Black Comedy

I was happy to read about Jim Thorpe getting his gold medals back at long last. The Olympic committee had stripped him of his medals because he violated their amateur rules, but many white athletes weren't punished for the same thing, according to that Smithsonian article. The whole amateur rule wasn't for love of the sport, but to keep poor lower class people from being able to compete with wealthy elites who could afford to train and compete without earning money for it. It's also the reason why Duke Kahanamoku couldn't become a professional swimmer and had to take odd jobs to support himself.

Meanwhile, I went to see a play at a local theater. It's Peter Shaffer's farce Black Comedy. It has a convention that when the stage lights are dim, the characters act as if normal lights are on, but when the lights are fully bright, the actors behave as if it's a blackout. This is so the audience can see what's happening in the darkness, as various characters start feeling around or doing sneaky things to deceive each other. It's pretty funny, but it took me a minute to remember that British people say "torches" when they mean flashlights. This is apparently a one-act play, so I don't know why we had an intermission. Just to sell more drinks? I guess so. I'd be more willing to buy snacks if there were sandwiches or something, but chips and pretzels is not worth it.