Tonight we closed out our stay in Miami. It has been quite a week here. The weather has been great and we have all enjoyed having our days free to explore the city and beaches. The shows have gone well but we would have liked to have had bigger crowds. Those who showed up really seemed to have a good time.
Tonight the "Annie" understudy went on for the first time. She did a really great job as did our child
swing. Everyone was really excited about having our first "understudies" go on. I have to admit I was excited but not as much as everyone else. I guess I have come to accept that this is merely part of the job.
Miami is a unique city in many ways but also just another big city in others. While it is not one of my favorite places I have enjoyed the week of sunshine and short sleeves. The thing I found most striking about Miami is the contradictions. Miami has an incredibly wealthy population with million dollar mansions visible at almost ever
y turn and very exclusive high rise condominiums everywhere. But in the shadows of those big buildings and big bucks lies one of the largest homeless populations I have ever seen! At almost every turn I would see someone living out of a suitcase or a plastic bag. On one of my walks to the theatre I came upon a homeless community. In "Annie" they call in "Hooverville." I don't know if it has a name here in Miami but it was a street whose sidewalks were lined with homeless who had made their "homes" on the hard concrete. A street with sidewalks on both sides with chain link fences running along the sidewalks to keep people out of 
the parking/construction sites that lay beyond them. The homeless hung belongings from the fences to provide shade and to "mark" their boundaries. It was one of the saddest sights I have ever seen. It is my prayer that we won't see these pop up everywhere like we did during the Great Depression.
I witnessed another moving event today on the Metromover, the "elevated train" that runs through downtown in Miami. The homeless and low income use this train to get around and to get out of the heat. A man who appe
ared to be down on his luck sat in the corner eating his dinner. Another man who was also down on his luck and probably homeless got on the train and sat next to the man eating. After a few moments the man offered some of his food to this stranger who eagerly accepted it. It was incredibly touching.
Tommorrow we leave Miami and drive up the coast to Daytona Beach for two days on the beach! It's a tough life but somebody has to do it!
Tonight the "Annie" understudy went on for the first time. She did a really great job as did our child
swing. Everyone was really excited about having our first "understudies" go on. I have to admit I was excited but not as much as everyone else. I guess I have come to accept that this is merely part of the job.Miami is a unique city in many ways but also just another big city in others. While it is not one of my favorite places I have enjoyed the week of sunshine and short sleeves. The thing I found most striking about Miami is the contradictions. Miami has an incredibly wealthy population with million dollar mansions visible at almost ever
y turn and very exclusive high rise condominiums everywhere. But in the shadows of those big buildings and big bucks lies one of the largest homeless populations I have ever seen! At almost every turn I would see someone living out of a suitcase or a plastic bag. On one of my walks to the theatre I came upon a homeless community. In "Annie" they call in "Hooverville." I don't know if it has a name here in Miami but it was a street whose sidewalks were lined with homeless who had made their "homes" on the hard concrete. A street with sidewalks on both sides with chain link fences running along the sidewalks to keep people out of 
the parking/construction sites that lay beyond them. The homeless hung belongings from the fences to provide shade and to "mark" their boundaries. It was one of the saddest sights I have ever seen. It is my prayer that we won't see these pop up everywhere like we did during the Great Depression.I witnessed another moving event today on the Metromover, the "elevated train" that runs through downtown in Miami. The homeless and low income use this train to get around and to get out of the heat. A man who appe
ared to be down on his luck sat in the corner eating his dinner. Another man who was also down on his luck and probably homeless got on the train and sat next to the man eating. After a few moments the man offered some of his food to this stranger who eagerly accepted it. It was incredibly touching.Tommorrow we leave Miami and drive up the coast to Daytona Beach for two days on the beach! It's a tough life but somebody has to do it!
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