I know there are people who escape the winter before the first flakes have begun to fly. But when they do that they miss the seasons, they miss the excitement of spring barreling in with its banquet of birds and buds and flowers and grasses and those first dandelions and , well, everything that is beautiful and says that the ice queen of winter is retreating for a while and we are now going to be able to splash about in a riot of color and fragrance and sheer, unfettered joy!

All of our seasons are so spectacular, that I simply couldn’t choose the one I would give up to go someplace else for a few months. Although, if I did it would probably be the months of July and August when Pennsylvania bakes in that hot, humid soup of summer. Still, I wouldn’t want to miss the first tomatoes ripening or the berries that need to be picked or…or… See how that goes? I’m simply not cut out for travel. I’m too afraid I’d miss something happening at home. Sigh.

And speaking of what’s happening. Lots! Those cultural people never rest, I swear! And they have some super stuff cooked up for you in the coming weeks (as always). I want to start by telling you that on Sunday, March 10 at 3:00 o’clock, the wonderful Suzanne Fisher Staples will be at the Dietrich talking about The Power of Story. If you have never read her books, you must read them now, because you are in for such a treat! She is a gorgeous writer, and the stories she tells remind me of the mystical tales from when I was a child and my grandmother would weave her tales about Ali Babba or a beautiful desert princess. Except Suzanne’s stories are based on having spent many years as an AP reporter living in Pakistan and Afghanistan, India and Hong Kong. She wrote hard news before she wrote novels. So her novels, about a young tribal girl living in the desert lands of Pakistan, are based on the facts that she wrote about years ago.

She is a delightful and friendly woman who seems to be genuinely interested in everyone she talks to. She is kind and soft-spoken but the stories she tells roar with truth and color and the excitement of any story well told. Do come to hear her. She will tell you about a part of the world we only see though film footage of wars and death. She will tell you about the people who live there. The real people. You know, the ones like us? Come on now. What could be better on a Sunday afternoon than to learn about a part of the world that we see so much of and know so little about?

Okay. This Open Mic thing. Honestly. It’s amazing! The very first night there were sixty (60)!!!! in attendance. The next Open Mic there were over 70!!! At this rate we’ll have to put up a whole new building to house the “open mic-ers.” It’s so much fun. Come on down. Give it a try. March 22.

And don’t forget to get those gala tix! 996-1500. To get the seats you want you have to call early! (But then, you knew that.)

See you at the Dietrich.