Fragile Dreams

I’m sitting in a British Air business-class lounge at London’s Heathrow Airport, about to return to Los Angeles after an eight-day stay in Edinburgh, Scotland. Daveen and I were there, once again, to attend the annual Fringe Festival where hundreds of entertainers perform before thousands of theater goers. It is touted as being “one of the greatest celebrations of arts and culture on the planet.”

Daveen asked an Edinburgh taxi driver if August was the best month for business. To my surprise, he said, “No.  Traffic is so heavy that it takes a lot of time to get around.”  I imagine, with the throngs of people crowding the city, that he is correct.

My dad had discovered the Festival about forty years ago, before it became hugely popular. Daveen and I have been to the Fringe four or five times. Since most of the performances are an hour long, it is possible to attend four or five shows a day, and in. prior years we’ve always enjoyed most of the shows we’ve attended.

In the past, I’ve always picked the shows we’ll see based upon the reviews conveniently available in festival related newspapers distributed throughout Edinburgh. This time, alas, the reviews had migrated on-line. While that might seem like progress, I found it more difficult to navigate the multitude of information. Rather than make it easier to find which shows to see based on reviews, I found it nearly impossible.

Unfortunately, as a result, I must admit that I thoroughly enjoyed only two of the more than twenty performances we attended. And the two best shows, including Nina Conti, an outstanding ventriloquist, were both on our final day and were both recommended by a friend.

As I’ve written before, whenever I’m asked if I am looking forward to a vacation, my answer is that I try to stay focused on the present moment, so I never really “look forward.”

Well, I now realize that in fact I was looking forward to Edinburgh  — how else could I have been so disappointed?

I’m remembering the closing line in a letter written to me more than sixty years ago.

“Dreams are extremely fragile outside the womb of the mind.”

To that I would add “Amen.”

Now I’m going to focus on USC football.  I’m dreaming that they will win the national championship this coming season.

Alan