Lucky, Blessed, and Fortunate

I was listening to a show on the radio today talking about mental health and the war in Ukraine. Basically, the experts said as a collective whole, we've been under a lot of stress for an extended period of time with the pandemic and now the Ukraine invasion. Among other things, one point discussed was the guilt felt of living a normal life while so much suffering is going on. The advice here was to do what you can in your sphere of influence and live your life. Even people in dire circumstances do what they can to live and celebrate life. So with this in mind, I will continue writing about everyday things--good things (you can get the difficult news in another place) and try not to feel guilty. Thus begins my series of Lucky, Blessed, and Fortunate.

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I know that I am lucky, blessed, and fortunate that I recently went to see Jesus Christ Superstar at the Kennedy Center, an iconic landmark in Washington, D.C. It has world-class productions, and you often see the President and other celebrities attending performances there. Any time I visit an iconic place, I get excited, and this time was no exception. Ward used to go regularly to the Kennedy Center with his mother to see the National Symphony when he was in high school, but he hadn't been back since then. So besides seeing the rock opera, it was also a nostalgic visit for him. 

We went with Miss Landers and her friend, who treated us to the tickets. Ward did the arduous task of maneuvering through difficult traffic, so all I had to do was sit back and enjoy the trip. I'm not sure we would have made it if it had been up to me. I don't like driving even in the best of circumstances, but Ward always delivers. 

The production was fantastic. It was an hour and a half of nonstop music and drama. I knew most of the songs by heart, but I had never seen it as the opera it was intended to be. Seeing it this way brought new meaning to a very familiar story. What I didn't realize before this was that the play was told from the perspective of Judas. It all made better sense now. I remember when the album was first out, the adults around me saying that they were not happy that it ended with the crucifixion and not the following resurrection. Judas hanged himself before Jesus was hanged, so it makes sense that the story ended where it did.

We were seated in the balcony and got a good view of the beautiful lights in the ceiling.

It was a very enjoyable afternoon, and I'm proud to say that no one had to shush me from singing along too loudly, although there was a little humming under my mask. :)

The weather was nice that afternoon, so 
 we spent time on the terrace overlooking the Potomac River after the show.
That's Georgetown in the distance.