Goldsboro in the Rain

 

by Pa Rock

Road  Warrior

Yesterday was a very hard day on the road which involved waking up in Kansas City around four a.m., being shuttled to the new KCI airport by my son (and I WILL write more about that new facility at a future date - after I have had an opportunity to calm down), a flight from KC to Charlotte, NC, in which I was trapped in a middle seat and directly in front of the only crying baby on the entire plane, mass chaos at the Charlotte airport where chaos seems to be a normal part of its existence, and a short "hop" to Raleigh-Durham where I rented a car and drove on to Goldsboro in a torrential downpour that had many drivers using their flashers and pulling over to the side of the road to await the arrival of Jesus.

There were two high points in the day-long ordeal.  KCI has a new rule that if you are seventy-five you can keep your shoes on, so I qualified by three months - and I did have to show ID to prove my worthiness to keep my shoes on - AND - the car rental clerk and Hertz in Raleigh-Durham was one of the nicest and most considerate people that I have come across in any of my travels.  But, other than those two bright spots, the day sucked and then it rained!

I was in Goldsboro two years ago when a drama that I had written ("Crimes in Desolation"), was performed at Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, and I remembered from that experience that the town is laid out strangely and difficult to navigate.  The rain started to let up just about the time that I got to Goldsboro late yesterday afternoon, and I spent thirty minutes or so driving around looking for either my hotel or the Paramount Theatre - and found neither.  Finally I stopped at a Hardee's for supper and did got enough directions to find my hotel.  Later I discovered that the Paramount Theatre, where this year's Macy play ("The Shine from Dead Man's Bottom") is being performed, is within walking distance of that Hardees.

This morning I set out from the hotel with the address of the Paramount Theatre and a couple of sets of competing  directions - again in the rain.   It took about an hour for all of the directions to eventually fail, and I stopped and asked for further directions a couple of more times as the rain continued.  Finally I ran into a wonderful old man (who was probably younger than me) who decided to give me a beak and tell me how to get there - and a block or two later I was in the "historic district" of the town and was able to park right in front of the beautiful Paramount Theatre.  (It's been years and years since I was in Boulder, Colorado, and it may have changed considerably in that time, but the historic district of Goldsboro reminded me of a trip I once took to downtown Boulder.)

The cast met there last night and assembled the set, and for the next couple of nights they will rehearse at the theatre and then have actual performances on Friday and Saturday nights.  I had intended to go last night and watch the set being brought in, but I was too done-in from the rain and opted instead to stay at the hotel.

Being a pushy person by nature, I walked across the street to the theatre entrance this morning.  There was a nice poster for "Shine" on the front window - with my name on it!  I peeked in and saw a fellow standing in the lobby - so I opened the door and asked if I could come in and look around, and he consented.  It turns out that my "host" was Jim Grant, the venue manager, and he gave me a personal tour.

The Paramount was built in 1882, and served both as a vaudeville house as well as a movie theatre over the years.  Sadly, the original theatre burned to the ground in 2005, but an exact replica of the original was soon built in its place with nearly 500 cushy seats and a great stage.  Today the venue primarily hosts live productions from the community.

Some wealthy patrons donated a set (at least ten that I saw) of signed lithographs by artist Marc Chagall which are on display int the balcony section of the theatre, (the "Chagall Wall"), and there are also many spectacular framed photographs of the theatre and community on display on the other interior walls of the theatre.  One featured local celebrities, and right in the center was one I recognized - Andy Griffith.  I asked the manager about that, and he told me that young Andy Griffith had been a teacher at the local high school.  Later, back at the hotel, I "googled" Andy and Goldsboro and learned that in his pre-Hollywood days, "Andrew Griffith" had been the music and dramatics teacher at the high school, and that he had also started the school's marching band.

A marching band!  What a great idea.  It probably kept all of the local kids out of the pool halls!

It's finally quit raining, so I feel compelled to get out of the hotel and go somewhere.  Perhaps supper at Chez Burger King! - and then off to watch tonight's rehearsal.

More tomorrow!