I thought my local newspaper had two weather sections yesterday...

...until I realized one of them was from January 22. Good thing, too, as it was forecasting a low of -2 on Saturday. "Our pipes are going to freeze again!" I shrieked to my wife, who calmly pointed out to me the date at the top of the page. Oh well, it was a Thursday; I got that part of it right. How it has avoided the recycling bin all this time is beyond me.

But what was more interesting to me was the article on the front page of the section. Apparently the play "Wicked" was ending its 3 1/2 year run in Chicago on that Sunday, the 25th. It must be a good play because it's attracted a following whose loyalty would make Jerry Garcia envious. One 15 year-old girl had seen it 19 times and another had seen it 41 times! And the second girl was planning on seeing it four more times before it closed. She had already seen it twice in one day, four times in one week and twice every week for nine weeks in a row. She is home-schooled (red flag right there) and had been accompanied by her mother each time. (The mom saw "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat" 18 times, 16 with Donny Osmond in the lead role--another red flag.) The tickets cost anywhere from $25 to $100, so at the very least the two of them spent $2250 ( 45 times x 2 people x $25)! (This is coming from a guy whose wife owns a horse, by the way.) And if they've been going since the opening, which is unlikely, then they've been attending about once a week for 3 1/2 years. In contrast, I've only seen the "Godfather" about five times in the last 30 years and most of the time for free. That must be a hell of a play! How was I so unaware of it?

So what's next for these two, hitch-hiking around the country following "Wicked" on the road? I can just picture them outside the theater selling grilled cheese sandwiches in their bare feet.