spritz and rip

last night i went to the opening performance of sfb's program six, which actually features other companies (national ballet of canada, nycb, and les ballets de monte-carlo; yes, a city with a population of 3,000 has a world-renowned ballet company). i flew solo, and sat down a few minutes before curtain to read the program, get myself in order, etc. i noticed that the audience in general edged on... well... older isn't quite right. for our hip, trendy, and 49-square mile city, we were bordering on ancient, but i didn't think much of it at the time. as the lights dimmed this octogenarian woman behind me started spraying perfume on herself (it smelled like lilies and baby powder: blech!) and then again DURING the performance. and she did it at the end of the evening, too.

even better, though, was her neighbor and male counterpart, who kept letting 'em rip (perhaps this is how she rationalized the perfume? or perhaps she hoped it would cover up the stench. alas, no) and giggling after every one. finally she said, "honey, you just can't do that! you need to say something or just stop!" so everytime he did it afterwards, he'd then say, "oops!" in this little kid's voice.

let me tell you, it's really hard not to breathe during a 2 hour and 5 minute performance, and i blame these two ballet goers on my congestion today.