Night at the Opera

This past Saturday evening, Sandy and I went to the Polk Theatre in downtown Lakeland for a live performance of Mozart’s comedic opera, “Cosi Fan Tutte” (translated, "Women are like that"). The opera was performed by Southeastern University’s “Southeastern Lyric Theatre” and featured Sandy’s cousin, Justin, as Don Alfonso, one of the lead parts. Neither of us had ever been to an opera or the historic Polk Theatre for that matter, so this gave us an opportunity to experience something new together.

Upon entering the beautifully restored, 1928 theatre, you could feel yourself go back in time a little. My thoughts went to some of the scenes from the films, “The Illusionist”, or “The Prestige”, where similar settings were portrayed.

The opera opened with a musical introduction by a live orchestra. We were sitting just a few rows from the front and the amazing sounds that were coming from the instruments of these well trained musicians impressed my ears. It was hard to believe that the sound I was hearing was being played live. The next two and a half hours would be accompanied by this pleasant sound.

Once the performers entered the stage for the beginning of the first act, I quickly discovered more of what the evening was going to be all about. One…much to my liking, the words were in English and two…the scene was being played out as a play, but with every word sung! See, going into this, I had no idea what to expect. So, these revelations were positive ones for both Sandy and I.

As the night progressed, I was amazed at how each performer would sing every single word of conversation. I was equally amazed at how they were able to remember every single word of conversation. It was certainly a concert and play combined, but almost could be looked at as a two and a half hour song. Much skill, talent, and training was exercised by each cast member.

Looking back, it was definitely a unique experience to take in and share with Sandy. As we were about to leave the parking lot at the end of the night, I reminded her of how we were just talking about wanting to be more creative with our dates…I said, “We definitely were this weekend”. She agreed.


I captured this image almost a year ago...I finally found a reason to use it in a post.

Love Letter In The Sand

When my Dad and Mom were down here in Florida to visit me a month ago, I went out on some nature shoots at Lake Parker with Dad as you have seen in previous posts. The first morning that I joined him at the lake, I found myself walking near the boat ramp and treading near the edge of the sandy bank.

It wasn’t a far venture for my mind to quickly figure up something special to do for my girl. When I saw the “sandy” area beside the boat ramp, I immediately got the idea to write a “Love Letter In The Sand” to my lady, “Sandy“. Once completed, I photographed my message. After I returned home that morning, I downloaded the image and emailed it to Sandy at her job. Needless to say, it was a nice surprise for her.

This message of Love may be written in the sand, but I know that the foundation of our relationship is built on a solid rock, which is Christ Jesus. I see my relationship with Sandy as a house that is being built by God…with His materials. This is something that I have prayed and I believe God is doing it.