Coming to the end of Round I (or the 'two a days' as I like to call them), we will have seen 103 dancers perform. It's still a mystery how many competitors will get to move on to the second round - that number is a closely guarded secret, or more likely, a fixed number is not desirable because it hems in the judges. Without a fixed number moving onto Round II, they can be more flexible in including competitors they want to reward.



This next section of this blog will make much more sense and be much more fun if you read everything in quotations marks with a soft, dripping, southern accent. Be sure to end each quotation as if you've asked a question. Southern people's voices always go up in octave at the end of each conversational pod. It's a conversational technique that keeps things flowing.



I've heard so much artful small talk this week that it's a lesson in itself. Almost every encounter overheard includes a reference to the weather, to family, to the competition, all tinged with a bit of gossip - not malicious - more like, "Did you hear that Mary Lou may have to have her fingernails removed? Lord, I hope she will be Ok." Then there are formal goodbyes - along the line, of "It's been so good to see you all." (You all is singular or plural, remember). "We have to get together soon." with the alternative closing of: "You tell your sweet _________ hello for me." The blank is usually a family member in the same generation as the person who initiated the goodbye ritual. Younger people use Yes, Ma'm and "No Sir" routinely during these encounters. Little old ladies are particularly good at this exchange, but men also excell at it. I saw a group of three ladies stand directly in front of the interior door into the Ladies Room and carry on like this for at least 2 minutes. It never occurred to them they were blocking the door. No wonder people from elsewhere pull out their hair. These people have all the time in the world to practice the art of civility. Watching all of this makes me realize how isolationistic we heathens have become.



Much more interesting are the people we have been directly meeting. By far the most surprising are the country couple from Cleveland, Mississippi - "You, know, we live on the Delta" was how the woman introduced herself in the kind of an accent you could spoon over ice cream. She cooks lunch everyday (still) for six people including her husband, her children and some grandchildren. "They just like my cookin', and this way they don't eat that fast food." You would not pick this couple out of a line-up as people coming to every performance. I do find it amusing that they eat at the same restaurant between the performances every day. When I inquired why they didn't try new places, her reply was: "I just like it; it's the food I make, but with a twist." The restaurant they like is in the museum, and she confided that they are slowly making their way around the place, a little bit at a time.



They are also rating the dancers (as we are), and we have been having some lively discussions about what we like/don't like about what we see. I think we've been too lenien't in awarding our *'s - which indicates we think they will move forward. All our favorites are not going to make it to Round II. We have been having fun doing this, though. The group of us Mezzaniners who all visit among one another quip that we are going to be sending down our recommendations to the judges.



Our evening seatmates are a couple of native Jacksonians who have been generous with their restaurant recommendations as well as suggesting things we can do in the area. Alec in particular is very interesting. He's an English professor at the local junior college. He volunteers as a docent at the Eudora Welty house (yes, this is her home town), and from what he has let drop has his finger in many cultural activities in Jackson. His wife, Kay, is very friendly. I do get the feeling she still works full time, and this competition (coming every night to performances) is wearing her out. She left early last time pleading tiredness.



Many other people are now recognizing us and speaking to us when they see us. It's fascinating how people will form themselves into a group simply based on propinquity. You can see it happen everywhere - especially when people seat themselves in the same place over and over again. (Think church, classrooms, work cubicles, meetings and auditoriums!) By the time we leave here, I'll bet I will have added another few readers to this blog. I wonder how much more I will know about these individual people before I leave. That's interesting in itself. I'm sure this talent, curse, ability, whatever you can call it, will rear up and folks will start telling me all sorts of things.