An Evening at the Ballet! or Three Senior Couples having a Senior Moment.

Yesterday, we went to the ballet to see Swan Lake. Chris and I left the office early to see if we could pick up some tickets, at the box office, for friends of the Gibbons (Chuck and Laurie Johnson). The Johnsons are from the Dallas 4th Ward, where Chuck is currently serving as bishop. We were fortunate enough to find two tickets on the second row!! As it turned out, two seats next to them were empty, so after the first act Chris and I joined them.

The ballet was fantastic. The costumes were incredible and the sets, particularly the one of the ballroom, was exquisite.

It seemed to me that Swan Lake is a story of a queen trying to find a wife for her son. But despite all of the beautiful girls that are presented to him (including a seductress presented by none other than Satan himself, the prince falls in love with a swan, who turns into a beautiful girl at the end of the play.

The legend of the Swan-Maiden goes back for centuries, appearing in differing forms in both eastern and western literature. Women who turn into birds and vice versa were popular themes, and the swan was particularly favored due to its grace when swimming in the water.

This most revered of classical ballets did not appear in a blaze of glory, and even the exact origins of the ballet are uncertain. The music was composed by Tchaikovsky. The version of Swan Lake that we consider the "standard" today was in fact created after Tchaikovsky’s death and was greatly altered from the original concept. Many of the features of Swan Lake that we believe to be from the original production were the result of revisions after the first known version. Of course, all anyone has to go on are personal recollections and memoirs that were written a long time after the event and thus subject to some skepticism and much debate among scholars.

Here we are taking the Gibbons and the Johnsons to our famous deli, just before the ballet, and then standing outside the Theater with the Gibbons, Johnsons and the Irelands, who were with two of their children and their spouses.
A walk to the Deli
Outside the Theater

Now for the seniors.

At the end of the second act, the Masons, Gregorys and the Irelands thought the play was over and tried to leave the theater. I knew in a heartbeat what must have happened when I scanned the theater and found that they had all departed. So, I got on the telephone to try to catch them, but when I tried to tell Sam that there was still one act to go, he didn't believe me. He thought I was pulling his leg. In the meantime, all three of the senior couples were getting exasperated because the babuskas wouldn't give them back their coats. The babushas kept pointing upstairs (where the theater is) but they weren't getting the message. Finally, Narene saw her coat and pointed to it and one of the babuskas relented and gave it back to her. I am not sure what happened to the Gregorys or the Masons, but the Irelands did pick up on some signal and returned to the theater for the third act, which had just resumed. Hello!!

Now to be truthful, both the Johnsons and the Shepards thought the play had ended, as well. You see, at the end of the second act, a couple of women came on to the stage and gave some of the cast flowers. However, the swan and the leading man were not among those to receive flowers. That was our first clue. At the end of act two the dashing leading man ran through an open door in pursuit of his swan, which he had just noticed out of the corner of his eye. We tried to convince ourselves that the ending was plausible, but we weren't really convinced. It was while we were expressing our disappointment to the Gibbons, that they called for everyone to return to their seats for the final act, our second and somewhat convincing clue!!

During the first intermission, we heard and saw a young couple call our names. Low and behold it was Jason Jones and his wife Angela. Jason is the son of Connie and Jay Jones, our dear friends in the Allen 2 Ward. We knew Jason and Angela were coming to Moscow, and we expected to see them at church on Sunday, but we were quite surprised to see them at the ballet. Jason and Angela Jones, seen here with her father, with Chris, Johnsons and the Gibbons looking on.

Now in all the world, this town of 15 million people is perhaps one of the smallest places. You can run into people you know just about anywhere. Today (Saturday) we were out at Ismaylova, doing some shopping for Chris' birthday. Guess who we bumped into as we were leaving, Jason and Angela and her father, again!!!

Now it just doesn't stop there. Brother Johnson is an executive with Mary Kay Cosmetics, who just happens to be officed in the same building as the Area Presidency. It was on Chuck's first visit to Moscow that he heard that the church had an office on the 14th floor. He decided to check it out. This is when he found out President Gibbons, who he knew was in Moscow, was his new neighbor!!

On Friday (Chris' birthday), Jonathan and Whitney Snow were scheduled to arrive in Moscow. Jonathan has taken an internship with a company here in Moscow. We haven't yet connected, but he was the language instructor for all of the senior couples. So, we are all looking forward to a great reunion.

Well, Chris is calling for me. We need to be ready to jump into the car in few minutes. We are going out to dinner with the Gibbons tonight.

More later.