Orpheum Theatre is a Treasure ~ January 25, 2007

Yesterday my 11-year-old son Jon went on a field trip to see Slim Goodbody’s “Bodyology.” It’s a traveling stage show that uses music, movement, fanciful props, and a large rear screen projection unit to help kids understand how their bodies work while inspiring them to be the best they can be. While it’s correlated to state health education standards for grades K-4, children up to age 12 (and their parents) say they enjoy the show. (Maybe you remember seeing Slim Goodbody on TV during the 1970’s. It’s still the same guy, too - only he doesn’t have the big Afro hairdo anymore!) Another neat thing was, the show’s location was in the Orpheum Theatre which is a wonderful field trip destination in itself. Here is how Jon describes his experience:

“When we got to the theater, it was packed with school kids. There were only a few other homeschoolers. We had to wait and when we finally got in, we were able to sit in the balcony. We watched the play. There was this guy dressed up in a body suit. He said his name was Slim Goodbody. He talked about the brain, the heart, the lungs, the liver, the nerves, the diaphragm, the stomach and digestive system. He said that your body is made up of millions of different cells. He talked about how many bones we have. He showed a picture of a real heart. He showed what can happen to your lungs if you smoke. He showed how the smaller the person, the faster the heartbeat and the larger the person, the slower the heartbeat. He sung songs about the body. We practiced singing “Lubba Dubba.” He had some kids come up and do tricks to show what their muscles can do. He also had some teachers come up and do tricks to get a DVD of his shows. The Orpheum Theatre was like a big fancy castle filled with treasure. It had cushioned seats, a spiral staircase, brass decorations, and faces carved in the walls. There was a sky painted on the ceiling, and there was a painting of a desert on the wall. Where they had the show, they had lights that looked like clouds moving.”

Jon wasn’t exaggerating in his description of the theatre’s castle-like appearance. The Orpheum is the last remaining example of “theatre palace” architecture in Phoenix, and as much of its visible splendor as possible was restored. For example, two “mouse holes” on each side of the auditorium project moving clouds on the ceiling, and two further projectors on the balcony project stars. A website called “America's Stunning Theatres” has recent color photos of the Phoenix Orpheum: http://www.pbase.com/affablebeef/phoenix

Did You Know…? The historic Orpheum Theatre offers regularly scheduled free guided one-hour tours, every Monday at 12 noon and 1 pm. Tours are conducted by docents from the Friends of the Orpheum Theatre. "The Orpheum Theatre is easily the grandest, most beautiful entertainment venue in all of Arizona," said Robert R. Allen, Deputy Director Phoenix Civic Plaza, Phoenix Stages Division. "It was originally built in 1929, the last major construction project in Phoenix before the Great Depression. After the City of Phoenix bought the Orpheum in 1984 it was decided to completely restore what was once known as the 'Grand Dame of Movie Palaces' to its original splendor. It took 12 years to complete that project, and the result is an Orpheum Theatre every bit as magnificent as it was when it was first opened. We believe everyone should have the chance to see it, and learn about it, to truly appreciate what a wonderful treasure we have here in Phoenix." The Orpheum Theatre is located at 203 West Adams Street, one block north of Washington. Groups should call 602-534-5600 for tour bookings. Group tours may be scheduled throughout the week, depending upon theater availability. http://www.ci.phoenix.az.us/STAGES/orpheum.html

Snow Day! ~ January 20, 2007

On Saturday, we drove up to see if we could find some snow to play in. Well, first we spent half the morning mixing and matching winter clothes until we found something that fit everyone. I ended up being the one without a jacket so I doubled up a long sleeve shirt and sweater with a windbreaker over top of that. At least we all had boots and gloves that fit.

We had heard that there was snow in Black Canyon City, but they must have been mistaken. We saw some on the New River Mountains, but other than that there wasn’t a sign of any until we got to the mountains above Camp Verde. Then after dropping down into the valley there wasn’t any again until just north of Orme. The I-17 highway was clear and the snowy scenery was beautiful between Orme and Stoneman Lake Road. A DPS truck raced past us with his lights flashing and siren on. We wondered where he was headed to in such a hurry. Right after we passed the Stoneman Lake turnoff, it started getting foggy and at mile marker 308 the traffic suddenly stopped. Rich always drives at a safe distance so we had plenty of time to put on our brakes, but you always worry about the vehicles coming up fast behind you. Luckily, a U-Haul truck from Louisiana that was coming up behind us veered over to the left lane and came to a stop alongside us instead of rear-ending us into the hazardous waste truck in front of us! We couldn’t see up ahead until the fog lifted a bit and there was the DPS truck that had passed us earlier. Coming up the breakdown lane there came another DPS truck, then a Highway Patrol car, then a fire chief’s car, then three fire trucks, followed by two ambulances and a snowplow. This did not look good and we thought we might be stuck there on the freeway for hours.

A couple of guys got out of their vehicles to see if they could find out what was going on, and Rich did too. After a while, more people started getting out of their cars and walking around, and children were playing in the snow next to the highway. After about 40 minutes, a Highway Patrol car came cruising by telling everyone to get back into their vehicles because the traffic would be moving soon. We hardly had a chance to get back in and the traffic was already starting to move. It was foggy again, so all we could do was follow what the guy ahead of us was doing. We drove single file, snaking back and forth from one side of the highway to the other as we went around one fender bender after another. At mile post 311 we got to the main accident that had started it all. First we saw a wheel and other car parts laying everywhere. Then we saw a blue minivan that had one side of it completely sheared off. And finally, stuck in the snow down a small embankment, there was a tractor-trailer with a red cab.

Once we got past that, the road was fine for the rest of the drive. We grabbed a quick lunch in Flagstaff, then took off again because we were headed up past the Snow Bowl. The Snow Bowl was supposed to have opened on that day, and they were gearing up for 15,000 visitors from Phoenix, but during the previous night the winds up on the mountain were gusting to 70 mph and blew all of the snow off the slopes. So there were a lot of disappointed skiers, but it was better for us because the area wasn’t so crowded. Quite a few families were parked at the forest roads along Hwy. 180 to play in the snow like we were doing, though. We stopped at Hart’s Prairie Road which is our old favorite spot. The snow was pretty deep there, at least a foot. Rich decided to take his cross country skis which he hasn’t used in fifteen years and he skied back and forth for a while. I enjoyed just walking in the snow and watching the kids play. Jon tried on my old skis but the boots were too small for him. I guess it’s been way too long since we’ve used them.

It was a nice sunny afternoon, with a slight breeze blowing snow off the tree branches once in a while. When we decided to leave, we drove a little farther and the atmosphere was completely different on the north side of the San Francisco Peaks. The White Buffalo store was closed, and the old cars that were parked there had snow piling up around them. The windswept plain where the store was located was a freezing 21 degrees, and that’s as far as the road was thoroughly maintained. From there on, the road was covered with a layer of snow. We turned around and headed home. The area from Newman Park Road to Stoneman Lake was foggy again just like on our way up, but it was even more dense than it was before. The visibility at one point was next to nothing and we were going pretty slowly. I wonder what kind of atmospheric conditions were making it so foggy there and nowhere else.