My First Ballet

It's hard to imagine that at the age of 39, I have never seen a ballet. Until tonight, that is. Cara and I went to the Nutcracker, performed by the Atlantic Ballet Company at the Camden Opera House. Now, I must say, I am not the most cultured person in the world. Far from it. I've never been to an opera or a symphony. I did go to three presentations at the Maine Center for Performing Arts at the University of Maine at Orono many years ago. I'm not sure they would qualify as culture.

The first was a speech by Jessie Jackson, who was running for President at the time. I went with two friends, and one of them slept through it. It was highly cultural.

The second time was to hear Leonard Nimoy speak. You know, the guy that played Mr. Spock. Personally, I thought it was highly cultural, especially when the entire audience greeted Mr. Nimoy with the Vulcan salute.

The third probably did qualify; I went to see a musical, one of the classics, one where you know most of the songs, and one whose name I've forgotten. But it was highly cultural.

Actually, this was my second trip to the Camden Opera House. A few years ago, Cara and I took her mom and gram and Seth to see My Fair Lady. It was a fantastic show and it was highly cultural.

The Nutcracker had no words. I found that highly cultural. The music, a lot of it anyway, was familiar to me. It was classical music, written by one of those familiar classical composers, whose name I can't remember. But it was highly cultural. The lead ballot guy wore his tights rather, well, tight. Let's just say he didn't leave much to the imagination. I did NOT find that highly cultural. Disturbing, maybe. Cara might have found it cultural, however.

I felt bad that the Opera House was less than half full. I guess the people of Midcoast Maine don't know culture when they see it. People need to get out and try some of these highly cultural events more. You never know when it might culturize you.