Tagging Along with Friends

I was on an internet forum devoted to theatre this morning and read a post by someone who said he saw Wicked 16 times. "Not my favorite show," he clarified, "but when friends want to go I always seem to end up tagging along." Uh huh. This brings several questions to my not-yet-awake mind very quickly.

1) You have 16 friends who wanted to see Wicked?

2) You just tag along with your friends no matter what they do?

3) You have 16 friends?

I will admit that I used to cultivate friends the way Wilt Chamberlain cultivated one-night-stands, but as Alanis Morissette says "you live, you learn," so now I keep it down to just the trusted few. I hang with folks who would push me out of the way of a speeding car, not folks who might wave to me half-dazed if they saw me at a rave. At one time, yes, I had invitations nearly every night to go out to eat or to a movie or to one of those dorm room parties you don't come back from until three days later. But now, I choose my events with a little more clarity of focus. Yes, I saw Wicked. And yes, I enjoyed it. Yes, I could see it again, but...16 times? If I had long-lost relatives visiting from out of town who'd never seen theatre and needed a guide to explain what an usher is, I don't think I'd see anything 16 times. Maybe I'm just an old fart now, but I'd much rather stay home and watch reruns of Frasier than see a show, any show, 16 times. Of course, if Matt were in the show, I'd see it 16 times. I figure that goes without saying, but I don't mind saying it, so I hope you didn't mind reading it.

As a matter of fact, I've now seen the HBO First Look episode featuring Stuck on You 14 times. And I did it all at home on the couch in my jammies, without having to tag along with friends.