Word of the Day: scupper I woke up extra early today to give myself plenty of time for doing things I needed to do. I packed nearly everything packable in an hour and a half. And then I went to Aaron’s to say goodbye to my beloved Hamiltons. My dear, dear Hamiltons, how I’ll miss them so. They’re all so very kind and good to me. I don’t know what I was feeling when I was there, but I nearly cried as I was saying goodbye to Aaron. What on earth are we going to do without each other? I suppose we’ll soon find out. Two others came to visit me: Lee and JD. Not at the same time, of course, but nearly one after the other. Lee and I, I’ve recently realized, have a strange relationship that I don’t always understand. I think I’m safe and fine, and then sometimes I think I’m mixed up in his fray of life. He has a seemingly orderly chaos that I usually can’t contend with. But I’m glad I was able to see the both of them before I left. I even went to see Laurel and the puppies [and her family] last night. This morning and all of today, I felt the emptiness that I used to feel when we were setting stage before our one-act competitions. There were things to do, places to be, things to occupy my mind and feelings. The few moments after the auditorium was quiet and we were being introduced, before the curtain parted and I was a different person, were extremely hard for me because during those few moments I felt helpless. There was absolutely nothing I could do at that moment to make things better or worse for anyone. My legs tingled, quite as they are beginning to do now, and I would pace back and forth backstage worrying about costumes, about lines, entrances, and cues, about the lighting and sound, not fixing on anything in particular except the fact that the time had come. That’s what I’m beginning to feel now. The time has come. 1 day to Rome.