"Guess Who's Coming to Dinner?" at Geva Theatre Center

When Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner was released in 1967, half a century ago, the issue of an interracial couple being depicted on screen was revolutionary. In fact, until that year, when the Supreme Court decided Loving v. Virginia, anti-miscegenation laws were still on the books in many states. Virginia’s Racial Integrity Act of 1924 was designed to maintain white supremacy, and criminalized marriages between whites and non-whites. Who would have thought that, fifty years later, America’s racial landscape would still be so divided, and that this play’s issue would still resonate. In his pre-show talk, Artistic Director Mark Cuddy reminded us that as recently as 2013, a Cheerios commercial with a mixed race couple elicited racist rhetoric from a (what one hopes is just a) small segment of the population.

I took my friend Glen to opening night, and we were both enthralled (as was the rest of the audience) with the incredible set – remarks ran mostly along the lines of, “can I live there?” Like many who know the film, starring Katharine Hepburn, Spencer Tracy, Sidney Poitier, and Hepburn’s forgettable niece, Katharine Houghton, I was worried that my memories of the movie would interfere with my enjoyment of the show (especially since I’m such a fan of Hepburn that I have a whole shelf in my library devoted to books about or by her, and I have every publicly available movie of hers (and some not…) on either VHS or DVD). But Director Skip Greer did a great job casting the roles, especially Linda Gravatt, in the scene-stealing role of Tilly Binks. And it’s always a pleasure, of course, to see Rochester’s own Brigitt Markusfeld (Skip’s wife) on stage. And many will remember the wonderful Nora Cole from other recent Geva productions.

pre-show toast

Todd Kreidler’s stage adaptation has made subtle changes that make the plot more convincing in 2017, even though it is still set in 1967. But one of the central themes of the play still asks: can love conquer prejudices? In this simplistic tale, the answer is, “yes.” Let’s hope, in 2017, we can work toward the answer in real life being the same. 

Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner runs through March 12. And if you go, it's worth taking your playbill home to have time to read Jenni Werner's (Literary Director / Resident Dramaturg) thoughtful essay about the play and prejudice. For tickets, visit www.gevatheatre.org

The Curiosity Shop

Before Charlie’s Uncle Fred died, he gave us his grandfather clock. It had been Charlie’s great grandfather’s clock, and stood in his office, which became Charlie’s grandfather’s office, which became Uncle Fred’s office. We were living in New Jersey at the time, and Charlie had no intention of taking over the family office! It was a little the worse for wear, so we had Tichenor Furniture, in Honeoye Falls, pick it up for restoration. They couldn’t repair the mechanism, so they recommended the Curiosity Shop, which we’d never heard of, naturally. When it came time to deliver it to us, they gave us a quote of about $600 for delivery. But then we got a call from Mike Kuyt, who owned the Curiosity Shop, saying he didn’t really trust a shipper to unload and set up the clock properly, and that he’d be in the area, so he could bring it by personally. “In the area” is subjective, because he was actually on his way to Delaware (to fix the tower clock at St. Andrew’s School, where Dead Poet’s Society was filmed) – nowhere close to us! And I steeled myself when he reminded us of the original delivery quote and added, “but since I delivered it personally…” expecting the amount to double. In fact, it was less! Several months later, the chime was out of synch with the time, and when I called him for help, he said he’d be “in the area” again and could fix it. This time, we made him stay for dinner and the night, and I’m glad we did, because it was embarrassingly easy to reset, and he probably could have walked me through it over the phone in a couple of minutes. All I could think was that he was the personification of integrity.

Dave & Mike

Charlie also helped!

Our clock is over 100 years old, and one of the cables recently snapped. In addition, no matter what the hour, it always seemed to strike 8. So we recently had Mike (who has since retired) and his son Dave (who has taken over the business) pick up the mechanism for an overhaul. When they returned to install it, we reminisced about his earlier visits, and the impression he’d obviously made on me, and he thanked me, because he truly values his relationships with his clients.

The Curiosity Shop, inconspicuously located at 145 Norris Drive in Rochester, is dedicated to the craftsmanship of clock-making and repair. I asked him about his story for this blog, and his own understated words are more eloquent than any I could compose:

“In 1979 I was getting tired of working trick work at Kodak. I rotated all three shifts and worked in total darkness on heavy production machinery. My wife Julie and I decided to open a clock and gift shop (and named it “Curiosity Shop,” in tribute to Charles Dickens). Almost immediately, people started bringing in clocks to be repaired. We told the customers that we did not repair clocks. After that went on for a while, Julie finally said to me, "why don't you learn to repair clocks?" I walked next door to Gold Circle bought a $5 red tool box and some basic tools and started taking clocks apart and trying to figure out how they worked. I eventually got connected with an older gentleman who knew how to repair clocks and apprenticed with him. Over the years I learned in various ways and eventually became certified by AWI based on the Swiss standards.

My career in clocks essentially has three parts. I repair clocks that are owned by individuals, have repaired and restored tower clocks in municipal buildings, churches, and cathedrals, and have designed and fabricated many wooden gear clock sculptures. My wife Julie and I have operated Curiosity Shop for 37 years. We have seen good times and bad. In 1989, Julie had a major cerebral hemorrhage and subsequent brain surgery. Because of factors relating to that and for other reasons, we lost our retail business in 1995 and declared bankruptcy. We were left with just a small repair shop on Norris Drive that had no value to the courts and a lot of debt. Julie was severely disabled for a number of years after that. She was denied disability…. She was also not able to collect unemployment because NYS said we opted to close the business. Our 15 employees all collected unemployment but Julie did not.

Mike with Pillars Clock

Now that I write this, I'm thinking this should be more about her than me. With three young children to support and care for, it was a difficult time. In spite of her enormous challenges, she insisted on working at what she could every day. She pushed and pushed and pushed and with no help from therapists or anyone but me, over the years she became productive and found ways to get things done in spite of her cognitive reasoning, short term memory and visual deficits. She is an amazing person. She still has a difficult time remembering things and reasoning. When we go out to eat, I read her the menu and she often picks the same thing that I do for expediency. Every day we wake up she asks what day it is, she can't remember. In spite of all that I have come to understand that she has a kind of wisdom that goes beyond what the vast majority of people have. She has an incredibly deep understanding of the important things in life without necessarily being able to articulate that succinctly with words. Her life experiences have made her more, not less…. Julie is the real story here.”

Pillars Clock at
Artisan Works

another clock at
Artisan Works

Mike used to make clocks (two are on display at Artisan Works), and he remains one of only two or three people in Rochester certified as a fine-mechanical watchmaker. The Curiosity Shop remains very busy, which prompted an apology from Mike about the length of time it had taken to complete our repair, even though we hadn’t minded the absence. Mike now spends time on his hobbies (flying a Cesna, playing bass in a rock band, Friends who Jam, along with Dave on guitar) and enjoying life with his wife.

If you need a clock or watch repaired, the Curiosity Shop is definitely the place to go!

TEDx at Allendale Columbia

Like most people, I suspect, I’d never been to a TED or TEDx talk in person – my only experience with them has been watching snippets on youtube. The most memorable one I’d seen was one that explained why most of us tie our shoes the wrong way, and now, every time I tie my shoes, I struggle against my instincts in order to tie them properly!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zAFcV7zuUDA

I applied to attend the upcoming TEDx Rochester (yes, you have to apply to be in the audience!) and was told I am on the wait-list, but in the meantime, Charlie and I got spots at the fifth annual TEDx at Allendale Columbia School this past weekend. The theme was “I AM ___” and each of us was invited to fill in the blank when we registered. It was difficult to choose just one description!

Remarkably, the entire event is run by the students. According to Karyn Vella, Assistant Head for External Affairs, “they curate the speakers, manage all the fundraising and expenses, negotiate contracts, and they do all the set up and tear down.” I'm impressed! The presenters were a mix of community members and students, and unfortunately I couldn’t stay for the last session, but I was impressed with the ones I did attend. Several very poised students acted as emcees, and the day was introduced as one of “ideas worth spreading” (TED’s overarching theme): a day for curiosity, skepticism (nailed it!), and critical thinking, among others.

The first speaker was Dan Schneiderman, who produces the Rochester Mini Maker Faire (something else to put on the list of things to do…). He asked audience members to raise their hands if they considered themselves makers, and several went up. He then described activities like baking, making music, crafting, and asked the question again. Yes, it turned out we are all makers! It certainly gave us a new perspective for sharing the day’s events. Next, Andrew Davidhazy led us through an explanation of cameras that record time, and I felt like I almost understood it. It was one of those times when I was glad that the world is full of so many people with so many different passions and abilities, because without that diversity, our world would be a poorer place. We then watched a fascinating TED video on lifecode – this was definitely an idea whorth sharing!

https://www.ted.com/talks/juan_enriquez_we_can_reprogram_life_how_to_do_it_wisely

Jenn Poggi’s talk was about what she learned teaching photojournalism at RIT. The first thing was that she could divide her students into believers, undecided, and doubters, and that those categories were a good indicator of success. It reminded me that I had been a doubter of myself in a creative college course that I ended up dropping, and that fear of failure still prevents me from trying so many things. She also learned that the quality of the students’ work was directly correlated to the timing of their first drafts – the earlier, the better, of course. She related that some students were so reluctant to create a first draft that what they turned in as their final project was effectively just that. I’m sure we can all relate to that…

Linh Phillips, photo
from her website

The final presentation I attended was by Linh Phillips, aka Sir Rocha Says. She started her food and drink blog to help people “fall in love with Rochester,” and when you see the photos of meals she shares, you can’t help but want to dine immediately wherever she was. But her refreshing message was: “I am enough.” She urged us to “stop comparing your worst to everyone else’s best.” Sage advice, especially for those of us who frequently feel that we are not enough in some respect – not attractive enough, not smart enough, not talented enough…

I left Allendale Columbia feeling energized, thoughtful, and encouraged. And I had a great lunch provided by the AC Kitchen Ladies, Headwater Food Hub, Flour City Bread, Cheesy Eddie’s, and Hedonist Chocolate. I hope they do the event again next year, and I have some ideas for people who would make great presenters…