Awaiting the fireworks over the London Eye: We ate a little Italian restaurant near our hotel, not the most elegant meal we have ever had but quite good and of course Terry enjoyed the people-watching.
Since then, we have returned to our hotel and spent the time in the Executive Lounge (only place for free WiFi) contemplating what we may do for the rest of our time in London. Also spent some time reaffirming why we love each other and how important each of us is to the other. I would be bereft without Terry.
Earlier we went to the theatre. We saw a new version of PIAF. It was terrific (although I hate the fact that in a theatre as small as the Vaudeville - maybe 600 seats - the producers felt the need to use wireless mikes on the actors). Piaf herself would have been appalled. She gained notoriety for the power of he voice (honed by singing over the traffic in Paris). The actor had the vocal power to replicate that, so not sure why the need for mikes.
As an old-fashioned actor myself, I pride myself on the ability to hit the back wall (even in a state-whisper) without the need for amplification. Unless you are in the Greek Theatre in Los Angeles, or some 5,000+ seat house anywhere, you should not need amplifying. Okay, sermon over.
We loved the show, the cast as a whole was quite good, but the woman playing Piaf and the woman playing Marlene Dietrich were particularly outstanding.
London Theatre – what a joy.
Wednesday, December 31, 2008
London on New Year’s
Awaiting the fireworks over the London Eye: We ate at a little Italian restaurant near our hotel, not the most elegant meal we have ever had but quite good and of course Terry enjoyed the people-watching.
Since then, we have returned to our hotel and spent the time in the Executive Lounge (only place for free WiFi) contemplating what we may do for the rest of our time in London. Also spent some time reaffirming why we love each other and how important each of us is to the other. I would be bereft without Terry.
Earlier we went to the theatre. We saw a new version of PIAF. It was terrific (although I hate the fact that in a theatre as small as the Vaudeville (maybe 600 seats) the producers felt the need to use wireless mikes on the actors. Piaf herself would have been appalled. She gained notoriety for the power of he voice (honed by singing over the traffic in Paris). The actor had the vocal power to replicate that, so not sure why the need for mikes.
As an old-fashioned actor myself, I pride myself on the ability to hit the back wall (even in a stage-whisper) without the need for amplification. Unless you are in the Greek Theatre in Los Angeles, or some 5,000+ seat house anywhere, you should not need amplifying. Okay, sermon over.
We loved the show, the cast as a whole was quite good, but the woman playing Piaf and the woman playing Marlene Dietrich were particularly outstanding.
London Theatre – what a joy.
Since then, we have returned to our hotel and spent the time in the Executive Lounge (only place for free WiFi) contemplating what we may do for the rest of our time in London. Also spent some time reaffirming why we love each other and how important each of us is to the other. I would be bereft without Terry.
Earlier we went to the theatre. We saw a new version of PIAF. It was terrific (although I hate the fact that in a theatre as small as the Vaudeville (maybe 600 seats) the producers felt the need to use wireless mikes on the actors. Piaf herself would have been appalled. She gained notoriety for the power of he voice (honed by singing over the traffic in Paris). The actor had the vocal power to replicate that, so not sure why the need for mikes.
As an old-fashioned actor myself, I pride myself on the ability to hit the back wall (even in a stage-whisper) without the need for amplification. Unless you are in the Greek Theatre in Los Angeles, or some 5,000+ seat house anywhere, you should not need amplifying. Okay, sermon over.
We loved the show, the cast as a whole was quite good, but the woman playing Piaf and the woman playing Marlene Dietrich were particularly outstanding.
London Theatre – what a joy.
Tuesday, December 30, 2008
In London
Long overnight flight from Denver via Chicago. We are in London, ensconsced in a room at the London Hilton Park Lane.
Arriving at 6am, then car service to the hotel (arriving at 7:30am) in hopes of having a room ready. Not to be, though we were able to spend a couple of hours in the Executive Lounge having breakfast and waiting for our room to be prepared. Ready shortly after 9:00am. A shower, and a nap and we are ready to get out and about.
London at Christmas is London as it always is: the greatest city in the world. We love Paris, and San Francisco and Singapore, but London is just London. Our room has a great view of Green Park, St. James Park, Buckingham Palace, Westminster and the London Eye..
Right now, we are sitting in the Exec. Lounge drinking wine and trying to decide what plays we want to try to see.
It is cold here (big surprise) but there still is no place like London. Tomorrow we will head to Leiscter Square and the Half Price Ticket Booth to see what is available. Looking forward to seeing some great theatre. Usually the serendipitous find is the most rewarding.
We will also do our traditional ride down the Thames to Greenwich to see where time starts, always appropriate at the New Year. We do this boat ride after having bought an eggnog Latte (yes I know Starbucks, but what the hell) and topping it off with some brandy. You simply don't mind the cold and the view along the river is great.
We may try to ride the London Eye again (the best view of central London you can get), but whatever we do, it will be great.
It is London, and Terry and I are together.
Cheers for the new year.
Arriving at 6am, then car service to the hotel (arriving at 7:30am) in hopes of having a room ready. Not to be, though we were able to spend a couple of hours in the Executive Lounge having breakfast and waiting for our room to be prepared. Ready shortly after 9:00am. A shower, and a nap and we are ready to get out and about.
London at Christmas is London as it always is: the greatest city in the world. We love Paris, and San Francisco and Singapore, but London is just London. Our room has a great view of Green Park, St. James Park, Buckingham Palace, Westminster and the London Eye..
Right now, we are sitting in the Exec. Lounge drinking wine and trying to decide what plays we want to try to see.
It is cold here (big surprise) but there still is no place like London. Tomorrow we will head to Leiscter Square and the Half Price Ticket Booth to see what is available. Looking forward to seeing some great theatre. Usually the serendipitous find is the most rewarding.
We will also do our traditional ride down the Thames to Greenwich to see where time starts, always appropriate at the New Year. We do this boat ride after having bought an eggnog Latte (yes I know Starbucks, but what the hell) and topping it off with some brandy. You simply don't mind the cold and the view along the river is great.
We may try to ride the London Eye again (the best view of central London you can get), but whatever we do, it will be great.
It is London, and Terry and I are together.
Cheers for the new year.
Wednesday, December 24, 2008
Another historic inaugural
With many of us now excitedly focusing on the inauguration of Barrack Obama as President, I was thinking back to the first time I was invited to a Presidential Inaugural.
It was the inauguration of Lyndon Johnson in January of 1965.
Johnson had won the 1964 election in a landslide. Johnson carried every state but six. Goldwater carried five states in the deep south (but not Florida) as well as him home state of Arizona. Johnson carried states that had traditionally voted Republican, including the state of Kansas.
Kansas as you might know has always had a lot more Republicans than Democrats. That is particularly true of the western half of the state where I was living in 1964.
I went to High School in a little town on the western border of Kansas, just 8 miles from the Colorado line. We were part of the 1st Congressional District of Kansas, considered at the time and to this day one of the most Republican districts in the country. It was represented at that time by Bob Dole, who of course went on to be a U.S. Senator and vice-presidential candidate.
However we were Democrats, so I spent the summer volunteering as a driver for the Democratic candidate for Congress, Bill Bork. He lost. I don’t think it was my driving (it was a lot of driving, it was geographically one of the largest districts in the country, something like half of the state) it was there were just too many Republicans, even in a year in which Johnson carried the state by like 54%.
Any way, in December of that year I got in the mail my official invitation to the inaugural that following January. I was not quite 18, couldn’t vote (in those days you had to be 21 to vote), but I had my first real experience in politics. We had lost the congressional race but won the presidential and I couldn’t have been more excited. I’ve been a political junkie ever since.
Here are copies of the invitation materials.
Not on the envelope that it is simply addressed to me but no street or box number just the name of the town and the state. No zip codes in those days.
Also note that one of the hosts is Mrs. Hale Boggs. Hale Boggs was a congressman from Louisiana who disappeared whose plane disappeared in Alaska in 1972. His wife Lindy succeeded him in the Congress. Hale and Lindy were the parents of the journalist Cokie Roberts, and Tommy Boggs of Patton and Boggs.
Click on the image to make it larger in a new window. I realize that in scanning these materials I neglected to crop them, oh well.
It was the inauguration of Lyndon Johnson in January of 1965.
Johnson had won the 1964 election in a landslide. Johnson carried every state but six. Goldwater carried five states in the deep south (but not Florida) as well as him home state of Arizona. Johnson carried states that had traditionally voted Republican, including the state of Kansas.
Kansas as you might know has always had a lot more Republicans than Democrats. That is particularly true of the western half of the state where I was living in 1964.
I went to High School in a little town on the western border of Kansas, just 8 miles from the Colorado line. We were part of the 1st Congressional District of Kansas, considered at the time and to this day one of the most Republican districts in the country. It was represented at that time by Bob Dole, who of course went on to be a U.S. Senator and vice-presidential candidate.
However we were Democrats, so I spent the summer volunteering as a driver for the Democratic candidate for Congress, Bill Bork. He lost. I don’t think it was my driving (it was a lot of driving, it was geographically one of the largest districts in the country, something like half of the state) it was there were just too many Republicans, even in a year in which Johnson carried the state by like 54%.
Any way, in December of that year I got in the mail my official invitation to the inaugural that following January. I was not quite 18, couldn’t vote (in those days you had to be 21 to vote), but I had my first real experience in politics. We had lost the congressional race but won the presidential and I couldn’t have been more excited. I’ve been a political junkie ever since.
Here are copies of the invitation materials.
Not on the envelope that it is simply addressed to me but no street or box number just the name of the town and the state. No zip codes in those days.
Also note that one of the hosts is Mrs. Hale Boggs. Hale Boggs was a congressman from Louisiana who disappeared whose plane disappeared in Alaska in 1972. His wife Lindy succeeded him in the Congress. Hale and Lindy were the parents of the journalist Cokie Roberts, and Tommy Boggs of Patton and Boggs.
Click on the image to make it larger in a new window. I realize that in scanning these materials I neglected to crop them, oh well.
My pick for US Senate
The political news in Colorado has been non-stop since the election. First there was the daily speculation as to which Coloradan(s) might get a cabinet post, then when Senator Ken Salazar was named Secretary of the Interior, the speculation shifted to which Coloradan will fill the Senate seat. At the same time there was speculation as to whom the Governor would appoint to the unexpired term of the Secretary of State (the sitting Secretary, Mike Coffman was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives and will resign as Secretary in early January).
For political junkies it has turned what is normally down time after an election to one as interesting as the pre-election period.
I expect that Governor Ritter will select Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper as the next U.S. Senator from Colorado. Speculation goes on however and there are other likely candidates, but I just have a sense that it is the Mayor’s if he wants it – and he does.
I think John will be fine and it will be a good pick, but not my pick. I would like the Governor to select the other John, - John Salazar. He is my pick for a number of reasons, but one very personal.
John is a good man who genuinely cares about other people.
When John was first running for the U.S. House, my father fell very ill and was in the hospital. It was in October just a couple of weeks before the election. When John found out about my dad, he took precious time out of his busy campaign to visit my dad in the hospital. He and his wife Mary Lou spent an hour with my father. No press, no photo op, just two very decent people helping to cheer my dad up and showing how much they care for others.
I will never forget that. It meant so much to my dad (who has since passed away) and to me and our family.
So is that sort of caring behavior and attitude a qualification for being a Senator? In my book it is. On top of all the other qualities and experience John has.
As I said, I am sure the Governor will select John Hickenlooper and it will be a fine pick. As would my friend Representative Ed Perlmutter, another fine person and good public servant. But my sentimental pick is still John Salazar.
For political junkies it has turned what is normally down time after an election to one as interesting as the pre-election period.
I expect that Governor Ritter will select Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper as the next U.S. Senator from Colorado. Speculation goes on however and there are other likely candidates, but I just have a sense that it is the Mayor’s if he wants it – and he does.
I think John will be fine and it will be a good pick, but not my pick. I would like the Governor to select the other John, - John Salazar. He is my pick for a number of reasons, but one very personal.
John is a good man who genuinely cares about other people.
When John was first running for the U.S. House, my father fell very ill and was in the hospital. It was in October just a couple of weeks before the election. When John found out about my dad, he took precious time out of his busy campaign to visit my dad in the hospital. He and his wife Mary Lou spent an hour with my father. No press, no photo op, just two very decent people helping to cheer my dad up and showing how much they care for others.
I will never forget that. It meant so much to my dad (who has since passed away) and to me and our family.
So is that sort of caring behavior and attitude a qualification for being a Senator? In my book it is. On top of all the other qualities and experience John has.
As I said, I am sure the Governor will select John Hickenlooper and it will be a fine pick. As would my friend Representative Ed Perlmutter, another fine person and good public servant. But my sentimental pick is still John Salazar.
I am a lucky man
31 years ago today, my daughter was born. Hard to believe and now she has a daughter of her own. And though it was 31 years ago, I can remember the details of the day vividly. I am a lucky man.
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