"Those who do not complain are never pitied."
February 29, 2016
Dear Jane,
I write to you on this, the twenty-ninth of February, a day that will not come again for another four years. You may be inquiring as to the reason behind this, for I dare say you would not have been familiar with the term, "leap year" in your lifetime. As you may very well know by now, I have never been known as a woman of science but from what I understand (or rather, from my recent "google search") a leap year occurs every four years or so because the earth does not orbit the sun in exactly 365 days. Forgive me, for that was a very vague and rather boring explanation. Luckily for you, I know nothing more on this subject so I shall say nothing more about it. You have my word!
Since we last spoke, the weather has become much warmer and very unseasonable for the month of February. It is very odd for one not to need their cloak on a February afternoon, but that is exactly what happened today. It was nearly 60 degrees outside!
You should know that I have had the most exciting (and tiring) day today. It all happened rather suddenly, but I want you to know that I have rejoined the "Miss Nelson is Missing" tour and I am once again playing the dual roles of Miss Nelson and Viola Swamp. (You may remember that this is the tour I was on from January until June of last year.) As you very well know, this is a position I never again thought I would find myself in, but here I am all the same. I am sure you are wondering how I came to find myself in this unforeseen employment. I shall tell you. Unfortunately, due to extreme vocal fatigue, the actress currently portraying Miss Nelson must now be on vocal rest for a spell, so I was asked to be her substitute for the month of March. As I mentioned before, it has all happened so quickly that it hasn't truly set in yet! I received the call on Friday last, rehearsed on Sunday afternoon for a mere three hours and then was thrown into a 9:30 am show this very morning. It has been a whirlwind experience to be sure!
As if stepping into a role that I have not looked at for a year was not enough, my morning journey to the garage to meet the cast at the big, red, devil of a van was exceedingly treacherous. As I was approaching the Hunter's Point Station in Queens, the train stopped completely! Mind you I had already been on the train since 5:15 am and there was no time to lose as we were told to meet promptly at 6:20 am on the Upper West Side. That being said, due to the unreliable transit of New York City, I had to get off my train early at Grand Central Station, run up the escalator (possibly the most repulsive part of my journey) and hail- yes, hail-a taxi cab. (Surprisingly, this was not as difficult as I thought it would be.) After several failed attempts at acquiring an Uber car, I successfully found a taxi coachman to drive me to my destination. Pray, if I had had to rely on a post chaise I would never had made it on time! By some miracle, I was only eight minutes late, although I was forced to pay $21.80 to get there and that is in addition to what I already had to pay for my metro card. As you can imagine, I was extremely vexed.
Fortunately, we arrived at the venue with no further delays and put on a tremendous show at the sweetest, little elementary school in New York State somwhere. I remembered my lines and had such fun performing my role again. The new cast was very helpful in assisting me on stage and I was very thankful for their support.
Now, I must thank you for reading this, Jane. In truth, it felt very good to get all of that complaining off my chest for as Mrs. Bennet (of Pride & Prejudice) once lamented, "Those who do not complain are never pitied," and I would be telling a falsehood if I did not admit to enjoying a little pity from friends every now and again.
And now, Jane, I am off to attend a book talk given by a wonderful author named Claire Harman who wrote a book called, Jane's Fame. I am sure you can guess who it is about! Before I forget, I am also proud to say that I am officially a member of the Jane Austen Society of North America. Is this not splendid news? I am so looking forward to meeting other Janeites in the New York area.
Until next time!
Yours Faithfully,
Amanda
Dear Jane,
I write to you on this, the twenty-ninth of February, a day that will not come again for another four years. You may be inquiring as to the reason behind this, for I dare say you would not have been familiar with the term, "leap year" in your lifetime. As you may very well know by now, I have never been known as a woman of science but from what I understand (or rather, from my recent "google search") a leap year occurs every four years or so because the earth does not orbit the sun in exactly 365 days. Forgive me, for that was a very vague and rather boring explanation. Luckily for you, I know nothing more on this subject so I shall say nothing more about it. You have my word!
Since we last spoke, the weather has become much warmer and very unseasonable for the month of February. It is very odd for one not to need their cloak on a February afternoon, but that is exactly what happened today. It was nearly 60 degrees outside!
You should know that I have had the most exciting (and tiring) day today. It all happened rather suddenly, but I want you to know that I have rejoined the "Miss Nelson is Missing" tour and I am once again playing the dual roles of Miss Nelson and Viola Swamp. (You may remember that this is the tour I was on from January until June of last year.) As you very well know, this is a position I never again thought I would find myself in, but here I am all the same. I am sure you are wondering how I came to find myself in this unforeseen employment. I shall tell you. Unfortunately, due to extreme vocal fatigue, the actress currently portraying Miss Nelson must now be on vocal rest for a spell, so I was asked to be her substitute for the month of March. As I mentioned before, it has all happened so quickly that it hasn't truly set in yet! I received the call on Friday last, rehearsed on Sunday afternoon for a mere three hours and then was thrown into a 9:30 am show this very morning. It has been a whirlwind experience to be sure!
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| View from the Taxi... |
As if stepping into a role that I have not looked at for a year was not enough, my morning journey to the garage to meet the cast at the big, red, devil of a van was exceedingly treacherous. As I was approaching the Hunter's Point Station in Queens, the train stopped completely! Mind you I had already been on the train since 5:15 am and there was no time to lose as we were told to meet promptly at 6:20 am on the Upper West Side. That being said, due to the unreliable transit of New York City, I had to get off my train early at Grand Central Station, run up the escalator (possibly the most repulsive part of my journey) and hail- yes, hail-a taxi cab. (Surprisingly, this was not as difficult as I thought it would be.) After several failed attempts at acquiring an Uber car, I successfully found a taxi coachman to drive me to my destination. Pray, if I had had to rely on a post chaise I would never had made it on time! By some miracle, I was only eight minutes late, although I was forced to pay $21.80 to get there and that is in addition to what I already had to pay for my metro card. As you can imagine, I was extremely vexed.
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| Back in Room 207! |
Now, I must thank you for reading this, Jane. In truth, it felt very good to get all of that complaining off my chest for as Mrs. Bennet (of Pride & Prejudice) once lamented, "Those who do not complain are never pitied," and I would be telling a falsehood if I did not admit to enjoying a little pity from friends every now and again.
And now, Jane, I am off to attend a book talk given by a wonderful author named Claire Harman who wrote a book called, Jane's Fame. I am sure you can guess who it is about! Before I forget, I am also proud to say that I am officially a member of the Jane Austen Society of North America. Is this not splendid news? I am so looking forward to meeting other Janeites in the New York area.
Until next time!
Yours Faithfully,
Amanda
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