LADY PANTHERS FALL;  JONES STUMBLES

     There was a rockin' crowd in the stands in Jasper on Saturday to watch the Corydon Central Lady Panthers take on Vincennes Lincoln in the high school basketball regional.  Larry Ragland, a.k.a. "Rags," is the coach of the Lady Panthers.  Rags has been my bosom bud since we were twelve years old, so of course I was on hand to cheer on his team.  Unfortunately, the Lady Panthers got off to a sluggish start.  They fell behind by 16 points.  They came storming back in the second half, and had an opportunity to tie the score with just seconds left.  They couldn't do it, though, and ended up falling, 65-60.  

     I did have a lot of fun cheering on Rags' team this year.  The sectional victory was a special moment.  I congratulate Coach Ragland and all of his players on a successful season.  

     Yesterday, I did go to audition for "The Full Monty" at CenterStage in Louisville.  That was somewhat of a mixed bag.  The advertisement that I saw said to prepare a one-minute monologue and sixteen bars of a broadway-style musical for the audition.   As it turned out, there was a huge crowd of people there to audition. 

     For my monologue, I memorized a passage from The Invisible Man, by H.G. Wells.  For my musical selection, I obtained and practiced up on "The Sidestep," from The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas.   When I went to the auditions, I felt very confident about my monologue, and moderately confident about my musical selection.  And of course, I was quite confident in my willingness to shed my duds in front of an audience.  What I didn't realize, though, was that there would be a dance audition.  

     I fancy myself to be able to move pretty well on a dance floor, but this audition was totally unexpected and foreign to me.  The leader demonstrated a series of steps and moves, and then asked us to follow along with her.  I felt that I was doing fine as I was doing the moves with the instructor.  The problem came when she stopped doing it, and instructed us to proceed on without her.  I had no idea that was going to happen, and I had made no effort to memorize the steps.  My attempt to reconstruct them was something of a disaster.   I must tell you that it was a truly humbling moment.  

     In any event, the moment was saved, somewhat, after I performed my monologue.  I think that the director was impressed, and he asked me if I might like to be in Angels in America, which will be produced next fall.  I will probably pursue that option further.  Angels in America is a serious drama, with no singing or dancing in it.