Dear Chums,
Wow! Last night we had our first practice and boy did Jack and I learn a lot! For starters, we found out that real actors don’t call it practice, they call it “rehearsal”. I asked why that is and Mr. Roos (the nice fellow who plays the Platypus) put his hand on my shoulder and said, “Practice makes perfect, Fred– but rehearsal makes theater.” I’m not sure what that means but it sure sounds smart!
Anyway, we read through the whole play and man alive was it exciting! Mr. Scrimshaw and Mr. Weinhagen did a swell job writing down all the twists and turns of the case! Everything that happens in the play is exactly what happened in real life! But for some reason all the actors thought it was funny. Even the parts where Jack and I almost died. I won’t lie. It made me pretty sore. Jack too. He didn’t say anything but I could tell he was mad because his face turned almost as red as his sweater. But everybody just kept laughing. Then it hit me. It was nervous laughter! Being an official amateur detective I know a little something about psychology. Sometimes when a brain gets overloaded by action and adventure it gets confused and tells the body to laugh when it really means scream or cry or punch some guy in the face. I explained this to Jack and he agreed that it was the only thing that made any sense.
We don’t have another rehearsal again until tomorrow because today is the 4th of July. Jack and I plan to spend the evening setting off homemade firecrackers! Mom said it’s too dangerous but Dad told her to stop being such a Nervous Nelly. Mom has a point though. Firecrackers are dangerous. But that’s what freedom is all about. Danger! In America you can blow your hand off with a firecracker and that’s your right. Or your left, I guess. Depending on which hand you’re holding the firecracker in.
Whoa! The whole house just shook… and it looks like there’s a mushroom cloud hovering over the garage. Actually the smoke is pretty green so it’s more like a broccoli cloud. Maybe Jack started the fireworks without me… or maybe it’s the beginning of another mystery! Either way, I have a feeling it’s going to be one heck of a 4th!
Happy Birthday, America!
Sincerely,
Fred
