Happy Easter Weekend, Everybody! I’m looking forward to a trip to my parents’ place, deep in the East Texas Piney Woods of my youth. Planning to pack up four dogs and hit the highway on Sunday for some of Mama Bell’s good old home cooking—the recipes that have been handed down in our family through so many generations. Dad and I talked about visiting the cemetery to clean up the headstone of my great grandfather, William Bell, who held a prominent position in the community of Lufkin until he died in 1906, only in his forties, and was shipped back home from Houston on a train to “rest in peace.”
In the meantime, I’m also excited about an event here in Houston tomorrow evening (Saturday, April 3) from 6:30 ‘til “whenever.” The artist, Natali Leduc, my friend and neighbor here in the “Segundo Barrio” at the edge of downtown, is throwing her annual shindig at her warehouse on Hutcheson at the corner of Navigation, heading toward the ship channel. Natali is one of my favorite “characters” of all time, a Canadian who expatriated to Houston to complete a Ph.D. in French at Rice University, all the while establishing herself as a well-respected figure in the Houston art scene through her sculpture and her “award-winning” art cars (one of which was the first-ever Pennzoil-sponsored art car), as well as her participation in various underground theater and music events around town. Natali graduated from Rice with her doctorate, landed a coveted position at Tulane, and promptly decided to return to Houston to follow her true calling, enrolling for an MFA in Fine Arts at the University of Houston where she belongs. Natali is a shining example of the saying, “to thyself be true,” and a great inspiration to me. Natali’s annual puppet shows are always very popular, and this year she’s doing Florville and Courval with puppets that she made herself from chickens. Yes, I said CHICKENS! Natali’s ever-fresh, creative spirit and whimsical humor never cease to keep me entertained . . . Here’s an excerpt from her invitation—the rest (including directions) is on the calendar page at glennabell.com:
FLORVILLE AND COURVAL
Puppets, music, food
“Please join us for an evening of compelling puppets, meaningful music, and food (hopefully flavorsome food) on Saturday April 3, starting at 6:30 p.m. Another wonderful, free event at the American Consumer Consortium Headquarters.
Florville and Courval
This PUPPET show is based on the Marquis de Sade’s short story “Florville and Courval,” written around 1778. Do not expect obscenity… Rather: beautiful psychological disturbance.
Music by GLENNA BELL and JIMMY PIZZITOLA - and maybe by Iron Maiden (they have not confirmed yet) . . .
It’s a BYOC event (BRING YOUR OWN CHAIR); you might also consider bringing your own beverage and your own ideas. If you stick long enough, you might get some free food!
It will be an outdoor event if the weather is nice; if it’s not, we’ll bring it indoors.
Oh! I want to go, but how do I get there? Be it by bicycle, car, foot, truck, airplane, elephant ride, magic carpet, etc. you can access the American Consumer Consortium Headquarters: 341 N. Hutcheson (Houston, TX 77003)
And you can send us letters now!”
Y’all come!