Clockwise from left: Judy, Alex, Grant, Rick, Mike, Andrea, Anna, Claire, and Esther.

“Happy Thanksgiving” is a greeting worth considering.

On the surface, it is a well-intended wish that the recipient will enjoy the holiday. After all, how can one help but be happy if one only takes time to give thanks? It makes sense. If you focus on the blessings in your life, and take time to appreciate them rather than take them for granted—or better still, focus on the good rather than the bad—you are bound to feel better about how things are going.

In a strict sense, there is an implicit imperative to “have a happy ___(holiday)___.” Does your commanding me to be happy then make it so? Not so much. Were it only so simple!

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We have always enjoyed live entertainment, whether music or plays—or musical plays. We’ve been Guthrie subscribers for decades; we attended every school performance for our kids; we dabbled in Minnesota Orchestra and Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra subscriptions. We have seasoned our selections with university concerts, and marveled at marching/pep bands at games (football and volleyball). We have even travelled great distances for Drum Corps International competitions.

Both our girls were in the band for show choir, which competitions exposed us to a compressed compendium of show tunes, albeit without the original storyline. So it was only a small step to add season tickets for the Orpheum Theater’s “Broadway on Hennepin” series of touring shows.

We were first hooked by an amazing production of “Wicked”—which Judy saw first with a friend, and encouraged Rick to attend with her again.

We signed up on the spot.*

All of this transpired while (impatiently) waiting to attend “Hamilton” on Broadway, Elise’s Christmas present to Rick (which should already have been another story, and will be soon).