How to Make a Recession Come True

We just received a cancellation from a company who organizes tours that said, "Due to the current state of the economy and the prospects for the near future, We will not be offering tours in 2009.”

I was immediately reminded of Charles Osgood, the bowtied CBS commentator. Osgood's Latest File was titled "A Grinchy Recipe on how to Worsen Economic Woes" It is a poem in the tradition of Dr. Suess, the bowtied poetic genius, that gives the formula for making a recession come true.

Charles Osgood Files

Citizen-Legislator

During this presidential campaign when questions of character seems to get more attention than questions of policy, I was recently reminded of Indiana State Senator Marvin Riegsecker's character at his viewing. He served twenty years before retiring because of his illness.

Senator Riegsecker was a model public servant, or citizen-legislator, as he liked to describe himself. As former pharmacist, he was well trained to listen to the concerns of those he served. His agendas were behind the scenes. He likely did more for children with disabilities than any other member of the legislature, but his contribution never made the front page. He was gentle, modest, friendly, and always proud of the people and community he represented. After two decades he still considered it the greatest privilege of his life.

I believe most elected officials try to emulate these character traits, but they are most often hidden by our interest in simplifying our leaders into sound bites.

A Wonderful Life, Pass it Forward

October 10, 2008
Dear Dick and Susie....unfortunately Sue and I are going to have abandon any immediate future plans to visit your wonderful theatre. I've already called the box office to cancel our last two performances, Kiss Me Kate (October 15) and A Wonderful Life (December 12). I've also called the Inn to cancel our lodging reservations for those two evenings. We wanted to let you know we'd not be using the seats so that your box-office might feel free to open them up for sale to other subscribers or walk-ins.

In brief form, we are both retired and living primarily on our stock market investments and, no doubt, you are as aware as anyone just how bleak, dismal, and very frightening the stock market and economic picture is in the country right now. That coupled with the fact that the market losses are now approaching forty-five percent in the last fourteen months results in our own portfolio being diminished by at least the same percentage. It has forced us to seriously re-evaluate our financial framework. With four dollar gasoline and the growing cash crunch, the rest of your wonderful season has become fiscally out of reach for us and we are deeply disappointed.

We do want you both to know, though, how much we've come to appreciate your beautiful theatre and your top-notch theatrical productions. May we wish you many seasons of much acclaim and may you always "Break a leg!"

Sincerely,
Sue and Curt Forbes

October 11, 2008
Thanks for the email explaining your dilemma. We’ve been reading and preparing for A Wonderful Life and realize it has more meaning today than when the movie came out in 1946: We’re all in this together! We don’t want you to miss Kiss Me Kate or A Wonderful Life. You have tickets. How about we give you free hotel rooms for both shows plus our TANKS for coming offer which is $40 per show in Legal Tender which may be spend on any purchase at Amish Acres including the Theme Buffet or Threshers Dinner or bakery, etc. (Good Christmas shopping). Let me know and we will re-reserve your rooms. Hope you can make it. We appreciate your support and appreciation for our efforts.

October 20, 2008
Good evening, Dick....just a short note to thank you and Susie again for your very kind and generous offer; we sincerely do appreciate it. We are so much looking forward to coming over this next Wednesday evening.

We have long been passionate supporters of the theatrical arts...going all the way back to the early sixties when we were season ticket holders at the Sir Tyrone Guthrie Theatre in Minneapolis, MN, at a time when young newly weds could little afford such an "extravagance". But, would it not have been for those days we would never have had the opportunity to come to know Hume Cronyn and Jessica Tandy nor would we have seen Ed Harris (a wonderful portrayal in Henry V I think it was. Mr. Harris essentially got his start at the Guthrie and we have followed his career for years. We were at the Guthrie for one of Mr. Cronyn's and Ms. Tandy's last performances in Foxfire and it was a bittersweet evening, indeed.

I've lost count of the number of shows I've directed on the high school stage, the college stage and on the community theatre stage, but for all that time in the theatre, we've never grown tired of it. How could one? Sue and I have been side by side for years...she producing many of my shows and we were co-founders of the Princeton Drama Workshop ( a community theatre) in our Minnesota days. I guess it runs pretty deep in our blood.

Enough rambling....this was intended to be a thank you note when I started out. So, thank you, again. Your generosity couldn't help but remind me of a favorite line from The Music Man; it makes us think of you kindness, "They'll give you their back and the shirt to go with it...."

Best regards,
Sue and Curt Forbes

PS: Speaking of The Music Man...have you and Susie ever had the opportunity to tour the small (very small, but delightful) museum housed in the UCC church in Mason City, Iowa? A pastor friend and his wife of ours was recently pastor of the church (he's now retired) which was the home church of Meredith Willson. Mr. Willson's mother was the Sunday School Superintendent there for many years and donated many items of wonderful memorabilia open to the public. A great little way to spend a couple hours on an afternoon!

The Regional in Theatre

The Round Barn Theatre and others toss around the term "regional" to describe themselves. Definitions vary among the same theatres, but here's proof that the impact of our theatre has broad impact across northern Indiana. Last Wednesday Willy Wonk Junior was presented by The Round Barn Theatre's Joseph Stein Young Actors Studio with an all-star cast of eighteen high school students from ten schools across northern Indiana.

The Willy Wonka Junior cast includes Nicole Tompkins from St Joseph High School, South Bend,; Tanner Smale from Elkhart Memorial; Tyler Miller, Ty Stutsman, Thomas Reid and Lance Mullins from NorthWood High School in Nappanee, Ann Thompson from Chesterton High School; Tom Eiser of Triton High School, Bourbon; Jon Tyree, Nancy Tyree, Camden Robertson, John Patrick, and Haley Jaggers from Plymouth; Alex Kilmer from Trinity Lutheran in Elkhart, Celina Davis of Warsaw, Susan Grothouse of Goshen, and Emily Reth of South Bend John Adams. The production is directed by Regina Warren, choreographed and costumed by Scott Saegesser, with musical direction provided by Amber Bontrager and lighting designed by Jeremy Littlejohn.

The buses came from Ligonier Elementary School, Teachers Home School, Elkhart; Tippecanoe Valley, Bourbon; Veritas Academy, South Bend; Trinity Lutheran, Elkhart; West Goshen Elementary; Schmucker Middle School, Granger; First Baptist Christian, Mishawaka; Battell Elementary, South Bend; Concord Southside Elementary; People Praise Home School, Elkhart; Buchanan Middle School, Michigan; Christian Haven, Wheatfield; Mayflower Apostolic School, South Bend; St John's Elementary, South Bend; and Christ the King, South Bend.

Each of these young students benefited from the experience of seeing and being seen in a professionally produced musical theatre show. Our experience show that at least one person in the audience or on the stage will choose to pursue a career in theatre as they mature; and to us, that makes it all seem worthwhile.

It took twenty years

David Smith selected Mr. and Mrs. Gerard Montani as the "VIP Guests of the Day" at The Inn at Amish Acres yesterday. As he was checking them in they were excited for the recognition and proceeded to tell the story of how they found Amish Acres.

Mrs. Montani mentioned that while traveling 20 years ago they found an Amish Acres brochure lying on the seat of an airplane. At that moment the both promised each other that they would one day visit this Amish Acres. So today, 20 years later they arrived with their confirmation neatly written on the back of a vintage Amish Acres brochure.

It also was their first day of their visit to the United States; the Montani's are from France. With their complementary Amish Acres Recipes cookbook in hand, they were all smiles. I remember the warm reception we received in our hotel on our last visit to Paris; and whenever I think back to Paris, it is not the Eiffel Tower or the Louve that were visible out side our hotel room window that comes to mind first, it is Jon Paul's warm welcome at the Hotel Brighton at 218, rue Rivoli. These experiences are what make tourism such a potent force in creating a world community to go along with the new world economy.

Where have all the bonnets gone?

Even with snow flying sideways on Easter, 1,300 diners still showed up for dinner. With camera in my pocket, I spent the day looking for the gala Easter parade of outfits that I remember growing up. I fondly remember my mother dressing my sister and me for Easter, with new clothes and bonnets for the ladies. My church was a pageant of other families who had done the same. We always anticipated Easter in our house with the excitement of spring. Over the three decades that I have been pouring water and coffee, bussing tables, and greeting guests, I have regretfully seen a gradual and ever increasing disappearance of this ritual rite of spring.

Families are still celebrating this most important of Christian holidays together around the table. They come in every shape and size. Grandparents, aunts and uncles, brothers and sisters, moms and dads, cousins, nieces and nephews, are mixed in a nearly unending combinations. It certainly remains a festive day and the Easter egg hunt for 500 eggs Janis hid and the carefully colored eggs on paper in the coloring contest attest to the excitement felt among the children. Sadly, my search was reduced to a single bonnet shared by sisters in matching pink dresses and it was bought in our gift shop.

Waiting

I've been waiting to hear from The Tonight Show for permission to use the recylced Headline from Amish Acres. I'm giving up and moving on. Easter seems a good time to start anew. Talk about waiting. President Bill Clinton and Chelsea are coming to northern Indiana tomorrow, Dyngus Day, to celebrate with the Democrats on the west side of South Bend and mention that their wife and mother is running for president.

Their visit reminds me of Governor Orr who came to Amish Acres in 1981 while he was campaigning, sat down in our restaurant with me for a cup of coffee and began asking what sounded like sincere questions about our business. Before I could offer up any wisdom for him to take back to Indianapolis, a aide rushed up and said he was sorry but they were in the wrong place and had to high tail it to the B&B Restaurant downtown. Governor Orr told me he was sorry he had to leave abruptly, but he would be back. He was even a Republican and I'm still waiting.