December 15, 2014

Mondays, Mondays.

The ice skating rink outside Horton Plaza. 

We had a delightful dinner by the bay, then went downtown for desert before the concert.  Horton Plaza was open.  They had a Ben and Jerry’s ice cream place…which we patronized, but the rest of the mall was almost empty.  The farther we got from the front of the mall, the more empty stores we encountered.  At the height of the Holiday shopping season, while all the other local malls are jammed with customers, the dramatic architecture of Horton Plaza was almost devoid of decoration.  No carols, no music of any kind to jostle the few shoppers into seasonal feelings.  It was one of the saddest things I’d seen in years.
    
Built in the 1920’s, the now restored Balboa Theater proscenium arch with side fountains.

The Gay Men’s Chorus’ singing was flat out glorious.

“I’m feeling the holiday now that I’ve heard them sing,” George told me on the way home.

I confess, I’m still humming some of the music.  There was a good sized crowd to appreciate the large variety of holiday songs.  Jewish, Russian, contemporary, classical, blues, and the traditional.  We doted on it all.  Toe tapping was the name of the game.

Upper balcony.

We had a group of four old friends to our right in the front row of our wonderful Loge seats.  One of them had sung in the chorus years ago.  To our left was a young lady….perhaps in her thirties, who arrived with a glass of wine.  Came back with a second glass of wine, and lastly, as the second half began, with a scotch and water.  Moments later she passed out and missed all the glory of the season.

Mage in the Loge.


  • Himself:  Work, meeting, baking bread.  He’s a comfortable man today.
  • Herself:  Dozing, posting pictures here or there on the web, shopping, picking up the house.  Simplicity.  Baked potatoe and salad for dinner.
  • Reading:  Another light bit of fluff with a similar plot line to the last.  Always wonder why I bring them home….Title?  Photo on the cover?
  • Balance:  Lunch.


  • 12 comments:

    1. Ah Horton Plaza, the scene of many a teenage and young-adult night. I would think that the Gaslamp is all the rage these days, especially with the ballpark so close.

      When you say empty stores do you mean the merchants are there and having no traffic or that the spaces themselves are empty of merchants.

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    2. The mall had few shoppers, and a great many of the stores were empty of merchants. It was horrifying.

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    3. Regarding your question the mural is on a side commercial area in Silver Spring, Maryland. Maryland has a number of artie-fartie locations because it is our state's "art" center mostly for movies and plays. We all pretend we understand the expression of paintings and sculpture, but this one really grabbed me. It was like a cartoon, which is the way I think we few the world's refugees and I just had to write a "poem." The lady with the alcohol problem has a few more days before the holidays are over and I hope she makes it.

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    4. We used to go to Dallas every Christmas to listen to a men's chorus, and it was awesome. That's quite a beautiful old theater.

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    5. How sad that Horton Plaza is not doing well. I remember when it opened and how we enjoyed going there. Bought Will a hat at the hat store.

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    6. That theater looks gorgeous.
      You, too.

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    7. I've given myself permission to read only the books, etc. I want to read. Schools out. Yes, it's sad to see the shopping areas have largely been abandoned, but if they never build another one that will be fine with me. We need more parks.

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    8. What a gorgeous theater. It must be fun to attend events there. Makes one feel like they have stepped back into another era.

      As for the empty stores, malls are going by the wayside. More and more being abandoned in favor of big box stores in the suburbs. Not my kind of shopping, though.

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    9. That is such a lovely theatre! Glad you had fun!

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    10. Passed out? Sheesh!

      Sounds like a terrific concert. I loved seeing your smile, Mage.

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