Space Memories

Today, I went to the Cradle of Aviation Museum in Garden City for the “Countdown to Apollo at 50’ exhibit and event. It was great to relive those great moments and to see many of the artifacts of that era. I have been thinking a lot about those day and that great day and yesterday I wrote the following remembrance.

Space exploration. Rockets. Space flight. The moon. These were some of the key buzz words to those growing up in my generation. Like many other kids especially boys, we had comic books, TV shows about cowboys, cops and doctors. From my earliest memories at 4 or 5, I learned that Superman came from another planet, Flash Gordon and Buck Rogers flew in space ships and fought evil in the Sunday comics. In 1957, America heard about Sputnik, the Russian satellite and that being our “enemies”, the US was accelerating our own space program. What we saw on Television and read in comics was now becoming real. As I entered First grade and began to learn to read, my parents were urged to take a Random House Beginner’s Book subscription to encourage reading. I was excited by the prospect. I had always tried to “read” comics from my Uncles’ Luncheonette/newsstand and the prospect of learning to read and actually understand what was happening in the text portions of those four color periodicals was something I couldn’t wait to explore. Among the first set of books were four Dr. Seuss classics, The Cat in the Hat, The Cat in the Hat Comes Back, Green Eggs and Ham, One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish, And You Will Go to the Moon. The first four were cute, brightly colored and stylized cartoon books with simple mostly rhythmic texts. The last was very different. It was more photo-realistic, with more advanced text that required parental and teacher help to read, but it was amazing. At the same time as I began to read, the NASA space program was accelerating as were my reading skills. I knew from the newspaper headlines and TV reporting on Huntley and Brinkley that 7 pilots had been chosen as our first astronauts with the first flight due to happen in December of 1960, then postponed five more times until May of 1961. The Russians had already put a man in space that April but it was underplayed in American media. Finally, on May 5th, 1961, Alan Shepard became the first US astronaut to make a flight into space. And so, sitting in Sister Columba’s first grade class of 40 kids,  watched our classroom 19 " black and white TV waiting for the countdown. We were transfixed and cheered. We watched the whole event including all of the delays through the launch, splashdown and recovery. We cheered that launch like a sporting event. It was only a sub orbital flight but we didn’t know what that meant. We only knew it meant we put a man in space and the story of You Will Go To The Moon was coming true. I wore that book out. It was my favorite. I read it whenever I got the chance and certainly each time there was a Mercury or Gemini manned space launch. 

Those programs became a fixture on mine and many kid’s calendar. The second sub orbital flight was manned by Gus Grissom but it was  the amazing three orbits of John Glenn that cemented astronaut as hero. My dad went to his ticker tape parade in the Canyon of Heroes and brought me back a commemorative button which I still have.

I was hooked. I had other passions but during the Gemini program I decide that wanted to be an astronaut. In 6th grade we went West Point on a field trip and I told one of the chaperones that I wanted to go to The Air Force Academy to become a pilot and eventually an astronaut. This lasted until 7th or 8th grade when I ran into three problems. First, I had to get glasses and I discovered pilots needed 20/20 vision, then I got sick on an amusement park ride similar to the centrifuge and finally I found out about  the amount of medical attachments that astronauts were hooked up to. The final deal breaker came when I found out about the two catheters used for bathroom functions. It was then that I realized  astronauts were brave indeed.

This didn’t stop me from remaining a fan of the space program and all the Astronauts. Shepard, Grissom, Glenn along with Gordon Cooper; Wally Schirra, Deke Slayton, Scott Carpenter were the original Mercury 7 although Slayton never flew. The Gemini crews included Gus Grissom & cooper and Schirra from Mercury along with future Apollo Moon mission crew members, John Young, James McDivitt and Ed White with the first space walk, Richard Gordon, Pete Conrad, Tom Stafford, Frank Borman, David Scott,  Gene Cernan, Jim Lovell, John Young & Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins.  We all knew that the Gemini missions were trading for the impending moon landing missions. Space rendezvous, docking and endurance were just some of the goals.

Each mission was televised and heavily reported on. While I developed a following of other passions, The Beatles, James Bond, Batman and Star Trek I never lost interest in the Space Program.   I had a subscription to the Doubleday Science Service, Science Program Series of booklets on Space Exploration. Some of them came with models of the Mercury, Gemini, Apollo Command Module and the Lunar Lander. They all stored in book shaped storage boxes to live on your bookshelf.  I still have some of them. Considering the turmoils of the 60’s: the rise of youth culture, civil rights, riots and the Vietnam War, the Space Program was one area where we were all united. It was the one point of national pride that we could all share in, it gave us all hope for the future and for greater things to come. Of course, it was the Apollo program and its goal of moon landing that captured our collective attention. The setback of the disastrous launch pad fire of Apollo 1 that killed Astronauts Grissom, White and Chaffee shocked and saddened us and hit home how dangerous it all was. Thankfully, subsequent missions corrected the issues that caused the tragedy and set the program back on course culminating in the Christmas Eve transmission of Apollo 8 as it became the first manned mission to orbit the moon and return. Astronaut Anders’ photograph, “Earthrise”, still fills me with awe. 

Now, 50 years later, we celebrate the first manned moon landing and the moon walk of Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin. Being from New Jersey, we were especially proud of local hero Aldrin from nearby Montclair. All news broadcasts, newspapers and magazines had extensive coverage of the launch and I remember how everyone I knew watched the launch. On the Sunday of the imminent landing, the priest in church had us pray for the safety and success of the crew and the mission. That night we traveled several towns to my Aunt’s to see the first moon walk. We went to my Aunt’s because she had a brand new 24” RCA color TV and we only a 19” Black and White. The joke was on us as I learned years later that the mission was only able to  broadcast in Black and White but ABC reporters Peter Jennings and Jules Bergman looked better in color. Everyone ooh’d and ahh‘ d and remarked about how historic it was and something we would never forget. It was a thrilling day and like many others we saved editions of the papers that reported the historic event. I still have them.

Sitting near my grandfather, I had the realization that he had seen the invention of the electric light, automobile, airplane, and space exploration in his lifetime. I also knew that July 20th would always be a special memory in my life. It is still, indeed.

So, now 50 years later, it is still a special memory but I am saddened by the knowledge that many of the divisive things that separated us in 1969 are still with us and are maybe worse than ever. There was a lot of fear and loathing about politics back then but there were many more in government who believed in bipartisanship and compromise. I am further saddened by the regression in race relations and advancements that had been made and the incredible rise of racism and hatred that is being marshaled and weaponized by political forces to consolidate power for the benefit of the corporate elite at the expense of the very heart of democracy and the Constitution. In 1969, we were divided by an undeclared war, fear of other races etc but we had the Space Program to unite us. Sadly, there is no unifying element today and talk of Mars exploration and a ridiculous Space Force are attempts to echo the past but now motivated to promote the self aggrandizement of a soulless, bankrupt individual. The Democratic politicians need to unify quickly behind a strong message of hope that will appeal to all voters and that will lead this country away from the encroaching darkness that is destroying all this country stands for.

50 Years Ago Today

In June 1967, I was finishing 7th grade with British nun, Sister Michael Bernadette. Mornings before school and during recess, the schoolyard conversations with Joey Sullivan, Glenn McCarthy and the guys, revolved around Prime Time television with shows like the still popular Batman, the exciting Man From Uncle and Star Trek and the antics of the Monkees and the ultra cool mod British Import, The Avengers , the coolest of British Spy's John Steed and the adolescent fantasy, Emma Peel and of course, Pop music. The Top 10 the last week of May consisted of :

1 GROOVIN’ –•– The Young Rascal

2  RESPECT –•– Aretha Franklin 

3 I GOT RHYTHM –•– The Happenings 

4 RELEASE ME –•– Engelbert Humperdinck 

5 THE HAPPENING –•– The Supremes 

6 SWEET SOUL MUSIC –•– Arthur Conley

7 HIM OR ME – WHAT’S IT GONNA BE –•– Paul Revere and the Raiders Featuring Mark Lindsay 

8 CREEQUE ALLEY –•– The Mamas and the Papas 

9 SOMETHIN’ STUPID –•– Nancy Sinatra and Frank Sinatra 

10 GIRL, YOU’LL BE A WOMAN SOON –•– Neil Diamond 

The charts that winter and spring had been dominated by the success of The Monkees,  The Stones, Lovin' Spoonful, The Turtles, Buffalo Springfield, Mamas and the Papas and a lot of Motown and Stax Soul, the Who were newcomers and Frankie Valli was having a solo comeback with Can't Take My Eyes Off of You. Through it all The Beatles double A sided single of Penny Lane and Strawberry Fields rode the top of charts from January until May. The picture sleeve with the band in the coolest Victorian Mod outfits but all featuring facial hair to some degree, John was now wearing little round spectacles as well as the mustache that graced his face along with Paul and Ringo, George also had a goatee. The picture was cool, partially backlit with a star filter affecting the lights. Their new look was a source of much discussion. Girls didn't like it but the guys found the look intriguing. And then Sgt. Pepper came out on June 2nd in the US, (it had premiered on June 1st in the UK). The music press went mad. AM radio stations played tracks off the album which was unheard of in the days of top 40. It was like hearing sound for the first time, almost  unlike anything that came before. The rock of Sgt. Pepper and Getting Better, Good Morning, Good Morning, and Fixing a Hole, the music hall of With a Little Help From My Friends, Mr. Kite and When I'm 64, the eloquent She's Leaving Home and then there was the amazing Lucy In The Sky with Diamonds, Within You, Without You and A Day in the Life, there were hints of the eastern influences on Revolver and Rubber Soul but this was far out far east. Lucy and Day In the Life were , to me the most exciting. These songs cemented  the arrival of what would be titled psychedelic music. Hendrix was playing songs from the album in concert, the day after the release, the music press were in a frenzy and the news media followed. The album cover was a landmark of curiosity. You could sit and listen to the music while studying all the faces and statues, the lyrics were on the back cover, an unheard of first as well. The big gatefold of the band in pseudo military band costumes. The record inner sleeve was a cool swirl of reds and pinks and there was also the souvenir card with cut outs of a mustache, postcard and set. stripes. The band certainly delivered your money's worth.

The local Shop-Rite Supermarket had a downstairs annex where they sold sundries like towels, stationary, lightbulbs and record albums. It was there that I first set my hands on this amazing artistic piece. I bought it as soon as I could get the money and played the grooves out. I had a little portable radio that had a hidden turntable on the back. It had a single speaker, so, I always bought mono. I had no idea or appreciation for stereo. A few months later, I found out my player actually could play stereo but in mono. The rest of that summer was the summer of love and the rise of psychedelic music was championed by the Jefferson Airplane, the Doors and the Beatles follow up single, All You Need Is Love. The effect of Pepper was far reaching. Almost overnight, every male wanted facial hair, long hair got longer, beads, paisley, Nehru jackets and bellbottom trousers were a must, Wearing glasses was no longer an embarrassment as long as they were metal frames and even cooler if tinted. It seemed that every band needed to produce a Sgt. Pepper concept album. The Stones recorded Her Satanic Majesties Request, The Monkees, Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn and Jones, The Zombies, Odyssey and Oracle, Vanilla Fudge The Beat Goes On, Brian Wilson, whose sonic brilliance on Pet Sounds influenced McCartney to create Pepper, tried to equal it with his soon to be aborted Smile album effort for the Beach Boys and so many more, Many failed some barely succeeded. Still, the real "psychedelic" performers also arrived, Hendrix, The Doors, The Dead and Pink Floyd but it was Pepper that was the catalyst. So, here we are 50 years later and Pepper has  been rereleased and remastered and remixed for stereo and this is monumental. The Beatles recorded and mixed all their albums in Mono. Stereo was an afterthought executed by lower level engineers, I didn't know this at the time. As I entered high school and college, everything was about stereo and i went out of my way to rebuy my Beatle Albums in Stereo. when I bought Pepper in Stereo, I was disappointed, it didn't sound anything like the mono, it was kind of flat and the placement of the voices and instruments were awkward. I didn't understand it but I got used to it. When CD's came out the mono/ stereo arguments came out and the first four albums were only released in pristine mono. The information about their lack of involvement in the stereo mixes until Abbey Road surfaced but it wasn't until 2009 that the mono versions were released and the stereo cleaned up but not remixed except for Rubber Soul and Help! and those were not major remixes. The stereo imaging and separation were still old school. So, now fast forward to the release of the Beatle promo videos where the original tracks were remixed for surround sound. At this point the decision to remix Pepper for better stereo was made and George Martin's son was brought in to execute the project. Let me say what all the press have been saying, the stereo sound is exquisite. Following the road map of the MONO mix, the tracks shimmer and sparkle. The magic sound that I heard on my little mono player are now brought to life in a dazzling way like never before.The bass is driving, the drums  are crystal clear, the guitars shimmering and the vocals evenly spaced in the soundstage. As a bonus for the box set, they also remixed the album in 5-1 surround and it is even more spectacular. Okay, it is different but in a very good way. When listening to the stereo mix it is now like sitting at a concert and hearing the band alive in front of you but if you can listen to the surround mix, it is like being in the studio with them. Most people will not  get the box set with the surround Blu-ray and bonus track CD's but real Beatle fans should not deny themselves. For everyone else, I heartily recommend the ne new remixed 2 CD set with out takes and early versions of the songs on the second disc. A splendid time is still guaranteed for all.

Theatre and baseball are two of my passions and tonight I got to see the two combined in the Yankees/ Rays game featuring the Alex Rodriguez "farewell". The iconic New York Yankees are no strangers to "drama and theatre" but there has been no figure in baseball who truly exemplified the notion of the tragic hero than Alex Rodriguez. The tragic hero is one who is not all good or all bad, with extraordinary qualities or powers or position who brings about his own downfall by committing an error of judgement or hubris, often a sin of pride. He suffers a downfall for this error of judgement and has a too late recognition of his mistakes. This is Alex Rodriguez. He made very stupid choices, paid the price and now regrets. People, especially Yankee haters, will always say cheater but he wasn't alone by a long shot, but the ultimate admission of his stupidity further illustrates the quality of the tragic hero. Through clean times and cheating times, he always provided many great moments as a player and contributed as a solid teammate. Of course, the Yankees took a risk by giving him that ridiculously long contract but they too, are literally paying for it. A-Rod, of course, will have his shame of being "released" assuaged by the cash from the contract that he will still get, but for this Yankee fan, I'm both grateful for his "dramatic" contributions both on and off the field and his "flawed" character which will now serve as a lesson to all in both sports and other fields of endeavor. Farewell, number 13, you chose the number because you were a Dan Marino fan but ultimately it proved kind of unlucky: kind of tragic or at least ironic.

NBC Broadway Live Take 2

Once again the "Nothing is better than Broadway snobby haters" are out in force on the interwebs attacking NBC 's second live Broadway  musical.  I commented on  last year's Sound of Mucus and I'm reusing part of my post as it still holds true. Anyone who read my blog post about the Les Mis film knows that I am a firm believer in Apples and Oranges. I support anything that keeps theatre alive. I cheer for the success of jukebox musicals. They put butts in seats and give actors and technicians work. They also introduce new bodies to all legit theatre. If they come for Motown and return for Once and then Matilda or Kinky Boots, I say bravo, the plan works. When I was in college we had so many great and near great composers and creative teams writing shows and we took sides. Some loved Kander & Ebb, others Cy Coleman or Jerry Herman, Bock & Harnick, Schmidt & Jones, Schwartz, Lloyd Weber  and of course Sondheim. But many did not care for his work. Now as elder statesman with no ascendant successors in sight, he has become a high watermark for many comparisons and that is not fair. Broadway has changed and will continue to do so. It is in a very interesting state of being right now and if NBC doing a " live" musical or Glee's recent success help make people want to see live Theatre then let's give a standing ovation. Sound of Music was a flawed piece of theatre with some really nice songs and a maudlin, saccharin book that became overshadowed by a tremendous piece of cinema that fixed many of the flaws. And therein lies the partial root of the haters hate: they so love the film and it's star that they were blinded to most other attempts especially by a "CW" musician with no stage experience.Now, with Peter Pan, they are back to show off their self important critical wit. Now they are experts in Peter Pan. Even though they mostly know old cast albums and the Disney cartoon, they are now experts on Peter Pan. Yes, some are old codgers who will always be curmudgeons carping about " how wonderful Mary Martin was and the old TV show was. Their memory, unfortunately, is clouded by the wonders of childhood memories. Others have no idea how  many versions of Peter Pan there are or were. J.M. Barrie, the author of the original book and play, rewrote it every year in his lifetime. There was a new production in London with new music every year for over 100 years. There was also a Broadway version before this one and this one had trouble before during and after its Broadway and TV version. It has constantly changed and many of the changes in this version were long overdue. There is already a volume of hate directed toward idiosyncratic film actor, Christopher Walken. His performance was incredibly well thought out and executed in his person style. He was incredibly realistic, justifying every line and injecting his own sense of humor and even improv. It was a very studied performance. His singing was no worse than. Cyril Ritchard or Boris Karloff, Ron Moody etc. may of them were over the top foppish cartoons. You may like that but you can't criticize a realistic approach as wrong. It is a very modern interpretation. Of course, many haters are just plain envious and think- if not them in the part-then no one. Such little minds, such big egos. Build a bridge folks and get over it. It's a TV show. People love kitsch and crap of many reality shows like Real Housewives or the Kardashians. I'll take a kitsch TV theatre performance over any housewife reality drek any day. Now to the rest of this Peter Pan, it was entertaining and as well done as possible. Higher tech soundstage scenery, some digital effects and high tech flying and multi cameras doing it live, while adding songs and rewriting a dated script was quite a challenge and I once again applaud NBC. The show was entertaining, the cast was delightful especially Walken's very unique performance. He was a parody of himself at times and delightful. The changes were mostly helpful but the cinematic efforts combined with the awkward commercials made the show drag but so did the original. I have seen the Mary Martin original on TV, Sandy Duncan, Cathy Rigby, Lulu in London( real English Panto style), a brilliant male Peter in Trevor Nunn's,  NT anniversary production and recent RSC radical reworking, Wendy and Peter, several community productions and this version was just as entertaining and superior on many levels. To all the "nothing is better than Broadway snobby haters", stop watching TV and film versions of shows, you can't learn to like "different" and you can't judge efforts in other media without bias. Oh, and please stay away from the  Disney  film version of Into the Woods opening on Christmas. You are going to hate it, we know you are so spare us your ire.  

Farewell to My Team's Captain or Don't Be a Hater It Doesn't Become You.

I am very disheartened by the incredible amount of hate and negativity being plastered across the net, Facebook and some media personalities regarding Derek Jeter. Derek Jeter is a popular player among his peers and especially among New York Yankees fans. Last year Mariano Rivera played his last season, pretty much universally acclaimed as the greatest closer, and during the course of the season, other teams honored him on his farewell tour. It was great publicity for the Yankees as well as an honor for Mo. Before this season, Derek Jeter announced his intention to retire. This time the Yankees capitalized on the event and "farewell tour" number two began. Jeter was initially, somewhat, uncomfortable with the concept but being the team player for one of the most famous corporations in sports, he acquiesced. As the season progressed and the Yankee's efforts were hampered by injury and low productivity, especially in the last two months, the Yankee organization and the media began to focus on "Jeter's last season" with major hype.   MAJOR HYPE. Yankee fans loved it. Yankee haters hated it. I understand the Media writers and sports commentators who are trying to drum up readership or self promotion by publishing articles denigrating his stats and downplaying his place among Yankee greats but the Yankee haters that are made up of fans from other teams. Ironically, fans of Yankee rivals like Red Sox or O's and most others don't care because they are generally happy and secure with their team and understand the Yankee fans's joy and sadness for their hero's last games. Some sad Mets fans, some-not all, and others, too, are rabid Yankee haters. They revel at every opportunity to degrade Jeter and his fan base not because they simply hate the Yankees but because they hate the success and financial clout of the Yankee franchise and are seething with jealousy and envy because their team does not get the same organizational support. I'm talking mostly about Yankee hating Mets fans and the fans of a few other small market franchises that are frustrated by their team's inability or reluctance to spend money. It is sad that they need to release such vehement hateful attacks on the Yankee fans celebration of the retirement of their hero. It seems that every mention of the celebration is a reminder of how unsuccessful their team has been and every attack on Jeter and his fans is a way to bolster their own insecurities about their team and its owners. 

Yankee fans love Derek Jeter. He has been the "Face of the Franchise" both on and off the field  for almost all of his 20 years, certainly from the time he was made Captain. He plays the game with dedication, commitment and heart. He has mastered dealing with the media in the toughest market in sports. Jeter's achievements transcend just stats. His success and career has been full of intangibles. He has come to represent team success, determination and good sportsmanship.  For those want to argue stats, Derek Jeter is not "The Greatest" Yankee of all time or "The Greatest" shortstop ever but to many fans In their teens, 20 & 30's, he was the greatest player of their teams generation. He played hard and contributed to 5 championships, especially in the post season. He broke many team records and joined the charts of hitting greats that came before with his 3000+ hits. Those who use stats alone to compare a singles hitting short stop to sluggers like Ruth, Gehrig, DeMaggio, Mantle and Berra are ridiculous if not deranged. 

Negative fans of the other teams who are vehemently blasting hate on Yankee fans, especially those Yankee hating Mets fans, take a look at what you are saying and how you are saying it. When you put it in print the hate is incredibly vivid. Just chill out. Mets fans would be much better served celebrating the success of Jacob DeGrom and his potential for Rookie of the Year, celebrating the wonderful talent and success of their young pitching staff and they should be looking forward to the return of Matt Harvey next season. If they are able to add a few key position players next year or even the year after, they will have a very promising team that will be very competitive.  It's funny but both teams are in second place in their division this year. But the Mets are a fairly younger team and as such, a team on their way up.  We Yankee fans are looking at the end of an era and the start of a new one that will probably be at least two years away as the team looks to get younger talent.  

So, in the end, we Yankee fans will continue to celebrate the achievements and career of Derek Jeter and all his contributions to the most successful franchise in major league American sports. We will celebrate what he meant to Yankee Team history, to New York, and MLB and mostly what he meant to us, the fans, both young and old. For many of us, he was a part of our childhood, of teen and college years and For all of us especially those of us older, he represented a continuation of Yankee success which is a hallmark of Yankee tradition. #Re2pect.#FarewellCaptain

Happy 450th Birthday William Shakespeare

Exposed: the NSA and Mr. Claus or Santa Uses an iPad

Folks, let's be serious, it's 2013 and the phenomenon known as Santa Claus is as strong as ever. But are we so naive to think that the quaint story of the jolly old fellow with the eight tiny reindeer is still going about his business in the same "magical" manner? When Clement Clark Moore wrote his famous poem in 1822, going about in a sleigh pulled by reindeer, flying or not, was an acceptable mode of transportation but even some of the youngest believers have trouble with the physics based on today's world population. Is it magic, science or science fiction? Recently unearthed documents seem to reveal that the truth lies somewhere between these three. Everyone is aware of Edward Snowden's NSA revelations but many are not aware of a select group of papers just coming to light. These are also labeled NSA but with an "I" added: NSAI. This stands for Nordic Santa Alert Intelligence. The papers reveal that Santa Claus did indeed exist at the time of Clement Clark Moore's writing and in fact, was part of a large European family of cousins who were descended from the original gift giver, 3rd century Bishop, Nicholas, later canonized St. Nicholas. They initially began their work in Russia, Turkey and Greece but then branched out to France as Pere Noel, England as Father Christmas, a sister manifested in Italy as the witch, Befana( the brothers thought she was crazy but the Italians fell for the concept, go figure) but most famously in Holland as Sinter Klaus. This iteration immigrated to the new world and the Dutch settlements in New Amsterdam, later New York. For more than a century, the papers indicate that this brotherhood and their helpers who became known as Elves, from the singular Elf. Elf is actually from the German alp and it seems they were industrious mountain folk of short stature originating in the mountains on the Swiss- German border. German Santas also had an " elf" companion Krampus that threatened punishment on those with bad behavior. He was, it seems, a type of behavioral spy reporting to the big fella and alerting him with his little "list". According to the papers the last direct descendant of the original Santa Family died in 1986, at that time the various families. cousins and business partners formed Santa Claus Inc. A corporation, designed to carry on the works of the original family devoted to serving the needs of parents everywhere in helping to arrange and/or deliver gifts to their children on Christmas Eve. Much like the corporate decisions made by the Disney corporation after Walt's passing, the results were predictable but occasionally lackluster. Initially, it seems, it was business as usual with receiving letters that got processed and then implemented through "elf" construction techniques which were amazing incredible copies of mass produced factory items like Cabbage Patch and Barbies. Eventually, they negotiated contracts with Mattel and other manufacturers like Sony, Nintendo and later Apple to become official subcontractors with access to original designs and schematics. Unfortunately, the speed of the hi- tech advances of the mid to late 90's put too much strain on the ELF(Elf Labour Foundation) and a different business model was pursued. At that point the Confederation of Legal Authentic Santas( CLAUS) established new rules for the hierarchy of Santas appearing in department stores and for the term of the elected head Santa at the Corporate North Pole Headquarters which, by the way, was later relocated to an undisclosed location in Lapland to accommodate the Reindeer descendants as there was no need to strain the reindeer with flying loads of toys with the new high speed transport networks that had been utilized for decades.

Negotiations in the 80’s with Bill Gates and Microsoft enabled the group to streamline communications and distribution. Then, further alliances with UPS, FedEx and other delivery services aided in even more streamlined operations. From 2007 on, relations with Apple and the use of the iPhone and then the iPad drastically expedited order processing, wish list management and good and bad child list checking. With this implementation, parents can become informed of their child's wish list and be directed to purchase the items with moneys deposited to their bank accounts and credit cards from the NSAI.  It also, seems that a deal with NASA and the NSA have especially innovated on two fronts. The NSAI have been allowed access to certain of the NSA's surveillance operations that have really helped to perfect the good and bad child behavior tracking. The technology allows them to tap into all surveillance cameras and various  communication devices like mobile phones, video game devices, computers, tablets and TV's around the world( have you never noticed that there are screens everywhere and they ARE two way).  Of course, there is also the robotics in the seemingly innocuous "Elf on a shelf". Parents think they have to play games with the position of the "Elf" to fool their offspring into positive behavior when the truth is that the technology is far more advanced than that. And finally, drone technology from the US Military has innovated deliveries and a deal between the NSAI andJeff Bezo's will allow that much rumored tech to be implemented for Amazon in the future, in exchange for extra order fulfillment for the NSAI. The need to drop down a chimney disappeared decades ago. The NSAI has used pre delivery services and parental assistance for years. The disappearing cookies, milk and carrots for the reindeer are either consumed by family or collected and distributed at local food banks. So, parents should should really consider stopping the convenient but all too full of holes stories about the magical Santa and his reindeer, it might be quaint for the young ones but really dumb especially for the older media savvy child. It is simply easier to tell them the truth and they might continue belief until marriage age. It is the 21st century, people, and yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus and he does, in fact, see you when you are sleeping and awake and  does, indeed, know if you have been bad or good.  So, just be GOOD. Merry Christmas!!!!

Shakespeare's Birthday

As it is Poetry Month, I thought I would post one of my favorite Sonnets in honor of Shakespeare's 449th birthday. (Next year is the big 450,  Will!) This has been a good but somewhat tempestuous year year for our Calhoun H.S. Shakespeare Productions. Summer of 2012 saw several alums delve into intriguing productions of Coriolanus and the Tempest. Then the Tempest know as Sandy disrupted our production of As You Like It, sending it to four different performances in two different locations over 6 months. As You Like It was also a new landmark for me as I composed the music for the 6 songs in the show and wrote a setting for some dialogue as well as revising another original piece. Now, we are working on the very sunny Much Ado About Nothing to end our season. Pictures from As You Like It set designs for both Auditorium Thrust stage and Little Theatre will follow.


 Sonnet 38

When my love swears that she is made of truth,
I do believe her, though I know she lies,
That she might think me some untutored youth,
Unlearned in the world's false subtleties.
Thus vainly thinking that she thinks me young,
Although she knows my days are past the best,
Simply I credit her false-speaking tongue,
On both sides thus is simple truth suppressed:
But wherefore says she not she is unjust?
And wherefore say not I that I am old?
O love's best habit is in seeming trust,
And age in love, loves not to have years told.
Therefore I lie with her, and she with me,
And in our faults by lies we flattered be.

George Harrison And Me: a Remembrance on His 70th Birthday.

Something about George Harrison distinguished him from his Fab Four band mates. In the early days he was tagged by the press as the "quiet Beatle", he contributed to it with his " don't bother me" attitude. While I was a massive McCartney and Lennon fan, as each appealed to the two sides of my nature, mellow romantic and sarcastic rebel, there was something about George that also appealed to me. I guess I liked the band so intensely that I wanted to be like each of them. As I said, John & Paul were already in my nature and I was as likable and average as Ringo (;-). So, I subconsciously knew I needed to connect with George. But he played lead guitar which at 58, I'm only just beginning to understand, at 10 it was a mystery. It was probably because he possessed this mystifying lead player talent that I wanted to play guitar. But wait those guitars, oh my lord what beautiful magical items. They fascinated me so much. Paul's bass was an amazing and unique instrument but at 10. I really had no idea of bass, besides which, Paul played left handed. But George played some amazing guitars, and regular guitars were readily available in stores. My folks bought me an Emenee white plastic nylon stringed "toy". I might as well have played air guitar but it looked good while I stood in my living room singing into a makeshift microphone stuck into a vase. In the meantime, I studied all of George's guitars in fan mags like TigerBeat. I was fascinated with his Gretsch Duo Jet & Country Gent but then came A Hard Day's Night. I sat in the dark of the Palace Movie Theater with my Dad and cousins and shuttered in amazement at the film that made you feel you were right there with them. There were two instruments that film that really made me sit up and take notice: The Gibson J160E and the Rickenbacker 360-12. I lusted after those two guitars. The J160E was an acoustic electric and the Ric, be-still my heart, that sound, and that amazing design! I loved that guitar as only a 10 year old could. It was two years before I finally took lessons and got my first guitars, a no name hollow body electric that resembled a Gretsch/ Gibson Frankenstein and a cheap mahogany acoustic. By this time, I was an informal student of all things guitar, Beatle and otherwise. Roger McGuinn of the Byrds and Pete Townshend of the Who also played a Ric 360-12 and produced that amazing chime that just spoke to my soul. Mike Nesmith of the Monkees, played a Gretsch 12 string, George, Paul and John added Epiphone Casinos and Paul the famous Epiphone Texan, he played Yesterday with on Ed Sullivan, I lusted after that one, too. Then George and John added Fender Strats like the Beach Boys and other US bands played. We only heard them on record but finally got to see George's psychedelic painted version in Magical Mystery Tour. Paul & John then got Martin D-28's and George added a Gibson J-200, SG & Les Paul from Eric Clapton & a Rosewood Fender Tele from Fender. Clapton was playing Gibsons: a Les Paul, then ES-335 before switching to Jimi Hendrix preferred Stratocasters.
Meanwhile, my lessons continued at a snails pace and I stopped going after I started 9th grade. Then I discovered school dances and all the student Rock bands. I stood in front of the stage and watched my classmates play all the cover tunes of the hits of the day. I went home that night with envy and the next morning, I pulled out my Hollow body electric and started to practice. I started to hang out with my friends bands sometimes working as a sort of roadie for one of them. Playing with one of my friends from time to time, I learned a lot and I began to get better. Then I was given a bright red Giannini Acoustic with a neck like an electric that everyone liked playing. I got good enough to join the Guitar Mass Group. Funny thing was, we didn't just play the usual approved Catholic folk songs like Kumbya but slowly added secular songs like Get Together by the Youngbloods, Jackie DeShannon's Put a Little Love in Your Heart, and Jefferson Airplane's Good Shepherd. My contribution was to introduce George Harrison's My Sweet Lord. I got to sing lead and I was proud to be doing it. I later suggested we add Let It Be and George's Awaiting on You All. The latter chorus which said " The Lord is awaiting on you all to awaken and see" which was very appropriate. But we omitted the verse that said
"And the Pope owns 51% of general motors
And the stock exchange is the only thing he's qualified to quote us"

I began to really get into All Things Must Pass and my friends and I discussed George's love of Eastern religion and philosophy. Being in a parochial school, meditation was a common topic. My friends and I took out the Maharishi's book and experimented with eastern meditation. It was cool but not that easy to do with all the distractions of a busy adolescence, but we were finally able to appreciate the beauty of Within You, Without you and the Inner Light. I bought and enjoyed George's WonderWall soundtrack album and in studying Eastern thought I began to reevaluate my understanding of religion and began to question what I really believed.

Through high school, I continued to play and be influenced by other bands like Crosby, Stills and Nash, Neil Young, Cream, Derek and the Dominoes, Creedence Clearwater, The Who, Dylan etc. I was never really good enough to be in a band but I did alright in small folk group situations and I did write a few songs.

Years passed, my playing time diminished but I still followed all the solo Beatle careers. Paul with Wings and beyond, Ringo solo and with his All Stars, John with the Plastic Ono Band and Elephants Memory until his tragic death, and George thru the Concert for Bangladesh, the Capitol and Warner Brother years, The Traveling Wilbury's and his last days. I never got to see John perform live but I've made up for it with multiple attendance at McCartney and Ringo concerts. And, I was lucky to see George perform, once. He was part of the Bob Dylan 30th Anniversary Concert at Madison Square Garden in 1992. I was in the 3rd row behind the stage with a perfect view. George sang Absolutely, Sweet Marie, solo and joined the all star ensemble for My Back Pages and Knockin' on Heaven's Door. He was so cool.

A few years later, I had begun to play again on a regular basis, influenced this time by my guitar playing students. At the time of George's death, we were putting on a Holiday variety performance. So, I got together with some students and we played My Sweet Lord in Honor of George's passing. It went well until the sheet music fell off the stand which resulted in a slightly abbreviated performance. As a result of that experience, I decided to buy a new guitar and discovered that playing with a quality instrument improved my playing. My first purchase was an Epiphone Casino. It was an instrument played by all the Beatle guitarist, I picked a natural finish as John & George had stripped theirs in the late 60's. John made it his main guitar until the end. I followed this with the Epiphone version of the J160E, the John Lennon signature model. I discovered that while being a reasonably priced guitar, it was actually a better instrument then the Gibson version as it had a solid spruce top and the Gibson was a laminate. I caught the collecting bug and have since added many Beatle inspired purchases to my guitar collection, including a Hofner Bass, and a Paul McCartney signature edition Epiphone Texan and a Fender Rosewood Telecaster like one that George played all over Let It Be and Abbey Road and, heck, I even bought a ukulele because George was the ultimate Uke fan. For my 50th birthday, however, I decided to treat myself to my childhood dream and buy a Rickenbacker 360-12. The only problem was that Rickenbacker changed the design in the 1966. I bought it anyway as the sound was right and George also owned and played one. I enjoyed it greatly until last year when I was finally able to get an actual Rickenbacker 360-12 v64 reissue from 1994. I've begun to write songs again and actually wrote all the music for my recent production of As You Like and I've continued to add to my guitar collection. And, yes, I've also been practicing and playing with my friends and slowly improving my skills. Playing guitar relaxes and de-stresses me, I love my instrument collection and collecting items that for the most part don't lose value.
So, on this the 70th anniversary of George Harrison's birth I'm remembering George and all those year's ago, when they were Fab and realizing that if not for you, I would probably have taken any road but instead I'm still living in the material world where I try some guitars and buy some. Tonight, I've got my mind set on you and thinking you were definitely a real cool cat.

Les Miserables or Les Pommes et Oranges!

Ok. I've read the reviews and the Facebook sniping and now that I have finally seen it: LES MISERABLES - THE FILM, I can finally comment and respond. First, I saw the original London Production with Colm Wilkinson and the Broadway with him and two other guys later and I also saw it in London again on three separate occasions. So, I saw the original 7 times. I saw the prototype high school version and then directed that version in 2004. I LOVE the play. Am I clear? Now about the movie. It is a movie, a film, a motion picture ADAPTED from a Broadway pop/opera/musical. Brilliantly photographed, cleverly adapted, wonderfully cast (more on that) and beautifully acted. The controversy about the live on camera singing and Russell Crowe's performance are all pish tosh. There are many presentational, artificial musical "comedies" like CHICAGO which are adapted up front and in your face, in old school movie musical/ Broadway style but LES MIS is not that and never was. This is an emotional story with emotional songs written in a quasi pop/ opera style with an occasional nod to traditional musical comedy( The Thenardier's) So, Facebook and the net is choc-a-block with all kinds of nit picking criticism. "Russell Crowe can't sing", "they added dialogue", "songs were cut", "Amanda Seyfried has a vibrato" . People: stop!Many Broadway fans once again apply stage criticism to film. Folks, its apples and oranges. In order for this expressionisticly staged melodramatic story, with it's "popera" music to work, they had to find a way to make it realistic. Film is all about closeups and having Russell Crowe or anybody belt out those extremely difficult songs of Javert and make them both realistic and understandable would have been ludicrous. Russell Crowe is a fine actor, who took excellent direction and made you HEAR every bit of his recitative and sung lyrics. His performance was as careful and as deliberate as everybody else's. So, why all the complaints. Probably because they are some of the most ridiculously difficult songs ever written for a Broadway show. Having seen and worked on a combination of 9 productions, I can tell you most Javerts struggled with the songs. Those most successful, belted them out with big strong voices hitting fully sounded notes but always lost much intelligibility of lyrics. The director and the producer, who also produced the original show, knew that the "dialogue" for this musical was primarily recitative with some full out character songs. If you are going to be faithful, realistic and dramatic, then an adjustment had to be made to make the lyrics/ dialogue clear, audible and understandable. Dialogue and visuals, especially closeups, tell film stories. All the recitative and many of the songs were slowed down or , in some cases, quieted down, to make the word heard and understood. It was a brilliant choice. They also mixed the sound film in an uniquely different fashion. All the vocals were pushed to the front and center and the orchestrations reduced in volume much in the same way but not to the same degree that background music is used to underscore emotions and themes. This compromise succeeded because I heard lyrics that I never heard before and I know that anybody who has familiarity will have the same experience. Those with little familiarity with the show will never notice the trick . Now on the topic of vibrato, some singers have them some don't. Some are taught to use it others to lose it. It is a matter of taste. If it were such an evil, why did Billie Burke, Jeanette McDonald, Joan Baez and Buffy Sainte Marie have such successful careers. So listen folks, Broadway fans, "purists" and drama queens if you haven't seen the film be prepared to to reign in your natural prejudice that " demands" exact replication of the Broadway show. Of course, some might also, have to reign in their personal jealousy for their favorite part being ruined by those"movie" actors. Really folks, you can't replicate a live theatre experience. Film has to be accepted for what it is and how it functions as film. You can't compare apples and oranges. Oh and then, the true measure of Les Mis in any incarnation, did it make you choke up or cry. It has always affected me this way and the film did as well. I cried. It was a success. There.

My rant on the Healthcare Debate

I am so fed up with all the carping and complaining about the healthcare debate. People who I know to be fairly intelligent are posting wild propaganda that is based on fear mongering and bias. It is propagated by politicians seeking no other goal but reelection and corporations who support them to increase their influence and profits. The issue of what is good and helpful to people is completely being ignored by many people I know because they are being made to believe that "the other side" is only capable of evil. Can we please look at the issue more carefully. Let us first look at the "chewing gum" cartoon which makes people believe that the are being taxed for something they don't want. If we look at the logic of this then we can see its flaws. Taken at face value the cartoon states "I don't want to pay money for chewing gum-alias-health care. Who doesn't want health care? Suicides? Christian Scientists?(another argument for another day). This argument is very flawed. If we are discussing mandating insurance then let's look at another insurance that is already mandated.
Today, across the country we are all mandated to buy car insurance if we want to drive a car. We do not have a choice. If we drive without insurance, we incur multiple steep fines. We could even serve jail time. Once upon a time, car insurance rates were out of control across the country. Premiums often went through the roof and if you had an accident with an uninsured driver the costs would be your expense.
Such has been the case with health care and health insurance. It has not been mandatory and inexpensive options do not really exist. Yet, anyone who checks into an ER must be treated regardless of their ability to pay. Who pays for that? We all do. The costs of private insurance rates are outrageous everywhere and taxpayer pand business owner burden on welfare, Medicare & Medicaid have become astronomical because, to a large degree, we are paying for the care of the uninsured. Republicans would not support government run universal health care, so the opposition figured out a way to pay for the uninsured's emergency care and offset the insurance companies refusal to cover many by asking those who refuse to be insured to pay a tax to, in essence, cover them in an emergency. This "tax" penalty protects all Americans. Mandating we all have insurance protects our future healthcare costs from rising even more astronomically, just as Drivers are protected by buying mandated car insurance. I find it sad and strange that the ultra right and most mainstream Republicans want to deny universal healthcare. They don't want "social medicine" but they have no plans to replace it that is either fair or economical. Oh, but Governor Romney had a plan that he implemented in Massachusetts that required everyone in the State to buy or obtain health insurance. That state has the lowest rate of uninsured in the country, about 3% compared to the national average over 15%. Funny that his model that was the basis for The Affordable Care Act is now criticized by him as an evil. Why? Because he's running for President. The reality of the healthcare issue is that we as a nation are living longer and costs are increasing at a rapid rate. If The Affordable Healthcare Act and it's imminent tweaks and adjustments do not help stem the costs of a larger aging population then a more Universal Plan will be necessary and that will cost money and that will mean raising higher taxes especially on those who can afford it and don't pay enough now. The infamous 1%, Republicans and corporate conservatives will never stand for that and they will find an insidious way to make upstanding senior citizens & middle Americans to believe that higher taxes on those who do mot pay their fair share, that will make them live longer or make them comfortable are evil. They will finds a way to make make people believe that death is preferable to higher taxes on the rich. Unbelievable but sadly true.

"E Pluribis Unum"our original national motto means Out of many, one or One from many. One people united under a common cause in a country designed with a concept of the common good for one united people. Apparently, we have lost that thread. It's more like the Three Stooges: One for all & all for one and Everyman for himself. Rant over.

William Shakespeare's Birthday April 23

Shakespeare has been an important part of my life since seeing his plays broadcast on TV in 1964, for his 400th birthday. I was 10. I chose Hofstra University as my college because of their Shakespeare festival and have been fortunate to have directed 17 of his plays, some multiple times for a total of 32 productions.all in all his plays have provided me with the foundations of my directing skills and actor training.

Happy 448 Will.

"It is not in the stars to hold our destiny but in ourselves.
Julius Caesar (I, ii 140-141)
Shakespeare


"He was not for an age but for all time." Ben Jonson

Merry Christmas

Christmas Wishes to all my family and friends.

"Happy, happy Christmas, that can win us back to the delusions of our childish days; that can recall to the old man the pleasures of his youth; that can transport the sailor and the traveller, thousands of miles away, back to his own fire-side and his quiet home!"
~Charles Dickens, The Pickwick Papers, 1836

All my best,
Sal

Gone Hollywood or on tour with On Tour.

LA. It goes by many names: City of Angels, La La Land, Southland, and sometimes Hollywood's nickname -Tinsel Town. Of course, years ago the urban sprawl that is Los Angeles became synonymous with it's smaller district-Hollywood just as Hollywood became a metonym for all American cinematic endeavors. The independent film industry came west around 1910 to escape the machinations of the Motion Picture Patents Company also known as the Edison Trust and co-opted many of the then Orange fields. The trust controlled all film making and distribution and was an alliance of all the major companies. The trust was weakened in 1911 when Eastman Kodak renegotiated with the Trust to sell raw film stock outside of the trust. By WWI, European film production halted and Hollywood began producing feature length films in a State with a judicial system that was unfriendly to Patent lawsuits. The New York/East Coast based monopolies were slow to create feature length movies and by 1915, the Federal government broke up the monopoly. With the triumph of Cecil B. DeMille's The Squaw Man and D.W. Griffith's Birth of a Nation, Hollywood and Los Angeles' reputation as the film making capital of the world was secured. The recording industry and Television followed in the forties and fifties reinvigorating the reputation of the town as a total Entertainment capital.

Los Angeles today is still the center of a multi-media entertainment industry. Many people, who come to visit LA don't get that. They see the horrendous traffic, the tons of stereotypical actor "types" and the massive hype from huge billboards to lamp post banners and they make their jokes. But they just don't get it. They don't get LA. The core of LA, The West Side, Hollywood & Downtown and surrounding areas of Burbank, Studio City, Santa Monica, much of the San Fernando Valley & some of the Beach Cities is made up of a lot people who work in the industry, many others support the industry with multitudes of service oriented businesses. I would guess that maybe 50% of the population is not indigenous or descended from the indigenous population. That group came to LA for the industry. Ironically, many born here, who loathe the industry's side effects, want to get out, many can't but many are biding their time.

Most of LA is friendly and very laid back but with good reason. Comedians joke about the bleaching effects of the sun being the reason, but it is simpler than that. It's the industry effect. Almost everyone is friendly because they never know who they are talking to and who might one day change their fortune. Yes, their is a certain degree of "Eddie Haskell" phoniness but it is still friendly which is better than surly. Bad behavior often comes from the most successful or quickly successful, who become drunk with fame and excess as wells addled by booze and drugs like Lindsay Lohan and Charlie Sheen. The laid back pace and attitude is also easily explained. The sheer size of the population area and the variety of geographical features- mountains, valleys, beaches and the accompanying road congestion manifests itself in fostering a laid back attitude because- why hurry when the traffic will only hold you up. It's hard to hurry when the top speeds on most roads don't reach 40 mph. Heck, the so called Freeways barely reach 50 in non rush periods and crawl at rush times. It must be terribly ironic to sit in 5 to 8 lane bumper to bumper Freeway traffic and have to read the sign that says Speed Limit: 65. So, if you can't rush- relax! Hence, a laid back personality permeates the region.

I love it. Cruising the avenues and boulevards of " broken dreams" , you begin to appreciate the 50's concept of "cruising" as depicted in films like American Graffiti. My friends and I thought we were cruising our local towns when we were in High School but we were going much too fast by LA standards. Driving the local streets of LA's core is a pleasure. The street signs are informative and the traffic is so leisurely that it is easy to find most any address. Driving around you can easily see the sights and appreciate the architecture from the drivers seat. And then there is the weather: why rush when the weather is so beautiful and mild so much of the year. The average temperature is 72. There is a glory in the mountains, the flora and fauna,when not sun bleached by the sun, especially the succulents, that can be quite beautiful.
For an outsider, there are always cultural differences in each part of the country. LA has it's share of neighborhood variety but nothing out of the ordinary. The once distinctive minorities seem to blend much more into the mix but perhaps that's because they blend so well across the urban centers of the country. No, it's not the people who stand out but the messages of the media. Hollywood's Seeming demand that people be " beautiful" has reached ridiculous heights. Yes, the TV news people are the most plastic anywhere in the world but the need to be " beautiful" now extends to commercial ads, complete with jingles, for Lap band surgery. The lyrics are something like " If you want good things to begin Just call 1-800- GET -THIN" !!! Yikes!
Other than that disturbing note, this has been a wonderfully relaxed portion of my trip. I am "On Tour" in more ways than one. Part of my purpose in coming to LA was to see friends and alums. The visits have exceeded all my expectations. Roy Schwartz from '88, now a business man and musician, met me at the airport, drove me to my rental car and then took me to see Billy Kaplan and Scott Smolev, class of '91 who were working Audio production on a new NBC reality show Fashion Star, at Culver Studios. This was where they filmed parts of Gone With the Wind. In fact, the administration building was used for David O. Selznick's company logo.

Roy and I were surprised to see that alumna actress and writer, Adria Lang, class of '94, was doing production work for them as well.

That evening Adria drove me to the Silverlake section of town to meet with Janet Song, class of '88 who graciously invited me to a Dodger game. I thoroughly enjoyed the experience even though the Dodgers lost. Janet is acting and working or a major health organization, where she often works on theatrical events.

Thursday, I made my way to Burbank for lunch and a tour of Disney Animation Studios from Mike Weissman, class of '06.

Friday, found me back in Burbank.( albeit after a missed turn put me on a harrowing ride on the 101 Freeway. It is near impossible to cross 6 lanes of moderate traffic to try and make an exit on a ramp that is less than a 1/4 mile from the entrance: I got off at the second exit instead).
I finally made it to Warner Brothers Studio ranch for lunch and a tour of Warner Animation Studios with recent Emmy winner, Kevin Schinick, class of '87 and creative force behind Mad TV on cartoon network, ad his brother Scott, class of '91( one of my English students.

Friday night, I had dinner with old college friends, Phil and Monica Rosenthal, their son Ben and their friends. Phil is also a multi- Emmy award winning writer and producer and Monica is a successful actress. They took me to the exquisite restaurant, Mozza, a creation of Mario Batali and his partners. I am very grateful to them for their warm hospitality and I had a really good time.

Later that night, I went for drinks with Brett Lewis, class of '89. Brett is a comic book artist and writer and he has also written for animation and had his work adapted into film.

The hotel was in a great location and had a roof top pool area. I spent my free time making good use of it.

Saturday, I had lunch with Bari Harelick Winter and her husband. They are both editors, he's in sound and she's in film & video. Friday evening, I went with Adria to see a very funny play, ReAnimator: the Musical. It was wonderful silliness. After that I had a late dinner at the famous Canter's Deli with actor Richard Werner, class of 86, my very first year with On Tour. There were a few others that I wanted to see but time and obligations prevented us. However, I was surprised as I was leaving Canter's. As I was speaking to Rich, a young man was walking into the Deli and I recognized him and he me. It was Stu Silverman, class of '95, who I didn't even know was in LA. He is now a successful editor, as well. These things always happen to me. Truly, it's a small world.

Sunday, I had breakfast with the ’91 group, spent the remainder of the day hanging out with Roy until I had to go to the airport and then flew off to Chicago.

The LA leg of my tour has been very successful on many levels. It has been relaxing and refreshing, informative and enlightening and it is always great to see and share good times with old friends. For all these friendships, I am truly blessed. It is also particularly rewarding to see so many students excel in the very tough fields of the arts.



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