Frizzi Toon: Happy Thanksgiving!

Frizzi: Some Sunday morning

My wife Heddy and I live right off the town square in Washington, Illinois. We can see the water tower from our house.

I got up about 10:30 on Sunday morning. My Pittsburgh Steelers were coming on local TV at noon. After the game, I was going to rake leaves. Or maybe after halftime, if we were losing badly. This just isn't our year.

It was raining when I woke up, which was fine. It would wet the leaves and make it easier for me to load them into bags.

I no sooner finished brushing my teeth when Heddy shouted upstairs that she heard on TV that we should take cover. I said OK, but since nothing really happens with warnings, I took my time getting dressed. I'd be down in a minute.

When I got to the living room, it was raining harder and the power went out. Since we had no TV to watch, the only thing to do was to go to the basement.

So, we took a radio, some flashlights and went to the basement near the beer fridge. It still didn't seem that bad. I have been in tornados before. The most memorable was when I was moving to Dallas and my car broke down in Little Rock, Ark. I had limped into an Exxon station off the highway and had my car fixed right before the storm hit. The folks that lived in the trailer park across the highway joined us because a brick gas station was their only shelter.

After the storm, the mechanic and his wife (she brought their kids over to wait out the storm) invited me to their house for supper and to spend the night. They didn't know me from Manson. But that's what people do. They help each other in a crisis.

Back to Sunday. With Heddy in the basement, I went upstairs to see just how bad this storm was supposed to be. I opened the front door. My Sunday paper was on the porch. The wind chimes were dancing but nothing seemed out of place.

I looked behind the water tower. The sky was pitch black, not green like you would expect. I saw no lightning. I heard no thunder.

I just heard a dull low steady roar.

It sounded like a freight train. But we have freight trains travel within a couple of blocks of our house, by the water tower and this sounded nothing like your conventional freight train.

So, I got my morning paper, locked the front door and joined Heddy in the basement.

We had the radio on and heard that a subdivision in Washington had been hit. So thoughts start running through your head like, "Which subdivision?" "Jim lives in the subdivision behind us, doesn't he? Doesn't Dave and his family live near there? Then you start hearing street names. "Cruger Road. Mary lives on Cruger Road."

The radio then told us that the Georgetown apartment complex was damaged and the local AutoZone was leveled. So you start running through your head what else got hit. Is the local restaurant where we would belly up to the counter and order breakfast still there? What about our Italian restaurant where I get my chicken parm? What about the high school? That sounds like it hit pretty close to the high school. Do we still have a CVS, a Walgreen's, a Kroger's, a town?

Our cat hates storms and heads toward the basement the minute she hears thunder. She was there well before we were. We knew the threat was over when she emerged and went upstairs. So, we followed her.

I looked outside. Nothing seemed out of place, no tree limbs down, no roofs gone, no homes damaged. But up and down the main streets, we could see fire trucks from Eureka and other surrounding towns screaming their way into Washington.

Then I looked at my street and saw a ceiling tile. And another. I picked up and put them in my trash can. I'll take it out to the curb later on. Trash pickup is always on Monday.

Our neighbor, Rick, is a guy who would give you the shirt off of his back. This is a guy who, the time we had a nasty blizzard, went up and down the street with his uber snow blower, clearing off sidewalk and driveway alike.

Because that's what people do.

Rick had pulled up in front of his house with three passengers. Their home was damaged in the storm and he brought them to his house. I asked him how bad the damage actually was.

He said he was going back over with a chainsaw to help clear away debris. He suggested that I go over and give people rides to wherever they needed to go since many people no longer had cars or trucks.

The subdivision was literally a right hand turn, across the railroad tracks by the water tower, and then a left hand turn. I went up just over a block when I was blocked by a woman sitting in the middle of the street in a lawn chair. She said they weren't letting any unnecessary vehicles through, so I parked the car on a side street and went to see if anyone needed a ride.

As I got closer, you could see bits of damage. A broken window here, some tree limbs there, a twisted trampoline in someone's front yard.

I helped some people clear a path on Devonshire so that trucks could get through. We moved pieces of roof, plywood, framing and trees off the street.

Then, it got worse.

I saw porch with one pillar left. The other one was in the yard.

I saw a mattress stuck in a tree.

I saw two cars that used to be in a garage. The left tail light was still flashing.

I saw a man walking down the street holding a crying cat.

I saw a aluminum extension ladder twisted like a piece of licorice.

I saw the end of a dog chain.

I saw a woman standing in the doorway, the only thing left in the front of her house. She was putting her belongings into a trash bag. Then, she looked around, shrugged her shoulders, dropped the trash bag and walked away.

I saw an end table from someone's living room stuck in an open manhole with yellow police tape wrapped around it.

I saw street signs that were bent so bad, the tops touched the ground.

I saw a damaged Christmas wreath.

I saw a kid's wagon full of clothing.

I saw a parakeet chirping in a cage in the back of a SUV.

I saw some kids hanging out in between two houses.

I saw a guy on a 4-wheeler offering people bottled water.

I saw broken toys and bent bicycles.

I saw a guy putting some dress shirts into his car and then slamming the car door in disgust.

I saw person after person going from house to house asking if they could help. I saw vans and trucks from businesses in the area move in to assist. It was like an army. They were set with ladders and tools, ready to do what they could.

Because that's what people do.

I walked by a house on Hampton Road and met a man who was helping his son salvage some clothes for his granddaughters. His son was standing on the rubble that was his daughters' bedroom. The room was tilted at a 30 degree angle. The little girls' father was pulling wet, soiled clothing out of drawers and closet, putting them into any type of container he could find, handed it to his father, who handed it to me and another person, who walked it out to a pickup truck. Footing is bad when you walk on rubble. I picked up a scraped scale model Dale Earnhardt car and put it into a bag with some laundry. The Tony Stewart model was badly damaged, so they told me to leave it. The son's van, I assume it was his, was now parked onto the far side of his pile of house.

I was looking for salvageable pictures. On the news, victims of Hurricane Sandy were happy when someone found their family pictures. On Devonshire, I found a picture of two ladies celebrating a past Christmas. Next to an overturned beat up tool cabinet on Hampton, I found a slide projector canister full of slides. Both are now at my house. I'm looking for a place to take them.

I saw my neighbor Rick and his chain saw. He was concerned that there may still be people buried in the damage. I told him that I didn't see any police, fire fighters or paramedics anymore so everyone was probably accounted for. I also didn't see any cadaver dogs.

Then, I thought to myself, "What did I just say? You only hear dialogue like that spoke in the movies or in the news." Not in real life to a neighbor!

I walked along Westgate where more homes were flattened. When you got to the edge of the mess, you could see where other homes, literally next door, were fully intact.

I stood in the middle of an intersection. I looked down each street and saw nothing but what used to be homes. Everything was leveled. A four block-by-six block area was completely and totally wiped out. It was uncanny. TV does not do a disaster like this justice.

It was starting to get dark and someone mentioned that they heard of people looting, so I decided to go home. I walked by a woman coming from her pile of splinters carrying a trash bag to her car. Trash bags do make good luggage in a pinch. I asked her if I could help. She laughed somewhat and said, "No thanks, I think I've got it all." Her whole life was in trash bags in the back of her car. But she still had her whole life ahead of her and she seemed to know that.

After Katrina, I heard many people question why anyone was crazy enough to live in New Orleans and why those who lost their homes would ever want to rebuild there. It's the same for those who live here and will rebuild here, smack in the middle of Tornado Alley. It's their home.

Heddy and I were very lucky. All we lost was power, which was back on just after 24 hours of the storm. That, in itself, is a phenomenal feat by the men and women who keep our lights on. And 24 hours later, I'm sitting in my easy chair and writing this, listening to the baseball channel on satellite radio. Heddy is watching a movie on DVD. We had a nice supper. Our cats are quite content.

It's a far cry from our neighbors who used to live just down the street.

Benefit concerts to aid tornado victims

Musical instruments and singing voices will become tools to help those affected by the Nov. 17 tornadoes at a pair of upcoming benefit concerts in Peoria and Bloomington.

On Tuesday the Peoria Symphony Orchestra plays a Tornado Relief Benefit Concert at 7 p.m. at the Peoria Civic Center Theatre.

The concert will feature selections from Handel's Messiah and the audience will be invited to sing along with musicians and vocalist from in and around central Illinois.

In addition, members of the Central Illinois Youth Symphony will perform in the theatre lobby beginning at 6 p.m. Refreshments will be sold and proceeds will go to the relief effort, the PSO said in a news release.

That is true of proceeds from ticket sales, as well: "100% of the proceeds from the ticket sales will be donated to the American Red Cross - Illinois Tornado Recovery," the Symphony said.

Tickets are $20 and can be purchased online at www.peoriasymphony.org, by calling (309) 671-1096 or at the Civic Center box office on Tuesday evening. All seating is general admission.

CityLink will provide Park and Ride Services from Evergreen Square and Junction City at 6:30 p.m. and from the Mark Twain Hotel at 6:45 p.m.

"In the midst of the tragedy that has struck our region, I want to ask you personally if you can spare the time to come to the Tornado Relief Benefit Concert," said George Stelluto, music director and conductor of the Peoria Symphony Orchestra.

"The Civic Center has donated the hall, musicians from all over the region, representing some twenty musical, educational, and civic organizations, including the Lyric Opera of Chicago, have donated their services for the performance," he said.

"In this time when our neighbors need us so much, we do anything we can to help. We will grab a hammer, a saw, a viola, an oboe, or our own hands and voices. Bring your voice and join us in the Messiah Sing-a-long meant to raise financial support and show our community support for all who have lost so much right before Thanksgiving. Lift your voice to lift their spirits," Stelluto said.

Another benefit concert featuring a slightly different type of music is scheduled for Dec. 4 at U.S. Cellular Coliseum in Bloomington.

Rock bands Styx, REO Speedwagon, Head East, Survivor and Brushville will perform in an event titled "Rock To The Rescue Extends A Hand to Those in Need." Other performers will include Richard Marx and Larry the Cable Guy.

The artists and numerous vendors, crew and staff will forgo personal compensation for the event so that proceeds can go to the relief effort, said promoter Jay Goldberg of Jay Goldberg Events and Entertainment.

"With our company being based in this area for over 40 years and my family living in Pekin, which was effected by the storm, we wanted to do something to help all those affected. Everyone at Jay Goldberg Events have had friends, family members and employees who were directly impacted by the storm," Goldberg said.

Tickets for this performance are on sale at www.ticketmaster.com for $58, $43 and $28 (tickets are subject to applicable service charges and event time and date are subject to change). Visit www.uscellularcoliseum.com for up-to-date information. Donations to Rock to the Rescue can be made at www.rocktotherescue.net.

A weekend of one-act comedies at Corn Stock

When three of America's top comedic playwrights put some one-act plays together in a package titled "Relatively Speaking," Corn Stock Theatre saw it as an opportunity to give some new directors a shot and likely find new actors, as well.

But a funny thing happened: Yes, the directors are making their directorial debuts; but whereas one-act plays usually attract actors with less experience "Relatively Speaking" attracted a bevy of experienced performers in key roles in the three comedies.

"I'm not really sure why" were common words used by the directors when asked why they thought this occurred. Whether it was respect for the directors, who are well-known at Corn Stock for their acting, teching or writing, or because of the playwrights, they are pleased with it, they said.

"Relatively Speaking" is comprised of three one-act comedies: "Talking Cure" written by Ethan Coen; "George is Dead" written by Elaine May and "Honeymoon Motel" written by Woody Allen. It runs Thursday through Saturday at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday at 2:30 p.m. at Corn Stock's Winter Playhouse in Upper Bradley Park.

Tickets are $10 for adults and $7 for students and can be reserved by calling 676-2196.

"Talking Cure"

Ever wonder how psychiatrists always seem to be able to keep their cool, regardless of what they hear or of the behavior of their patient? At least that is how television and the movies usually portray them.

In "Talking Cure" we see a different story, one that may leave you wondering who should really be on the couch. But that's not all. In this play Coen also provides in a separate scene some insight into why the protagonist got to be the way he is.

"It is a short, but distinct story told only how Ethan Coen could tell it," said director Blake Stubbs. "I am a big fan of Coen and this is great material. It reached out and grabbed me the first time I read it and I think that is how audiences will feel."

Stubbs is making his directorial debut after working on many shows either back stage or on stage. "I thought it would be fun to take a group of actors and conceive a show with them, tell this story in a compelling way. Of course, when the process started I never thought I'd get this caliber of a cast," he said. "I mean, this is like the murderer's row of local actors."

Tim Wyman, veteran performer and director, portrays the doctor while up and coming actor Andrew Rhodenbaugh, co-founder and veteran performer with the theatre group Great Work Begins, is the patient, Larry. The audience will see five sessions between the two, each different in dynamic.

In the last scene, we find out about Larry's background in a scene with Nate Downs as the husband and Megan Larke as the wife. Larke, who has thrilled Corn Stock audiences with her lighting designs the last few years, is making her Corn Stock acting debut.

Downs has been in many shows throughout Peoria's community theatre scene. He is the only performer who will be in all three "Relatively Speaking" plays.

"George is Dead"

How people deal with the death of a loved one has commonality in that most of us grieve. But how we grieve, how we view our futures without the loved one and how we move on can be quite different.

Elaine May manages to capture some of the differences in her one-act play "George is Dead."

"I liked the material and not just because there are a lot of laughs in this show," said Leaann Liesse, who is making her debut directing adults. "This show has a universal theme. How people react to death is different but this one shows also how people of different classes react to death. That is a good prescription for comedy."

The show centers on Doreen, portrayed by Helen Engelbrecht, a veteran of many Peoria shows, who just learned her rich husband died. Grief stricken, she can think of only one person to turn to: Carla, the daughter of her childhood nanny. Carla is portrayed by Mollie Huisman, performing at Corn Stock for the third time. These two are as different as could be and yet, end up starting to bond.

Also in "George is Dead" is Nate Downs as Michael, Carla's husband, Nan Coleman as Nanny and making his Corn Stock debut, Sean Pollock is the funeral director.

Liesse said she felt blessed to have "what I think is a dream cast, really. I feel extraordinarily lucky by who showed up to be involved. I think the actors wanted to work with us because they know us and our sensibilities, and I think the writers attracted them, as well."

"Honeymoon Motel"

A lot of people accused Woody Allen of going through a midlife crisis when he left his long-time wife for a much, much younger woman who happened to be his stepdaughter. Perhaps that was his impetus for writing "Honeymoon Motel," or perhaps the similarities are just coincidental.

Either way, the writing is hilarious as we watch how one man, Jerry Spector, handles his own midlife crisis and how it affects everyone around him. By the time the comedy reaches its climax, there are 10 people crammed into the bridal suite, most of them getting bombed. Is there enough pizza for everyone?

"You really can't go wrong with Woody Allen. I've been an admirer of his for a long time. I counted up and I have seen 17 of his films. But I think this is one of the funniest things he has written in a long time," said Gary Hale, who is making his directorial debut.

Hale has written several one-act plays of his own, some of which have been performed at Corn Stock, but he was reluctant to direct when first asked. "But I finally thought I should have that experience and I am glad I did. It will help me be a better writer, for one thing, but this has been such a fun show and cast. I mean, I've got a cast of Peoria theatre all-stars who have really brought the show to life. They have made it so much easier for a first-time director," Hale said.

His cast includes all veteran actors, including Paul Gordon as Jerry, Kerri Rae as Nina, Tim Wyman as Eddie, Helen Englebrecht as Judy, Cheri Beever as Fay, Clark Rians as Sam, Nate Downs as the Rabbi, Cindy Hoey as Dr. Brill, Brian McKinley as Sal and Blake Stubbs as Paul.

Corn Stock Theatre has opted to donate the proceeds from its concessions to assist the victims of last Sunday's tornadoes. Corn Stock does not charge for the concessions, which consist mostly of cookies, coffee and lemonade, but accepts donations to help defray production costs.