Scape Now News and Views

Archive for January, 2010

There was a time, a long, long time ago when the people of this country were required to take horses and buggies if they wanted to travel anywhere. They had to wait for their crops to grow and provide food. They had to wait for their food to cook because they did not have microwaves. Things have changed a lot in the last 200 years. Much of what we want is available to us almost instantaneously. In some regards we have lost the meaning of patience.
If we need to go somewhere we can get in our cars and drive down the road at 45 mph, but for many that is just not fast enough so they drive 50 or 60 mph. Once they arrive at the store they can find any type of food to fit their taste buds; regardless of whether or not it is in season. If that is not fast enough, you can stop at any of the numerous fast food restaurants that decorate nearly every corner and you do not even have to get out of the car. They hand you your all-ready cooked food right out the window to your waiting car.
Even the way that we handle money has changed. No longer do we carry cash, but bankcards that can automatically deduct money from our accounts. The same accounts that receive our direct deposit paychecks every two weeks. If you need a loan, you on longer need to wait weeks to hear back from the bank, simply walk into a payday loan store or visit moneymutual.com. Money Mutual, Montel Williams endorsed, is just one of the many places you can get a quick loan, without a credit check, and have it in your account by the next day.
There are many advantages to our fast-paced society. Being able to visit friends or family who live many miles, or states, away is just one. But I can’t help but feel that we’ve lost something in the shift. With people suffering from chronic stress, heart attacks, and numerous other ailments, perhaps it would do us all good to go back, if just for a little way, to a simpler, slower place in time.

When Michael found out he had been accepted into the University of Dayton he was overjoyed. That had been his first choice of schools since he was a sophomore and really began to consider colleges. His parents also loved the idea of his going to Dayton as that was the alma matter of his aunt Sheila, his father’s sister. As soon as he received the letter and told his parents his father called his sister who was very happy and also proud. She mentioned that one of the things she remembers most fondly and loved the most about her college years was the beauty of the campus. That seemed like a simple pleasure to Michael whos was focuses on the music department.

He had played the piano since he was five years old and while that had been a long time passion of his, he was going to seek a degree in composition as well as go on to achieve a certificate in church music. His ultimate goal was to be the music director for a large church, but he ultimately wanted to compose sacred music. And though he dare not aspire to the heights of his great role model and major influence, he certainly wanted to emulate JS Bach in his career. So, with that ambition, Michael hadn’t even considered the beauty of the campus.

However, at the beginning of the summer he and his parents took a trip to Dayton. His parents wanted to tour the campus and they also wanted to find Michael a place to live. They spent four days in one of the friendly Dayton hotels located near campus. His mother was first to notice and remember the words of aunt Sheila when she commented on the beauty of the campus. Michael agreed that it was very nice looking, and had a quality academic feel, whatever that meant, though he was focused on finding his department, not smelling the roses. “As a musician and composer I should think you would want to reflect on the beauty and significance of nature,” his mother scolded. She was right, thought Michael and took a moment to breathe the air of his new campus.

Curtis could not stop dreaming about his upcoming trip to Fort Worth, Texas. It wasn’t so much that he was in love with the city, although he definitely had a great time there every time he went. The reason Curtis was so eager to visit this great Texan town was that his girlfriend Carly had recently transferred to Texas Wesleyan University and he hadn’t seen her in almost four months. When she had first been accepted and Curtis found out she really was going to complete her final two years of college in Fort Worth he didn’t think the long distance nature that was about to attach itself to their relationship was going to be difficult or troublesome. In fact, Curtis was even so bold as to think the distance would give him the additional space he thought he wanted. Now though, he greatly longed to be staying in a hotel of luxury in Fort Worth to be near Carly.

However, this far into her first year at Wesleyan Curtis realized he was greatly missing not only Carly but certain aspects of her life that he thought bothered him. For instance, he was now a regular, though private and secret, watcher of Desperate Housewives and every Saturday he would stop at a Baskin Robbins for two scoops of mint chocolate ice cream. He even found himself listening to Carly’s cds of Justin Timberlake and Pink that she had left behind. It’s not that he felt anything was inherently wrong or un-masculine with these things, it’s just that they were definite favorites of Carly’s and she’s the one that introduced them into his life. So, he felt like they weren’t exactly his and that used to be able to pretend like she was forcing him to watch shows like House Wives and he felt a little guilty tuning in on his own.

So, when Curtis arrived at the Dallas/Fort Worth Airport Carly was there with her bright eyes and huge smile waiting for him. He was so excited to see her but also excited to enjoy a nice cup of homemade cocoa with tiny marshmallows. This was another treat that although he acknowledged was very good he stressed that he would partake only because Carly wanted him to so badly. After a week of enjoying each other’s company and spending time at the Fort Worth Zoo, the Sid Richardson Museum and other great cultural attractions, on his last night in town Curtis finally had to ask Carly if she was going to make her Cocoa, and Carly laughed and reminded him that she had once told him she knew he would ask for it one day.

Scooter was planning to move to Austin, Texas when his good friends decided to throw him a going away party. And it was no typical going away party that they put together. In fact, it was absolutely unexpected and amazingly exiting and fun for everyone. His best friend Cole and two other friends Mike and Thor organized the whole event that actually took place in Austin instead of their hometown of Kerrville. They also planned this in secret and Scooter had no idea that it was going to happen. His friends made sure that he was available on Friday and Saturday of the chosen weekend and had arranged for all six of them to stay in a fabulous Austin resort hotel.

That Friday morning Cole picked up Scooter and drove over to Pete’s house where the rest of the guys were getting ready for a big breakfast of ham, eggs and pancakes. Scooter thought that when they were through they would end up going to the basketball court or some other local and typical activity and didn’t even bother to ask where they were going when they all piled into Pete’s van and headed out of town. Of course, once they reached US-290 he realized he had no idea where they were going and no one else seemed to be concerned.

The other guys started laughing and told Scooter they wondered when he would ever catch on and then Cole told him what they had planned for the weekend. They drove to Austin and spent most of their time checking out the local clubs, coffee shops and cafes in order to get an idea of what they could expect when they came to visit him in the future. All of them agreed that the sports bar Third Base was their favorite place and decided to make a pact that they would visit every Saturday and go there to watch the college football game. That Saturday they enjoyed a few games of pool and snacked on some nachos, mini sliders, mini corn dogs and hot wings while they watched the Longhorns game.

We took a taxi down to South Seaport Dock to catch the Water taxi for a tour around the Hudson River. The tour took us up river heading toward the Statue of Liberty. It was very refreshing and the entertainment was fun. We got in some fantastic photos. The tour only lasted 45 minutes, which was perfect really. We then made our way to Ground Zero and checked on the progress of the work site. There was definitely massive construction taking place. The new twin towers haven’t been named yet, but we’re pretty sure they’ll be better than the predecessors.

Later, we purchased tickets to ride on a helicopter to take us on an aerial view of Manhattan. It was breathtaking and exciting, a real wow factor and worth the very expensive price, the best experience for us to date! We talked to the helicopter pilot the whole time about all the scenery, like the magnificent Central Park, the Empire State Building at a very acute scary angle, Yankee Stadium (no game). We safely landed back on the ground and we were both exhilarated, we didn’t know what to do with ourselves.

So, we figured a slice of New York pizza should calm us down and we went onto Broadway and found Sparrows Pizza, which wasn’t too far from our USA New York hotel, that’s how we knew about the place. We’ve been wanting to try it every since we arrive here in New York City, but we hadn’t had the opportunity until now. Sparrows served us the biggest slice of pizza we’ve ever had and man was it tasty, so tasty we had to order another slice, which made that we ate a whole pizza by ourselves. It’s a must do if you ever come to New York and want the best sliced pizza in town.

We headed back to our hotel and sat at the hotels lounge and chilled for a couple of hours. We then remembered we had cupcakes waiting for us up in our room, they were from Magnolia’s, which is featured in ‘Sex and the City’ TV series. We rushed up to our hotel room and tore open the box and devoured some of the best vanilla cupcakes in the world. Fabulous as each one went down and our waistlines went out. We figured we were preparing our stomach’s for more culinary delights when we head off to San Francisco in two days time.

Our New York journey began as we made our mission to pick up tickets the the Statue of Liberty. Before we left London, we had heard that the Lady’s crown was once again opened to the public. We immediately went on-line and not only booked us tickets for the climb to the top of the statue (because we knew there was no way we’d get tickets the day of arrival), but we found a great site that let us book a small New York hotel.

Our first stop after we arrived in New York City was to our hotel, then our second stop was to the Statue of Liberty. We eagerly made our way to the Ranger Station after picking up our tickets at Battery Park, which by-the-way, was not far from our hotel! We handed over our tickets and had to go through an interesting screening process. The tickets we purchased gave us preferential treatment, so the screening itself wasn’t so bad, all we had to do after answering some questions, was to go to the front of the line (preferential treatment) and walk through a machine that blew cold air all around our bodies (it was a hot day, so the cool air felt good), I was glad I wasn’t wearing a skirt!

We headed to the elevator to the Observatory, and it was closed for the day! So, we did the climb up the stairs, which we really weren’t prepared for. This climb is not for the weak or faint hearted. The park rangers even warned us that there’s no turning back, once you start the climb, you have to finish it. The climb past the Observatory, which leads into the body of the Lady, becomes steeper and narrower.

We finally made the last 40 steps to the Crown. We had to stop before that to catch our breath; there was a very nice Ranger with which we chatted up. The Rangers are positioned at several different places along the climb and they give you information about the Statue if you ask. After a gentle encouragement from the Ranger, we made it to the top. The Crown is small, but quite overwhelming. There were two Rangers stationed there who regaled us with tales of immigrants and other sites we should see in the city. It was hard to leave the Crown, the view is stunning and memorable.

On our way back down, a Ranger told us that we hadn’t been to the museum yet, which is the downside of going up to the crown, you by-pass the museum. In order to go to the museum, we’d have to go through security again, and we really didn’t have the energy for that, plus, we lost our VIP passes! (I’m sure some other tourist found them and is having a wonderful time using them).

As we got off the ferry and  hobbled back to our small hotel, we kept smiling at each other. It was a smile of satisfaction and a job well done!

New York is as exciting now as it ever was.  It’s been a magnet for incredibly talented people from all over the world for over a century, and continues to attract the best and the brightest of each subsequent generation.  People who have an inkling to make grand statements in art, design, and world culture come to the city to see how they might make themselves heard and understood.  It’s a vibrant place to visit, too, not only for the locals.  Now more than ever it’s a place to go to see exciting new work in the fields of dance, performance, and music.  There are many travelers who will go to www.newyorkhotelsuites.com to book their perfect trip, where they can see the city in style.

There are some, too, who like to travel to the other side of the country, and see what’s happening in Los Angeles.  Many residents of New York or L.A. eventually become bi-coastal, doing work in both cities, because of the high concentrations of talent in each place, as well as powerful entertainment industries, too, in each city.  Sometimes the most innovative artists will achieve success from a sudden and unexpected hit somewhere, which is what happened with Toni Basil with her big MTV hit Mickey.  There are countless fans of this song who know her only for this song, but her career is much longer, and much more extensive than this.

She’s made appearances in some major films, including Easy Rider, which defined a generation.  It’s interesting to see how her music hit in the 80s would similarly define a generation, and for much more vapid reasons, but the joke was probably on all of us all along.  Her choreographic work is absolutely magnificent, and she’s been involved in iconic performances from David Bowie to David Byrne.  Recently, she’s been winning awards for work in hiphop, and has taken an interest in Lucumi rhythms, as well as choreographic work in other Latin forms, in L.A. as well as New York City.

Charlotte, North Carolina has a great number of attractions that entice numerous tourists to the city every year and keep its residents satisfied and entertained. Many of these are culturally oriented and include museums, theatres, concerts and other entertainment elements, while others are more sports or physical activity oriented. The US National Whitewater Center is one of the most popular establishments in the area of outdoor excitement and sports and recreation. Tourists who visit the city, or anywhere in the region are frequently attracted to this major attraction. Guests staying in one of the Charlotte luxury hotels are able to gather information on the Center as well as transportation resources.

There are a number of services and activities offered by the Center that provide great sporting experiences for individuals of all ages and skill levels. Some of the basic instructional programs include lessons in climbing, kayaking and swiftwater rescue. The levels of training offered in each category are oriented toward different skills, interest and age levels and can accommodate groups or individuals. This makes it common for various groups and community events and makes for an excellent field trip or party excursion.

The various offerings of kayak lesions include a basic introduction to the sport and advance to one on one specialty training and the basics of kayak rolling, which is a frequent aspect of whitewater adventures. The Center also has one of the world’s largest outdoor climbing facilities which is also one of their more popular lesson programs. One of the achievement recognitions offered in the climbing program is a Merit Badge, which is endorsed by the Boy Scouts of America. As with many of the Center’s programs, lessons can be tailored to the individual. One of the essential aspects of visiting this establishment is enjoying a meal or snack at the River’s Edge Bar and Grill. There are menu options suitable for those who wish to sit down at one of the patio tables and enjoy a meal as well as those who want something they can grab and be on the go with.

I took the bus to New York from Boston, it wasn’t too bad, only took 5 hours through Massachusetts and Connecticut, passing some bland scenery and a some small towns before the bus dropped us off at the Midtown station. I had booked a room at a New York cheap hotel that was close to JFK, I wanted to be close to the airport when it came time to catch my flight to Italy. By the time the bus dropped us off, it was late at night, so the lights of the city were fantastic, but even at this late hour, the traffic was crazy; yellow cabs everywhere.

I strolled around for a bit and looked into some shops before I ducked into a Starbucks Coffee Shop. Then I caught the subway to my hotel and checked in for the night. My room was very nice, not bad for an inexpensive hotel! The next morning, I caught the same subway back into Manhattan and took the ferry across to Liberty Island to visit the Statue of Liberty. I couldn’t climb it, because I didn’t buy tickets in advance, but it was great to just be up close and wander around the base of the huge statue. I then took the ferry to Ellis Island where back in the 1800′s was the main US immigration post for people coming to America. The immigration house is now a museum. I watched a film about the island and the people who passed through. I even got to check out the surnames of people that past through on these metal plaques that had thousands of names on it, I didn’t see my surname on the list. I really would’ve been surprised, it I did see my family name on the list, since no one from my family ever wanted to go to America. My family really loves Italy and found no reason to leave our beloved country.

I managed to fit in seeing Greenwich Village, briefly and the Empire State Building before I headed back to my hotel room and get an early nights sleep. I needed to be at JFK by 5:30am to catch the international flight to Italy, home.