If you’ve met William, you know that he’s always had an active imagination and a flair for the dramatic. He put those attributes to good use last year, when the Assistant Principal at Booksin, Ms. Brush, started a drama program and put together a performance of Peter Pan Junior. William eagerly signed up and nabbed the part of Noodler, one of Captain Hook’s murderous pirates.

The play was a smashing success, and this fall, Ms. Brush decided to stage another musical: Annie Kids. William auditioned once again, and this time he got a bigger part: Rooster Hannigan, the male antagonist. In the play, Rooster, his girlfriend, and his sister attempt to steal $50,000 from Annie’s would-be adoptive father, Oliver Warbucks, by posing as Annie’s real parents and claiming the reward he had offered.

There were two performances of the show with William’s cast: one in the evening, and one during the school day for the assembled student body. The photo album contains photos from both shows, as well as video clips of William’s scenes. As you can see from the pictures, William attacked his role with great gusto. If you’re interested in watching the full, forty-five minute play, there’s a YouTube video I can share privately.

The timing of the performance was fortuitous, because it happened to be scheduled for the week after Grandma Flack moved to California, which allowed her to attend. The move was a culmination of a two-month process that required Julie to make no fewer than four round-trips to Nebraska and back to prepare. On the last trip, she oversaw movers as they packed up her mother’s things and loaded them onto a truck, and then flew back with her to California.

Grandma Flack planned to move into her own apartment in a senior living apartment building, but that wasn’t feasible until her belongings arrived. So, she stayed with us in the meantime, using our bedroom while Julie, William, and I camped out upstairs; we finally had a chance to use the sofa bed we’ve been moving around since 1994.

Grandma’s furniture was delivered about a week after she arrived in San José, and we took a few days to unpack and put everything in order before she moved in. She’s settling in now and has met a few nice people so far; we’re optimistic that it will be a positive environment for her that frees her from some of the day-to-day hassles of living on her own. The fact that she’s just five minutes away, and will be able to come over to visit as often as she wants, is an added bonus.

Gallery: Annie Kids