Ok, it's the first day of my "I'm not doing anything at all for three days straight!" Labor Day weekend, and already by noon I've done more than I meant to do all weekend!
I met up with Adam, Karen, and Mike for breakfast pretty early this morning. I love being up early on a Saturday...the freeway is deserted, the streets by the mall are all deserted, and my complex is quiet. Unusual and very nice.
It was great to see my friends and catch up a bit. During the conversation, the subject of the Sawdust Festival came up, and they mentioned that they had gone last night. I thought it had closed last week with the other Laguna festivals, and was excited to realize that I still had a chance to go. There's an artist that's been out there for years, Ron Rodecker, and I've bought a few of his pieces over the years. There was an article in the Orange County Register last week about him, and about how this is his last year at the Sawdust Festival because he's moving to Northern California. I thought I'd missed out on the opportunity to buy one last piece, but no!
So of course I jumped in my car and headed down to Laguna. I was early enough to get a parking spot right in front, and the Festival was just opening as I arrived. As I was walking up to the ticket window, a nice older lady offered me an extra ticket that her group happened to have. I thanked her sincerely and she beamed. "Well, you look like a sweetheart," she said. "I'm glad to give it to you."
All righty! I took my free ticket and headed in.
The first thing I did, actually, was run into an old friend from high school. "Brian!! I can't believe it! I haven't seen you in years and years! You look exactly the same!" He looked at me, not with recognition, but with, I don't know...trepidation, maybe. And then his wife walked up. "Brian, who is this? How do you know her?" She was kinda annoyed. "Brian, don't you remember me?" I said. "You asked me to prom, for heaven's sake!" Silence. His wife glared at him, then at me. "Well...I did turn him down..." I said weakly.
And then, I'm ashamed to say, I waved goodbye, turned and ran.
End of happy high school reunion.
Anyway, I found Ron Rodecker's booth and chatted with him for a while. He's kind and interesting, and I'll miss him at the Sawdust Festival. But he said he's very much looking forward to moving. I told him how much I enjoy his paintings, and he said the greatest compliment is someone hanging his art on their walls. Perhaps, he suggested, I could someday move it into a baby's room!
I bought two pictures...I was only going to buy one, but felt kind of sad that this was my last chance, so I splurged out a bit. He very kindly signed them for me! And then, most exciting of all, he handed me a piece of paper he had been drawing on. "Here," he said, "I drew this for you." I thanked him profusely and he said, "Well, thank you for standing in my booth and brightening it up for a few minutes."
Awww...I'm really going to miss him!
I walked around the Festival for a bit. The weather was cool and clear, and the grounds were pretty deserted. A few locals strolling about with their coffee, and most of the artists were in their booths (with their coffee!). I chatted with several of them. I've always enjoyed the Sawdust Festival more than the other art festivals; everyone there is very friendly.
After I left the festival (and my prime parking spot!) I went to the Tustin library for a few books. Since I haven't used the library in aeons, I needed to get a new card. As I was signing up for it I chatted with the clerk about my time at Heritage Park, and he waived the new card fee! "Charge a former library employee? Nah, we take care of our own."
Cool deal! Who knew that I'd still be reaping County benefits.
So after a very full morning, I"m back home. And as I walked through the door, Cosette immediately reminded me that in my very full morning, I forgot to buy her food.
So back out I go!
And THEN I'm relaxing. No, really.
Posted by Lesley at September 4, 2004 11:54 AM