The Portsmouth performance really sparkled. The audience was small, but lively – they didn’t listen passively. Kirsten said Abner did better controlling the tempo this time, meaning he slowed it down whenever the logic of the story took a sudden surprising turn. Sometimes you need to give folks a little more time to see where you’re going, if you want them to follow you around the corner.
The next scheduled performance is in Milford, NH – about 4 days from now. Since the Milford show is a 4 pm matinee, I am hoping to add at least one children’s story to the repertoire between now and then. Maybe the one about Young Alice and the Biscuits …
After spending the night in Portsmouth, Kirsten drove me back to Exeter. I hated taking a ride during what is, after all, a walking tour. On the other hand, I didn’t want to push too hard these next few days. We did the Exeter-to-Portsmouth route yesterday; no sense covering the same ground twice.
Instead, we did Exeter-to-Epping – a distance of only 9 miles. Just to make it more sporting, we did it in the rain.
Abner thought it was funny that I had trouble climbing up even the slightest incline, on account of I couldn’t lean into it. Whenever I tried leaning forward, my spine threatened to unseat itself. Once I sneezed, and for a brief second I experienced weightlessness. It was as if my spine simply gave up all pretense of holding my top half upright, and at the same time, my legs buckled, and my crumpled up body just hung there in mid-air, waiting for gravity to click.
Fortunately, I managed to catch myself before the ground did.
Epping is on the Rockingham Recreational Rail Trail, which will take us straight in to Manchester. Looking forward to some nice, easy trail hiking for the next couple of days.