Mother Confronts Her Son's Bullies, and She's Arrested

Hell hath no fury like a Mama protecting her young son.

When Jamie Rathburn found out that kids at Greenbrier Elementary School were calling her third-grade son “gay” and “stupid,” she was upset, but when he came home with bruises and scratches, she was done.

She emailed the school, and then met with school faculty and administrators, who apparently told her “boys will be boys” … who bully and beat up other boys, I’m guessing. The school passed on doing anything, but then Rathburn learned that one of the teachers had to follow her son around the schoolyard, and so she took matters into her own hands.

She entered the school without permission from the front office and confronted a group of her son’s third-grade classmates and their teacher, and recorded a video on her phone:

“I walked right in that school [and] told those children that bullying wasn’t okay. If they wanted to continue, then I needed to talk to their mommas because the school wasn’t doing anything.”

She then cussed out her son’s teacher and the principal, who had done nothing to stop the bullying. After posting the video on Facebook, Jamie Rathburn was arrested and booked into Greenville County jail on a charge of non-student interfering, disrupting or disturbing schools. The district later issued a no trespass order for preventing her from for all Greenville County schools for her illegal entry. If found guilty for the misdemeanor charges carry, she could face a $2,000 fine and up to a year in jail.

All because she wanted to protect her son from bullies at a school that acted like it was no big deal.

Rathburn’s family started a GoFundMe campaign to pay her legal bills, and it has raised $4500 of its $8000 goal.

Beth Brotherton, director of communications for the Greenville school district, said:

“Maybe in her mind she was going there to confront a bully or a couple of children, but in not knowing who those were and choosing to yell at dozens of innocent kids, there is nothing appropriate about yelling at other people’s children’s in a school setting after you’ve snuck in illegally.”

Hey Beth, you ignorant tool, lemme ask you a question. Since we hear all the time about bullied kids committing suicide, and since the school seemed to have a “so what” attitude, and did nothing to stop the bulling, and the physical assault, what exactly did you expect Jamie Rathburn to do?

What would you do if it was your child? Sit back until you come home one day and find your child hanging from a belt in the closet? Sit back until you get a call at work that your bullied son took a gun to school and killed a classmate?

Rathburn does not regret standing up for her child, or the way she did it, and maybe, just maybe, she saved his life.

But hey, it’s not your child … this time.

LGBTQ Nation

Off To See Audra ....

Okay … so way back in April I learned that Audra McDonald, actress and singer and six-time Tony award winner, would be appearing at the Peace Center up Greenville. I was instantly online booking tickets for the show and telling Carlos that he’d need to leave work early on the Thursday of the show; and he said he would.

Then he said he couldn’t, because he had a class to attend that didn’t end until six — and the show was at 7:30, two hours away — and he couldn’t skip it.

Heartbroken, seriously, I love Audra McDonald, I began looking for someone, anyone, who might buy the tickets from me, and I had no luck. I even took to social media to see if I could sell them, and found no one. I sucked it up, and figured I’d take the loss, until …

The Peace Center emailed me to say the show had been canceled because Miss McDonald was ill, and that the show would be rescheduled for October … six months down the road. But, hey, Carlos and I could now go and I could scratch Seeing Audra Live off my Bucket List.

And that day, is today … we’re leaving work early and making the drive and I so cannot wait to see her, and hope beyond hope she sings this one …

... or this one ...

  

... or this one ...

... Hell, she could sing anything and I'd listen and cheer.

First Baptist Church of Greenville, South Carolina Okays Same-Sex Marriages And Gay Ministers

A year ago when Carlos and I helped create the Will of the People Fund — a group that raised money for the non-attorney costs of the case of Katie Bradacs and Tracie Goodwin-Bradacs, who were suing South Carolina to have their same-sex marriage recognized in the state — we thought we’d have a long battle on our hands.

South Carolina, after all. And because of that we chose to fly to the far far northwest corner of the country when we decided to get married; well, truth be told, we also went to Washington because it’s where my Dad lives and he wanted to be there when his son said ‘I do.’

But we were stunned when, just a couple of weeks after we were married, suddenly marriage equality was legal in South Carolina. It happened that fast for us; we thought we’d have to watch the state come kicking and screaming into equality only when, and if, the Supremes made their ruling.

So, every so often South Carolina, a Bible Thumping Red State, can do the right thing, no matter how shocking. And now, it’s happened again.

 While most Christian churches in this country are still vehemently opposed to The Gays and same-sex marriage, this week the First Baptist Church of Greenville … Baptist Church … South Carolina … has decided to allow not just gay unions, but also the ordination of gay and transgender ministers.

Again … Baptists … South Carolina.

The 184-year-old church, home of the very first Southern Baptist Convention, reached this decision after speaking to, and listening to, its congregation, and asking them one central question:

"Can you worship and live with the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender [LGBT] community in the church?"

And the answer was ‘Yes,’ with each member present giving a public affirmation. 

"What I heard was, 'We need to do the right thing, regardless of what anybody thinks or says about us. There were a few people who said, 'Are they going to start calling us the gay church in town?" — Senior Minister Jim Dant

Dant added that members of his church acknowledged that "being open and welcoming to all people is part of the essential nature of our community of faith." And the minister also revealed that members of the congregation who did not agree with the decision have decided to stay with the church, even in light of the church allowing openly gay ministers to serve.

God is love, and all that, you know.

Christian Today

Christ Church Episcopal Seniors Stand Against Racism

Oh there are days when I have such high hopes for the future, and the future generations, and today’s high hopes come from a group of high school students right here in South Carolina.

Last week a sophomore at Christ Church Episcopal School in Greenville, South Carolina, was expelled after posting a photo to Snapchat of four male black students from the school that he doctored with swastikas and nooses around the boys' necks.

How sweet, no? What was sweet, however, was what happened next. 

As the news of that disgusting photo began to break all over the school, the students realized they needed to do something, and quick, before their school became labeled as some kind of racist high school. A way to show the community, the black and white communities, and the students, that the actions of one idiot sophomore do not represent the school at large.

So the seniors of Christ Church stayed up all night creating the banner you see on the left, reading, “We are Family Cavalier Strong," in the school colors. In the bottom right corner, the banner is signed: “With love, Class of 2015.”

“That symbolizes that we’re all united as one. Being a Cavalier brings us all together. It doesn’t matter what race, what age, what background you come from. I think that being at Christ Church is a very special thing that we all share, a common bond.” — student body president Valerie Pruc

Then the seniors took a photo of three girls of different races holding hands beneath the banner in the hopes that this new image will replace the image of the four black students posted by the expelled tenth grader.

Now, you can say it’s just a poster; just a hand-painted sign across the front of the building, but what I find important about the story is the swiftness with which the students acted. There was no meeting, no vote, no question, that the actions of the one racist student needed to be addressed and shut down instantly.

You want to end racism? Stop it the very minute you see it, like the Seniors at Christ Church Episcopal School have done.

via NCRM

Wedding Week Repost: A Truly Wicked Getaway

One thing I love ... love ... LOVE ... is a showtune. I sing showtunes so often to Carlos that i fear when he has me committed, and since we'll be married in a couple of days, the possiblilty looms closer, he'll do so because I think I'm Ethel Merman mixed with Patti LuPone and tossed in with Betty Buckley and Indina Menzel.

But, if I go, at least I'll go out belting a Broadway melody.

Here's a repost, from January 2010, of a trip to Greenville for a Wicked good time.

A Truly Wicked Getaway

Well, as many of you know, I celebrated my farumph-humph birthday this week, and Carlos and I took a much needed midweek getaway up to Greenville, South Carolina.

Greenville, you say. South Carolina? Really? 

Well, the reasons were two-fold. One, we had never been up to Greenville and we'd heard lovely things about it; And Two [well, really the Number Two reason was Number One]Wicked was playing at the Peace Center, and I have loved it since I first heard tell of the Witches Of Oz...before that girl came to town. 

So, with Wicked coming to Greenville, we were going to Greenville. 

Carlos and I took a couple of days off from work, got the sister of Round The Way Gay, David, to pet sit the ShoeBox Dog and Los Gatos, and off we went. 

For those of you unfamiliar with all things, or anything, South Carolina, the state is divided into three sections: The Low Country....think Charleston; The Midlands....think Columbia or Smallville; and The Upstate....Greenville. Very close to the North Carolina border and seemingly a world away from Smallville. 

Greenville is one of those rare small towns that has revived itself and is reinventing itself, thanks to things like a good strong university, and businesses like BMW and Michelin, which both have factories up there. Plus, Greenville seems to be able to bridge that gap between old town quaintness and big city life. There are all sorts of restaurants lining main street; art galleries; pet boutiques; gift shop; knickknack stores. And they maintain that sense of small town even with the new construction going on all over town. They respect the old and work with the new. 

It really has become one of my favorite towns. And right here in little ole South Carolina! 

Go figure. 

We spent that first day strolling down Main Street, stopping into Trio for lunch; window shopping and just, Aaaah, relaxing. The downtown area is, and I hate this word but it applies, vibrant, even in mid-day. Business folks out for lunch hour, martini gals stopping by to get liquored up before carpooling the kids home; and homos. While it isn't really cool to be gay in Greenville, you don't get that Go Home Queer vibe you get from other southern cities. 

At the Barkery Bistro, where we had to stop so Carlos could get a gift fro the ShoeBox Dog, we met Frank, who moved to Greenville from LA and San Francisco and Arizona. Frank is family and we spent a good deal of time talking to him; he told us where to go, before and after the show; what to see, which shops we should stop into. We found out the next day, at Mia Dimora, that he is affectionately known as Mister Downtown. He's kind of an unofficial Welcoming Committee Of One.

We took his advice and ended up discovering some great places and some fun people.

Greenville straddles the Reedy River, and they allow the buildings to take full advantage of the river, the falls, and the green areas.There are hotels and apartments, restaurants, and the Peace Center on both sides of the river west of Main Street, and then the Falls are on the east side. We strolled through the park, along the bridges and listened to the falls; you get the feeling that you are far away from everything, but you're still right there.

That night we ate a pre-show dinner at High Cotton, right along the river. Two glasses of birthday Champagne; seared rare Tuna with a pine nut vinaigrette, for me. Salmon for Carlos. A wonderful Pinot Noir with dinner; birthday apple tart for dessert with cappuccino.

Then it was off to the main event:Wicked. I've been a fan of this show since before it opened on Broadway and love to see it again and again. While I am considered a Friend Of Dorothy, I am also a friend of Elphaba and Galinda. And Fiyero.....in riding pants!

This production, the touring company, was really well done; though it helped that we had fabulous seats.

Heléne Yorke, as Galinda, before the Gah is silent, was hysterical; possessing the same gorgeous voice as Kristen Chenoweth, who originated the role. She was perky, and sweet, and sappy, and dorky. Totally Galinda.

Marcie Dodd, as Elphaba--the name comes from the original writer of the Oz books, L. Frank Baum--was spectacular as the misunderstood green witch. Her voice soared at all the right times, and she really captured the essence of both Idina Menzel and Margaret Hamilton; a tough feat.

Colin Donnell was Fiyero, the man who loved Galinda and fell in love with Elphaba. I mentioned the riding pants. There weren't the best part of his performance, but they were spectacular. Yum! But he also had a terrific voice, and alongside Yorke and Dodd, he really creates a vivid believable love triangle.

Plus, it didn't hurt at all that, the Peace Center used a full orchestra for the musical; when we saw it last in Ft Lauderdale, it was sung to recorded instrumentals. Good, but not as good as having the musicians right down front.

If you haven't seen Wicked, you should go. It plays along nicely with The Wizard of Oz, and yet stands completely on its own.

Fab.U.Lous!

Funny note, though; while leaving the theater and strolling back across the river to the car, I overheard two women talking about the musical. One said, I can't believe they didn't sing "Over The Rainbow!" it's one of the most popular songs ever!

This was after the show, and yet she still thought she was seeing The Wizard Of Oz. I felt like dousing her with a bucket of water.

The next day we slept in a bit, and then had a lazy breakfast at the Coffee Underground. Full on delicious breakfast for two, for well under $20! I know! Then we took a walk back up to the Barkery Bistro to give Frank a recap of the show, and to trade email addresses and such. If he ever comes to Smallville, we'll show him the sight.....yes, sight. Singular. Oh well.

Then Frank sent us off to Mia Dimora, a designer store with all sorts of things for the house. I found a great metal calendar--you use magnets to note the month, date and day--with a lovely pig chalkboard. it's a little bit country, and a little bit cool. We found a great ceramic baking pan for roasting peppers, and a stone you set in a bread basket to keep bread warm all through dinner. The owner of the shop, Elaine McCanless, and I talked kitchens and pets, Smallville and Greenville, while Carlos talked music and orchestra with Derek, who was unloading a shipment of new stuff. It's refreshing to walk into a shop and find the owners and workers so friendly, and willing to talk about, well, nothing really.

We visited the Mast General Store, an old-fashioned emporium that sells everything from camping gear to candy, shoes to mugs. Carlos found a, um, cowboy hat he simply had to have, but, I'll give him credit: he's handsome in a hat, straw or cowboy. I got some flannel jammie pants and a couple of cool Mast General store coffee mugs: Masquerading as a normal person day after day is Exhausting and I live in my own world, but it's okay, they like me here. And, to counter Cowboy Carlos, I got a ball cap.

We continued our walking tour and found ourselves at the far end of town where the revitalization has just begun. Old buildings house new restaurants; new buildings look old and house....housing. There's baseball field, for the Greenville Drive farm team, and I thought, I'd love to come up to a game one weekend. But then I thought of the last time Carlos and I went to a ball game. To see the Marlins. We went with a group of his coworkers, and had a hot dog and drank some beer, and then, just after the first inning ended, Carlos stands up and announces, Well, that was fun.

I told him the game had six more innings. He sat back down.

Maybe we'll do the Shakespeare Festival in Greenville. I don't think they have innings.

In Greenville Same-Sex Couples Were Denied Equality

Lindsey Crumbly and Halley Page applied for a marriage license up in Greenville, South Carolina last week, hoping to have a mountain wedding, and so did another couple, Ronald and Jenny. Ronald and Jenny sailed through the paperwork and were told they could pick up their marriage license the next day; Lindsey and Page were denied because, well, gay.

In fact, five same-sex couples applied for marriage licenses last week and all five were denied; they’d all gone up on the heels of the Circuit Court of Appeals striking down of the ban on same-sex marriage in Virginia, hoping that South Carolina might have opened its eyes, and its mind, to the 21st century.

No such luck.

Still, Lindsey and Page are hopeful that by the time their wedding date comes around — in October 2015 — they can legally get married in the state in which they live. And all five couples are optimistic that the tide will change, even here in the Palmetto State.

Of course, there are some who don’t wish to see change, especially in the area of marriage equality. South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson — almost the moment the decision from the Circuit Court of Appeals came down — announced that he would continue to defend Amendment One, the state’s constitutional amendment banning gay marriage; and, also of course, The Transparent Nikki Haley™ said she supports Wilson’s decision to treat some South Carolina residents as less than.

The same day that Lindsey and Page, and those other couples, were being denied marriage licenses, S.C. Equality started a petition drive to encourage Attorney General Wilson to change his mind:

"Instead of spending money on our state's crumbling infrastructure or improving education and access to healthcare in our state, Attorney General Wilson plans to waste our tax dollars defending a ban that will ultimately be struck down." — Ryan Wilson, S.C. Equality executive director.

Right now, there are two marriage equality lawsuits pending in South Carolina; one is the case of a woman who wants to divorce the woman she considers her common law wife, and the other involve Katherine Bradacs and Tracie Goodwin, who are suing the state to have their marriage recognized.

According to the US Census, there are about 650 same-sex couples in Greenville County and over 7,000 in all of South Carolina; not a huge number in the grand scheme of things, but, in fact, that means that over 15,000 people in this state are not being treated equally under the law, and Lindsey and Page, those four other couples, and a great many more throughout the state, are fighting to see that change.

That day last week, in Greenville, as five same-sex couples tried, and failed, to obtain marriage licenses, a crowd of over a hundred people waited outside, cheering the bravery, cheering the determination, cheering the fight; cheering for equality.

Let’s hope that one day soon, they’ll be cheering at actual weddings.

via Greenville Online

Repost Roulette: A Truly Wicked Getaway .... from 2010

Okay, so I spun the Repost Roulette Wheel once more and it landed upon a post about a birthday, a trip, and Carlos, from way back in January, 2010 ....

Well, as many of you know, I celebrated my farumph-humph birthday this week, and Carlos and I took a much needed midweek getaway up to Greenville, South Carolina.

Greenville, you say. South Carolina? Really?

Well, the reasons were two-fold. One, we had never been up to Greenville and we'd heard lovely things about it; And Two [well, really the Number Two reason was Number One] Wicked was playing at the Peace Center, and I have loved it since I first heard tell of the Witches Of Oz...before that girl came to town.

So, with Wicked coming to Greenville, we were going to Greenville.

Carlos and I took a couple of days off from work, got the sister of Round The Way Gay, David, to pet sit the ShoeBox Dog and Los Gatos, and off we went.

For those of you unfamiliar with all things, or anything, South Carolina, the state is divided into three sections: The Low Country....think Charleston; The Midlands....think Columbia or Smallville; and The Upstate....Greenville. Very close to the North Carolina border and seemingly a world away from Smallville.

Greenville is one of those rare small towns that has revived itself and is reinventing itself, thanks to things like a good strong university, and businesses like BMW and Michelin, which both have factories upthere. Plus, Greenville seems to be able to bridge that gap between old town quaintness and big city life. There are all sorts of restaurants lining main street; art galleries; pet boutiques; gift shop; knickknack stores. And they maintain that sense of small town even with the new construction going on all over town. They respect the old and work with the new.

It really has become one of my favorite towns. And right here in little ole South Carolina!

Go figure.
We spent that first day strolling down Main Street, stopping into Trio for lunch; window shopping and just, Aaaah, relaxing. The downtown area is, and I hate this word but it applies, vibrant, even in mid-day. Business folks out for lunch hour, martini gals stopping by to get liquored up before carpooling the kids home; and homos. While it isn't really cool to be gay in Greenville, you don't get that Go Home Queer vibe you get from other southern cities.

At the Barkery Bistro, where we had to stop so Carlos could get a gift fro the ShoeBox Dog, we met Frank, who moved to Greenville from LA and San Francisco and Arizona. Frank is family and we spent a good deal of time talking to him; he told us where to go, before and after the show; what to see, which shops we should stop into. We found out the next day, at Mia Dimora, that he is affectionately known as Mister Downtown. He's kind of an unofficial Welcoming Committee Of One.

We took his advice and ended up discovering some great places and some fun people.

Greenville straddles the Reedy River, and they allow the buildings to take full advantage of the river, the falls, and the green areas. There are hotels and apartments, restaurants, and the Peace Center on both sides of the river west of Main Street, and then the Falls are on the east side. We strolled through the park, along the bridges and listened to the falls; you get the feeling that you are far away from everything, but you're still right there.

That night we ate a pre-show dinner at High Cotton, right along the river. Two glasses of birthday Champagne; seared rare Tuna with a pine nut vinaigrette, for me. Salmon for Carlos. A wonderful Pinot Noir with dinner; birthday apple tart for dessert with cappuccino.

Then it was off to the main event: Wicked. I've been a fan of this show since before it opened on Broadway and love to see it again and again. While I am considered a Friend Of Dorothy, I am also a friend of Elphaba and Galinda. And Fiyero.....in riding pants!

This production, the touring company, was really well done; though it helped that we had fabulous seats.

Heléne Yorke, as Galinda, before the Gah is silent, was hysterical; possessing the same gorgeous voice as Kristen Chenoweth, who originated the role. She was perky, and sweet, and sappy, and dorky. Totally Galinda.

Marcie Dodd, as Elphaba--the name comes from the original writer of the Oz books, L. Frank Baum--was spectacular as the misunderstood green witch. Her voice soared at all the right times, and she really captured the essence of both Idina Menzel and Margaret Hamilton; a tough feat.

Colin Donnell was Fiyero, the man who loved Galinda and fell in love with Elphaba. I mentioned the riding pants. There weren't the best part of his performance, but they were spectacular. Yum! But he also had a terrific voice, and alongside Yorke and Dodd, he really creates a vivid believable love triangle.

Plus, it didn't hurt at all that, the Peace Center used a full orchestra for the musical; when we saw it last in Ft Lauderdale, it was sung to recorded instrumentals. Good, but not as good as having the musicians right down front.

If you haven't seen Wicked, you should go. It plays along nicely with The Wizard of Oz, and yet stands completely on its own.

Fab.U.Lous!

Funny note, though; while leaving the theater and strolling back across the river to the car, I overheard two women talking about the musical. One said, I can't believe they didn't sing "Over The Rainbow!" it's one of the most popular songs ever!

This was after the show, and yet she still thought she was seeing The Wizard Of Oz. I felt like dousing her with a bucket of water.

The next day we slept in a bit, and then had a lazy breakfast at the Coffee Underground. Full on delicious breakfast for two, for well under $20! I know! Then we took a walk back up to the Barkery Bistro to give Frank a recap of the show, and to trade email addresses and such. If he ever comes to Smallville, we'll show him the sight.....yes, sight. Singular. Oh well.

Then Frank sent us off toMia Dimora, a designer store with all sorts of things for the house. I found a great metal calendar--you use magnets to note the month, date and day--with a lovely pig chalkboard. it's a little bit country, and a little bit cool. We found a great ceramic baking pan for roasting peppers, and a stone you set in a bread basket to keep bread warm all through dinner. The owner of the shop, Elaine McCanless, and I talked kitchens and pets, Smallville and Greenville, while Carlos talked music and orchestra with Derek, who was unloading a shipment of new stuff. It's refreshing to walk into a shop and find the owners and workers so friendly, and willing to talk about, well, nothing really.

We visited the Mast General Store, an old-fashioned emporium that sells everything from camping gear to candy, shoes to mugs. Carlos found a, um, cowboy hat he simply had to have, but, I'll give him credit: he's handsome in a hat, straw or cowboy. I got some flannel jammie pants and a couple of cool Mast General store coffee mugs: Masquerading as a normal person day after day is Exhausting and I live in my own world, but it's okay, they like me here. And, to counter Cowboy Carlos, I got a ball cap.

We continued our walking tour and found ourselves at the far end of town where the revitalization has just begun. Old buildings house new restaurants; new buildings look old and house....housing. There's baseball field, for the Greenville Drive farm team, and I thought, I'd love to come up to a game one weekend. But then I thought of the last time Carlos and I went to a ball game. To see the Marlins. We went with a group of his coworkers, and had a hot dog and drank some beer, and then, just after the third inning ended, Carlos stands up and announces, Well, that was fun.

I told him the game had six more innings. He sat back down.

Maybe we'll do the Shakespeare Festival in Greenville. I don't think they have innings.

Free Speech Works Both Ways

There once was a preacher in Greenville, South Carolina who saw two lesbians on the street and called them "faggots" and said they were "going to hell."

He was arrested for, and convicted of, violating a city ordinance prohibiting humiliating, offensive, scary or obscene comments. 

This week South Carolina's high court overturned the conviction of Joseph Bane, saying that Greenville city ordinance is too vague to be enforced and is therefore unconstitutional.

His attorney argued that police can use that ordinance to threaten people, restricting their free speech rights, while attorneys for the city of Greenville say they just want to protect people from harassment.

Guess what? I agree with the court.

Who'da thunk it.

Now, obviously, as one of the faggots to whom Bane must assuredly object, I don't want to be subjected to name-calling on the streets of Greenville, or even Smallville, but when do we tell people they don't have the right to voice their opinion? See, while I don't like what Bane said, that day back in '07, but he is entitled to his opinion.

Just like I have the right to say, right here, right now, that Joseph Bane an obnoxious, delusional, quite possibly morally ambiguous, asshatted, self-righteous-prick-fucktard, who wouldn't know the true word of god if it flew out of his ass and bitchslapped him clear across the state. 

See how that works?

source

A Truly Wicked Getaway

Well, as many of you know, I celebrated my farumph-humph birthday this week, and Carlos and I took a much needed midweek getaway up to Greenville, South Carolina.

Greenville, you say. South Carolina? Really?

Well, the reasons were two-fold. One, we had never been up to Greenville and we'd heard lovely things about it; And Two [well, really the Number Two reason was Number One] Wicked was playing at the Peace Center, and I have loved it since I first heard tell of the Witches Of Oz...before that girl came to town.

So, with Wicked coming to Greenville, we were going to Greenville.

Carlos and I took a couple of days off from work, got the sister of Round The Way Gay, David, to pet sit the ShoeBox Dog and Los Gatos, and off we went.

For those of you unfamiliar with all things, or anything, South Carolina, the state is divided into three sections: The Low Country....think Charleston; The Midlands....think Columbia or Smallville; and The Upstate....Greenville. Very close to the North Carolina border and seemingly a world away from Smallville.

Greenville is one of those rare small towns that has revived itself and is reinventing itself, thanks to things like a good strong university, and businesses like BMW and Michelin, which both have factories up there. Plus, Greenville seems to be able to bridge that gap between old town quaintness and big city life. There are all sorts of restaurants lining main street; art galleries; pet boutiques; gift shop; knickknack stores. And they maintain that sense of small town even with the new construction going on all over town. They respect the old and work with the new.

It really has become one of my favorite towns. And right here in little ole South Carolina!

Go figure.
We spent that first day strolling down Main Street, stopping into Trio for lunch; window shopping and just, Aaaah, relaxing. The downtown area is, and I hate this word but it applies, vibrant, even in mid-day. Business folks out for lunch hour, martini gals stopping by to get liquored up before carpooling the kids home; and homos. While it isn't really cool to be gay in Greenville, you don't get that Go Home Queer vibe you get from other southern cities.

At the Barkery Bistro, where we had to stop so Carlos could get a gift fro the ShoeBox Dog, we met Frank, who moved to Greenville from LA and San Francisco and Arizona. Frank is family and we spent a good deal of time talking to him; he told us where to go, before and after the show; what to see, which shops we should stop into. We found out the next day, at Mia Dimora, that he is affectionately known as Mister Downtown. He's kind of an unofficial Welcoming Committee Of One.

We took his advice and ended up discovering some great places and some fun people.

Greenville straddles the Reedy River, and they allow the buildings to take full advantage of the river, the falls, and the green areas. There are hotels and apartments, restaurants, and the Peace Center on both sides of the river west of Main Street, and then the Falls are on the east side. We strolled through the park, along the bridges and listened to the falls; you get the feeling that you are far away from everything, but you're still right there.

That night we ate a pre-show dinner at High Cotton, right along the river. Two glasses of birthday Champagne; seared rare Tuna with a pine nut vinaigrette, for me. Salmon for Carlos. A wonderful Pinot Noir with dinner; birthday apple tart for dessert with cappuccino.

Then it was off to the main event: Wicked. I've been a fan of this show since before it opened on Broadway and love to see it again and again. While I am considered a Friend Of Dorothy, I am also a friend of Elphaba and Galinda. And Fiyero.....in riding pants!

This production, the touring company, was really well done; though it helped that we had fabulous seats.

Heléne Yorke, as Galinda, before the Gah is silent, was hysterical; possessing the same gorgeous voice as Kristen Chenoweth, who originated the role. She was perky, and sweet, and sappy, and dorky. Totally Galinda.

Marcie Dodd, as Elphaba--the name comes from the original writer of the Oz books, L. Frank Baum--was spectacular as the misunderstood green witch. Her voice soared at all the right times, and she really captured the essence of both Idina Menzel and Margaret Hamilton; a tough feat.

Colin Donnell was Fiyero, the man who loved Galinda and fell in love with Elphaba. I mentioned the riding pants. There weren't the best part of his performance, but they were spectacular. Yum! But he also had a terrific voice, and alongside Yorke and Dodd, he really creates a vivid believable love triangle.

Plus, it didn't hurt at all that, the Peace Center used a full orchestra for the musical; when we saw it last in Ft Lauderdale, it was sung to recorded instrumentals. Good, but not as good as having the musicians right down front.

If you haven't seen Wicked, you should go. It plays along nicely with The Wizard of Oz, and yet stands completely on its own.

Fab.U.Lous!

Funny note, though; while leaving the theater and strolling back across the river to the car, I overheard two women talking about the musical. One said, I can't believe they didn't sing "Over The Rainbow!" it's one of the most popular songs ever!

This was after the show, and yet she still thought she was seeing The Wizard Of Oz. I felt like dousing her with a bucket of water.

The next day we slept in a bit, and then had a lazy breakfast at the Coffee Underground. Full on delicious breakfast for two, for well under $20! I know! Then we took a walk back up to the Barkery Bistro to give Frank a recap of the show, and to trade email addresses and such. If he ever comes to Smallville, we'll show him the sight.....yes, sight. Singular. Oh well.

Then Frank sent us off to Mia Dimora, a designer store with all sorts of things for the house. I found a great metal calendar--you use magnets to note the month, date and day--with a lovely pig chalkboard. it's a little bit country, and a little bit cool. We found a great ceramic baking pan for roasting peppers, and a stone you set in a bread basket to keep bread warm all through dinner. The owner of the shop, Elaine McCanless, and I talked kitchens and pets, Smallville and Greenville, while Carlos talked music and orchestra with Derek, who was unloading a shipment of new stuff. It's refreshing to walk into a shop and find the owners and workers so friendly, and willing to talk about, well, nothing really.

We visited the Mast General Store, an old-fashioned emporium that sells everything from camping gear to candy, shoes to mugs. Carlos found a, um, cowboy hat he simply had to have, but, I'll give him credit: he's handsome in a hat, straw or cowboy. I got some flannel jammie pants and a couple of cool Mast General store coffee mugs: Masquerading as a normal person day after day is Exhausting and I live in my own world, but it's okay, they like me here. And, to counter Cowboy Carlos, I got a ball cap.

We continued our walking tour and found ourselves at the far end of town where the revitalization has just begun. Old buildings house new restaurants; new buildings look old and house....housing. There's baseball field, for the Greenville Drive farm team, and I thought, I'd love to come up to a game one weekend. But then I thought of the last time Carlos and I went to a ball game. To see the Marlins. We went with a group of his coworkers, and had a hot dog and drank some beer, and then, just after the third inning ended, Carlos stands up and announces, Well, that was fun.

I told him the game had six more innings. He sat back down.

Maybe we'll do the Shakespeare Festival in Greenville. I don't think they have innings.