A) YOU are most definitely the accumulation of everyone and every experience during your own life! And YOU can and are still adding to YOUR own psyche (spirit and soul)! I KNOW that I AM...my choice!
B) And every single experience, adventure and person met or have been around from this list IS the truth!!! (And NO fake-it-until-you-make-it spin, either!)
C) Entertainment and Adventures; Adventures: a- the Beatles (they were off-key at Robert F. Kennedy Stadium)..b- Garth Brooks (excellent showman in Richmond)...c- June & Johnny Cash (I pulled curtain/Jaycee)...d- Dave Clak Five in Richmond, (great show!)..e- Crystal Gayle was at Busch Gardens...f-Johnny Mathis...in D.C. (bestest soloist ever!).. g- Grand Funk RR (loud)..h- Smothers Brothers...J.M.U. (funny)..i- Rod Stewart (bestest concert, also!)...j- Patty Duke ("Miracle Worker"- Off-Broadway in Manhattan...I fell in like with live theatre that evening!)..k- Ferrante & Teicher (piano concert in Richmond)...l- "Fidler on the Roof" (Broadway - another neat live theatre in NY)..m- Charlie Daniels Band (country!-Richmond, Va. State Fair)...n- Al Hirt (jazz-Virginia Beach, Va.)..o- early Dave Mathews Band in C-Ville at downstairs club..p- Eddie Murphy (gross, filthy language at W&M Hall)...q- Statler Brothers (country-Staunton, Va.)....r- "RiverDance" (loved it, saw twice in Richmond!)...s- "Jeopardy" (live in Manhattan- learned much about TV production during commercial space), t- "Concentration" (live-Manhattan)... u-"As the World Turns" (live - scenes were taped along in one continuous line on a huge set...Manhattan!)...v- Diane Warwick (singer/actor-Richmond, Va.)...w- Percy Sledge (singer/contem. blues-Richmond, Va.)...x- JOE TEX (blues singer-Richmond, Va.)...y- Nitty Gritty Dirt Band (W. Va. State Fair)...z- Sammy Davis, Jr. (Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts)...aa- Sonny & Cher in concert (Cher walked past me, during opening, up in audience...her costume?...tush was open to the world!...the brief return of the duo, though, was excellent!)...bb-- Elvis Presley (had tickets to see him in concert in Roanoke, but he died that week, honest!)...cc- Frank Sinatra - (cancelled because of illness)...dd- Chuck Mangione...concert on D.O.G. Street in Williamsburg (excellent group!)...ee-sang on stage a Gerry and the Pacemakers song--"Don't let the sun...."...'citing!)...ff- Roger Williams...Richmond...(piano - "Born Free")...gg- The Lettermen (JMU)...hh- Pro Ice Hockey game...attended game to get feel for what happens at a game!...(Yes, I always do need to experience more for a wide-angle understanding)...ii- A Yankee's baseball game at the old Yankee Stadium deep in the heart of old New York City!...jj-- New Christy Minstrels (American Folk group!...was into folk music for a spell, even singing locally)...kk- "Underground Atlanta"...stopped by and was disappointed!...(place was "old" and smelled of urine)...ll- the original STEALTH BOMBER!!...when I noticed a SMALL newspaper article that, for the very first time ever, the first all-black STEALTH BOMBER would land at an Air Force base in Tidewater and that SOME locals could watch it land and walk up sorta close to it on the landing strip. This guy WENT!....(and took pics of it landing and on the strip!)....mm- TOUR INSIDE and ON a BRITISH SUBMARINE...paid attention to newspaper notices, again, at NorFOLK Naval Base (fascinating adventure)....nn- INSIDE and ON a U.S. AIRCRAFT CARRIER (NorFOLK Naval Base)...oo- "AMITYVILLE HORROR"...while on a trip to New England, found and stopped in Amityville, New York to "see' the infamous house, after reading the book, seeing the film and walked around outside the neighborhood...felt it was highly dubious that the horror inside could have happened!...house is too close, on both sides, to other houses, yet, no one heard or saw anything, HORRORS, going on IN that house. That includes the small, private boathouse and dock in back!...pp- Hitchhiking...as an undergrad at Bridgewater College, began to hitchhike!..with no wheels at the time. Even hitchhiked to Roanoke to see a coed or three...never had a problem getting a ride, usually with an older married couple. (Looking back, would NOT hitchhike today!)...qq- Given a standing welcome in Virginia General Assembly's Senate chambers upon my visit during my first years as an educator...rr- Whalewatching...off the coast of Virginia during a March....ss- Marcel Marceau!...a mime genius!!...in "concert"...there was no one like this quiet artist-actor, ever! Believe he was in Richmond, one of his very last performances...will always remember him "climbing steps" and "carrying a large piece of glass."...tt- Dixie Chicks (Hampton Coliseum)...uu- Peter, Paul and Mary (In front of Old Capitol in C.W. in Williamsburg, Va....still right on tune after all of these years, back in '90s!)...vv- New Orleans Preservation Hall Band...we waited in an old vacated bldg. downtown...after 12, different musicians arrived after their gigs from around town!...came together to JAM. We stood the entire time, with the group of mostly older musicians playing REAL JAZZ and New Orleans-style music. I inched over to the neat little older upright piano player who pounded her keys with vigor! Bass fiddle...gitar...snare drums (NO electrified anything)...What an experience, into the early morning!...ww- sat in on a U.S. Supreme Court case on the Mall...security was intense!...xx- U.S. House of Representatives questioning session...several times, in balcony, had sat in and observed their sessions!...yy- U.S. Senate session...same experience in that hall, in balcony...am not important enough to sit on floor downstairs!!...have, though, walked around the outside halls of both Houses while they were in session, always take the Senate subway...sometimes could ID a known Senator or Rep.!...zz- Rocky Horror Picture Show...wanted to see a screen/live RHP Show in person. So, attended one at the Williamsburg Theatre one '90s weekend evening. Packed house, with mostly groups of "dressed up" revelers doing what the RHPS tradition has been doing for years---I think, having fun! While the movie was up on the big screen, the "participants" were in the front, sides and stage throwing quotes and insults at the actors on screen! Now, this guy knows and understands what the Rocky Horror Picture Show was...is really about....!...aaa- "CATS!"...Saw "Cats!", the musical at Richmond Mosque...LIKED IT!!...bbb- Bruce Hornsby in Concert at W&M Hall!...got my beautiful little daughter, Sarah, for the weekend, and treated her to her very first concert!!!...ccc- Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus!...was in the high school at the time, wanting to see, from my list of neat stuff, even then, the largest circuses UNDER A TENT. Got a temp job there out in the country, Augusta County, Va....and did! Also, experienced 2nd largest circus under a tent when it came to town, earlier, Hagenback Wallace Circus, 2nd largest and did get a temp job then setting up a sideshow tent!...ddd- KENNY G, in concert at Richmond Fairgrounds...he brought his tenor saxophone into the mainstream music arena!...Kenny G was an excellent musician and showman!...eee- "Under the Boardwalk"...was invited to sing, up on stage, at a concert in the 'Burg, and did! ....eee- JAI ALAI...won a trip to Disney World and went nearby, one afternoon, to watch Jai Alai games for the first time...wanted to add another experience to my memory bank!. (Large court, with players tossing the small game ball to the huge front court wall, using "hand-baskets" attached to one hand to propel the ball at terriffic speeds (need to check on terminology and speed of toss?)....fff- Police LINEUP VOLUNTEER- for another one of my many experiences to understand our society, someone in Social Services, in another town, asked if I would be interested in volunteering, with my longer style of hair, to stand in a lineup one afternoon. I did, wearing scruffy clothes. NOW I KNOW what this segment of our system is like...scary. if one is innocent!
a- Prosecutor Vincent Bugliosi for Manson trial in CA...was at Richmond Forum and went backstage later to meet him and did!...b- Former Russian President Gorbechav, April 13, 1993, visited Monticello to give a Jefferson Founder's Day talk up on the famous mountaintop - I practiced some Russian a few days beforehand in order to speak with him...figured out which door he would come out of and did meet him on the sidewalk...we both "tried" to communicate. The former President of Russian was quite hospitable, smiling. And I throughly enjoyed meeting him and the experience!..c- Linda Lavin (at W&M Phi Beta Kappa Hall- asked her a question, from audience, during her one-woman show - she IS one classy, petite actress & person)... d- John Houseman (director and actor - asked him a question in Q&A session)...e- Michael Dukakis (presidential forum in Williamsburg)...went backstage and waited for him to exit...yes, asked him a question or three about entering politics! f- G. Gordon Liddy (sat at lunch table with him and listened!)...g- Art Linkletter (Richmond Forum)..h- .Jesse Jackson (Presidential Forum at W&M)...yes, also waited backstage for him to exit to ask a question or three. i- Pres. Richmond Nixon and family (White House Christmas Tree Lighting ceremony)...j- Sen. Ted Kenedy (in U.S. Senate subway, with his entourage dutufully tagging along and with him, at a fast pace!). Did pause to ask him a question...k- Gov. Ronald Reagan spoke at forum in U.Va. Hall...(he was and still is THE BEST speaker and communicator I've ever met!!) l- Eric Segal ('Love Story' author - talked with him at a book signing in Northern Va.; best author speaker!)...m- Daryl Strawberry (baseball game in Richmond). Chatted with him...n- Ralph Sampson (basketball - Harrisonburg...was at a restaurant, came out and tried to "escape" me)...o- I received a 14-page letter from Charles Manson in reply to my letter sent to him about his fairness during trail. (Manson wrote a 14-page letter back to moi) p- Patty Hearst letter from her to me, about her justice have her reply! q- James Earl Ray (letter to me from the convicted assassin of Rev. King, Jr....r- Bill Cosby (met and talked with him after his rehearsal for a 'concert' in Maryland! Was a gentleman!)...s- Jerry Lewis (rude, smartass! - before concert' in Maryland)...t- Louis Fahrankahn...'Nation of Islam' in America...(Richmond church - quite an experience! Now understand, much better his mindset...u- Shirley Chisholm--first (Black) woman to run for the Presidency--was at MBC...we sat around in small seminar!...(liked and respected her!)...v- (TX), then, Gov. George Walker. Bush in person on a Sunday after church in Williamsburg...he was quite amiable, (really liked him in person!)...w- James Earl Jones (actor...a gentle giant, highly skilled actor and gentleman! - went backstage to meet him...liked him!)...x- Vanesa Williams (1984 Miss America/actress - went backstage to meet her)...y- Sen. George McGovern (Nor-FOLK talk)...z- Danny Glover (actor - Newport News talk and chat afterwards)..aa- Jerry Rubin (far left-wing activist...strange) - Norfolk talk and Q&A)...bb- Glenn Close (W&M)...cc- Katie Couric (she interviewed me about my letter to then Pres. Castro, on NBC's The Today Show)...dd- Willard Scott (NBC...down-to-Earth - read Christmas story in Williamsburg's Kimbell Theatre)...ee- Elizabeth Taylor (twice met her- in D.C. at Senate Bldg., after her husband was elected a U.S. Senator and later at a social in Virginia)...ff- Attended a bevy of congressinal hearings one summer on Capitol hill... gg- Muhamed Ali was funny and personable up close and personal - Portsmouth, Va.....hh- Hand-delivered letter sent to me from Pres. Fidel Castro to me...hh- Andrew Young (Atlanta Mayor - U.N. Rep....Norfolk)...ii- Jacques Cousteau (NorFOLK, when he sailed into Norfolk's Waterside)...ii- Joe Montana (QB in New Orleans SuperBowl game)....jj- O.J. Simpson and----kk- Don Johnson (party upstairs in French Quarter during Super Bowl game...went around back and upstairs but couldn't get close to them, surrounded by women!)...ll- Dr. Robert Schuller (Inspiring minister but discovered he uses the SAME sermon over and over). mm- (Chosen in college to attend a special conference to study our Federal Gov't in D.C., and then on to the United Nations in New York (WHAT an absolute neat experience!)...nn- DR. RUTH (William &Mary)...oo- Art Buchwald (Richmond Forum)..pp- H. Ross Perot (Richmond Forum)...qq- Pres. Helmut Schmidt (Germany - Richmond Forum)... rr- Dr. Henry Kissinger (Richmond Forum)....ss- L. DOUGLAS WILDER (when Lt. Governor of Va....in General Assembly room)...tt- Rev. Jerry Falwell (Lynchburg minister - another open-minded experience)...uu- Sec. of Treasury Donald Regan (Williamsburg, Va.)...vv- Queen Elizabeth II (visit to Williamsburg, Va. in 2007!...in Wren Bldg. Courtyard, Jamestown and rode in a royal carriage down our Duke of Gloucestershire Street one early evening!)...ww- Gov. George Wallace-Alabama (segregationalist)...as always, need to hear both sides, in Richmond)...xx- Gov. Lester Mattox/Georgia (segregationalist)...Staunton...yy- Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia (W&M Hall...extremely intelligent and an astute communicator on Justice!)...zz- Former Prime Minister of England Margaret Thatcher (W&M Hall speaker...aaa- Julian Bond (Richmond Forum).....bbb- Late U.S. Senator Sam Ervin, Chairman of Senate Watergate hearings...Richmond Forum...in audience when he spoke and with a panel....ccc- EDWARD ALBEE, playwright, most famous play is "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?"--was on a Virginia campus near Richmond...listened to and met him afterwards and felt that he had not let his fame and writing abilities get out of reach from the rest of us! ddd- "MEDIATION TRAINING"--completed an intense training course with learning how to organize and handle "mediation" between two persons or groups! It works and we do need much more of it to solve so many cosial problems! eee- My Earlier Town CHRISTMAS TREE Celebration origination!--created a plan, with fruition, to place a large Christmas tree in a town parkl...asked children, anyone, to donate nickels and dimes. We raised enough to buy a LIVE tree and have a company dig and move it, alive!, for Christmas. Every year had a celebration, with people bringing gifts to place under tree....all of this great tradition until someone, in the dark, cut it down--right before a Christmas..... fff - Naming a new school!...organized a plan, ahead of time, to persuade a School Board to name the new school for an early local history hero!!
ggg- 2010---Granted special permission to visit old site of the early town of Magruder in CAMP PEARY, with escort! hhh - Summer of 2011 - now have EIGHT (8) BLOGS, with hundreds of entries:
1) http: //thesquiresview.blogspot.com/ 2) http: //SquiresPonderables.blogspot.com/ 3) TheVirginiaCollegiateScene.blogspot.com/ 4) http: //TheSquiresPoliticalViews.blogspot.com/ 5) http: //TheSquiresMtTales.blogspot.com/ 6) http: //VisionarySurr-prises-Epiphanies.blogspot.com/ 7) http: //theSquiresSATIRESHumor.blogspot.com/ 8) http: //I-Can-Imagine-It.blogspot.com/
iii - NOTES: notice the wide variety of cultural experiences and persons interacted with over time! For many, I was in the audienceds and enough was bold enough to meet and even chat a moment of three with them.
jjj - And, I wanted to find out for myself what America's most infamous criminal, Charlie Manson, was like and did through a 14-page letter he sent to me when I wrote asking him how he felt about American justice, with his trial!....Charlie Manson.
kkk - Fidel Castro: I found, in our National Archives in D.C., a copy of a letter written by a 12-year Cuban boy to Pres. Franklin Roosevelt, and wrote to Pres. Castro asking it that letter was indeed writen by him. He wrote back that IT WAS! And also asked in my letter to Cuba if our country, Pres. Clinton, would sit down and talk about developing better relations between a neighboring country only 90 miles off our shore! Story as picked up by the major news media and became BIG! Received boxes of letters from regular Cubans telling me that Americans and Cubans could actually get along together over and above our respective different governments and philosophies!
lll - As a Jaycee, pulled the curtain for Johnny Cash for him to go on stage. Discovered that he was a passionate singer. But also saw a problem with his drug effects as he stood next to me waiting behind stage, to go on. I had to hold him up straight and nudge him on stage. I truly felt sadness for him....nn- Former mmm - Former Va. Governor Mills Godwin...was invited to State Capitol to meet Gov. Godwin and present him with my first Virginia Hospitaliy Award (squire had created it and made the actual Award)...nnn - was chosen one summer, as a Taft Fellow, to study American Government at U.Va....ooo - Talked with Jesse Jackson, briefly, behind stage...liked him. He stopped, when I asked him a question, as he came through backstage (asked if this educator should get involved with 'politics.') You can ask me in person what he shared with me. ooo - Met then Gov. George W. Bush on Duke of Gloucester one Sunday after church at Bruton Parish Episcopal Church. He is one of my fave personalities ever to meet and talk with! ppp - sat in audience in C-Ville University Hall to listen to then Gov. Ronald Reagan (Ca.) and was mesmerized by his intelligence, speaking ability and honesty. I was amazed listening to this historical person in our American history!
++MORE PERSONAL LEARNING EXPERIENCES INCLUDED: a- picking peaches in lower Va. Beach once for the experience (NOW I understand what a peach picker does!) b- volunteered, one summer to work on a farm for a week (hardest 'job' ever!) c- painted houses one summer! d- hot-air ballooning! e- learned to tend a vegetable garden as a youth, really, and worked in my great-uncle's veggie gardens. d- herb gardening!...studied and actually created a herb rock garden! e- flower gardening!...took piano lessons, as a teen, one hour a week and then was invited outside to take care of piano teacher's flower gardens!!! f- piano lessons for years, as a youth. g- saxophone lessons and school band for five years! g- created and owned three (3) sandwich shoppes, EARNING three national awards, two separate years, for the most original sandwich creations in America! h- won an all-expense cruise in Hawai-i for the most original "donut" creation in America!
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment