spokane.

Haiku #186 - Happy Easter!

just as I promised
like the daffodils in spring
after "death", new life

According to wikipedia, none other than Dear Abby
did research that proved this poem was actually written
by one Mary Elizabeth Frye.

This photo was taken at the bonfire memorial at Texas A&M - a really moving monument to the 12 students who were killed tragically in the collapse of the bonfire in 1999.  


My other favorite Easter-related poem is this e.e. cummings poem, set to music in two beautiful choral settings, one by Eric Whitacre and one by Gwyneth Walker.


Happy Easter!

Haiku #185 - Midnight Snack

dreadful idea

coffee ice cream at midnight

but it tasted good!

Haiku #184 - April Fools!

something is diff'rent
a certain je ne sais quoi
maybe it's the hair

"Lac" and "Zach"
Photo by CBT

For yesterday's April 1 matinee, "Lac", with his distinctive hair, conducted, and "Zach", his associate on Broadway, played Key 2.  "Zach" wore 4-inch platform heels for extra height, possibly the first time he's ever been in drag.  A good time and many laughs were had by all.  


By the by... goodness knows what was in that wig.  Kurt found it in Toronto.  He seems fine so far...


Great audiences and nice weather all weekend in Palm Desert.  


Sorry about the haiku silence - the internet at the hotel didn't work, and I didn't have the patience to contend with the mobile app.  In NYC this week for a short break, will try to catch up - lots of fun in SoCal to haiku about!