In a bit of a departure from our usual fare on this blog, I wanted to share with you our experience at the Jerry Seinfeld show here in Pittsburgh last Saturday night.
First of all, it was a miracle we were able to get any tickets at all. When the show was originally announced, the show was sold out quickly. Apparently happy with the response, a second show was scheduled. I called the box office and remarkable, tickets were still available for the second show. I gobbled up two for a total of $176, tax and handling fees included.. They were for middle of the left center orchestra. Not bad.
The show began with Seinfeld's warm-up act, a comedian whose name I could not hear when he was announced. He was very funny and I began to wonder if Seinfeld could top him. No need to worry. After about twenty minutes of the warm up act's non-stop jokes, Seinfeld appeared to a standing ovation. As I am sure is common where ever he goes, he paid homage to the city, pointing out that Pittsburgh is always ranked number 1 or near the top in almost every survey of the most livable cites, but then further pointing to the fact that "nobody believes that for a minute."
The next 75 minutes or so were similar non-stop observations about everything---and, of course, about "nothing." He joked that our lives all "sucked" including his own, but pointed out his sucked "a lot less." I was surprised at how limber he was as he danced around the stage. At 59, he appears to be at least twenty years younger.
It was a real tour de force and I would recommend you see him if he is visiting a town near you or even if you have to travel. It is well worth it.
For scheduling information about the tour, see http://www.ticketnetwork.com/tickets/jerry-seinfeld-tickets.aspx?utm_source=google&utm_medium=ppc&gclid=CJe9q_Huh7oCFdSd4AodXhsAxg
Showing posts with label tour. Show all posts
Showing posts with label tour. Show all posts
Tuesday, October 8, 2013
Wednesday, August 22, 2012
The Boomer's Guide to West Point
The United States Military Academy is the training ground for our Army commissioned officer corps. Founded by President Thomas Jefferson in 1802, it sits on the site of a Revolutionary War fortress that was taken by the Americans on January 27, 1778 It has a commanding presence over the Hudson River Valley and its strategic importance is immediately apparent.
West Point is located 50 miles north of New York City on Route 9W. It is available for private tours. www.westpointtours.com. Those tours begin at the visitors center located just outside the main gate. Photo ID is required to purchase a ticket and upon boarding the shuttle bus.
Our tour guide on our one hour tour (two hour tours are also available) was a very knowledgeable teacher from a nearby school district. As luck would have it, the guide's son, who will be a third year cadet at the Academy was also on the bus. We learned that third year cadets are called "cows"; first year cadets are plebes, second year cadets are yearlings and fourth year cadets are called "firsties."
The initial fortifications at West Point during the Revolutionary War were developed by a Polish engineer, Thaddeus Kosciuszko. A monument to Kosciuszko is located near Clinton Field. It was his defensive strategy for West Point that the infamous traitor, Benedict Arnold, had offered to provide to the British because Arnold felt he had not been given adequate credit for his role during the battle of Saratoga. Arnold escaped to England and his British contact, Major Andre, was hanged.
Architecturally, one of the most impressive buildings on campus is the non-denominational Protestant chapel. (There are also Catholic and Jewish chapels on campus). The chapel is in the Gothic style and can seat some 1500 people. In addition it is said to have the world's largest pipe organ in a religious setting. According to our tour guide, some 100 weddings are held there each year. Cadets are not permitted to be married while at the Academy so there is a rash of weddings immediately after graduation.
"Duty, Honor, Country". Those were the words spoken by General Douglas MacArthur, a 1903 graduate of the Academy, upon his acceptance of the Sylvanus Thayer Award. Those words basically sum up the philosophy instilled in the cadets at West Point. One other word characterizes those cadets, men and women, who pass through this hallowed campus and it is craved on a bench over looking the Hudson Valley:
As our tour bus was leaving the campus, our tour guide pointed to a building and said that was the building where intelligence experts had reviewed some of the documents taken from Osama Bin Laden's compound when he was killed.
At the completion of our tour, we stopped in at the Thayer Hotel, just inside the main gate. The hotel is named for Sylvanus Thayer, one of early superintendents of the Academy, who was responsible for the engineering emphasis of the curriculum. We had an excellent buffet lunch in MacArthur's, a restaurant in the lower level of the hotel with outdoor space overlooking the campus and the Hudson Valley.
West Point is located 50 miles north of New York City on Route 9W. It is available for private tours. www.westpointtours.com. Those tours begin at the visitors center located just outside the main gate. Photo ID is required to purchase a ticket and upon boarding the shuttle bus.
Our tour guide on our one hour tour (two hour tours are also available) was a very knowledgeable teacher from a nearby school district. As luck would have it, the guide's son, who will be a third year cadet at the Academy was also on the bus. We learned that third year cadets are called "cows"; first year cadets are plebes, second year cadets are yearlings and fourth year cadets are called "firsties."
The initial fortifications at West Point during the Revolutionary War were developed by a Polish engineer, Thaddeus Kosciuszko. A monument to Kosciuszko is located near Clinton Field. It was his defensive strategy for West Point that the infamous traitor, Benedict Arnold, had offered to provide to the British because Arnold felt he had not been given adequate credit for his role during the battle of Saratoga. Arnold escaped to England and his British contact, Major Andre, was hanged.
Architecturally, one of the most impressive buildings on campus is the non-denominational Protestant chapel. (There are also Catholic and Jewish chapels on campus). The chapel is in the Gothic style and can seat some 1500 people. In addition it is said to have the world's largest pipe organ in a religious setting. According to our tour guide, some 100 weddings are held there each year. Cadets are not permitted to be married while at the Academy so there is a rash of weddings immediately after graduation.
"Duty, Honor, Country". Those were the words spoken by General Douglas MacArthur, a 1903 graduate of the Academy, upon his acceptance of the Sylvanus Thayer Award. Those words basically sum up the philosophy instilled in the cadets at West Point. One other word characterizes those cadets, men and women, who pass through this hallowed campus and it is craved on a bench over looking the Hudson Valley:
As our tour bus was leaving the campus, our tour guide pointed to a building and said that was the building where intelligence experts had reviewed some of the documents taken from Osama Bin Laden's compound when he was killed.
At the completion of our tour, we stopped in at the Thayer Hotel, just inside the main gate. The hotel is named for Sylvanus Thayer, one of early superintendents of the Academy, who was responsible for the engineering emphasis of the curriculum. We had an excellent buffet lunch in MacArthur's, a restaurant in the lower level of the hotel with outdoor space overlooking the campus and the Hudson Valley.
Subscribe to:
Posts
(
Atom
)