Les Miserables, 05.30.99  National Theatre, Washington DC

1236

So today the president shall come to lay a wreath at the tomb of the unknown soldier.  Last night Nadine and I caught a show downtown...
Saturday
when we stepped off the Metro for a day of sightseeing we saw the telltale marque...
Mezzonine,
fourth row on the right side of the stage...I brought my minidisc and some mics in case I saw some sort of show...I was thinking a rock concert at the 930 club, not a show that Kennedy will kill me for having seen in place of him...It took 2 1/2 minidiscs and sounds pretty damn good...

Awesome awesome show...standing ovation.  I felt chilled during "The Dream I Dreamed"...it was like a cirlce coming round...after playing it in high school and hearing so much about it, reading so much about it, hearing the songs...I finally saw it performed live and as always, those chills in my back and left side/leg...A beautifull piece of production.  I felt out of place dressed down as I was...denim shirt and a freshly ironed pair of blues was the best I could muster...But the hazards of travel is my excuse...despite it a cute female smiled my way...I wanted to say hello but the tumultous crowds and 15 minutes to pee, drink water, and smoke a cigarette decreed it otherwise...Many many cute women there as a matter of fact...

Yesterday we saw the Vietnam Veterans Memorial...my eyes misted up a few times viewing all the offerings left behind...a short stroy, a poem, a picture here or there, a budwiser beer can, flags, flowers, copper bracelets, silver bracelets, medals, award notifications, every sort of display of appreciation, honor, respect, and love...One letter in particular made me nearly completely break down...a letter from a 30 year old man to his dead father...accepting the second tour his father inisted on and died during...The memorial made me really appreciate what I had and what was given...even it being a different countrey thousands of miles away...it was for me and the others around me that those men died, that this way of life, that the opportunity to do what I am doing now, typing, seeing a show, being in this new place from home, seeing this capital city and it's beautifully swept streets, marble buildings, manicured grass and gardens...We saw Lincoln's memorial and the reality of being there overshadowed all aspects of pre-conceived grandeiur...the massiveness of the statue was breathtaking.  The Washington monument was under restoration and it was covered with scaffolding, but still it too was amazing.  We saw some of the smithsonian museums, the American History and space ones, but briefly only.  We never got into a White Hose or Capitol tour, nor saw the Jefferson or FDR memorials...but it was better than rushing about as a tourist would to see everything.  Nadine and I enjoyed the city much more by taking our time...

The DC metro was a wonderfull example of mass transit--clean as everything in DC was, well managed and regular...also well used. Reminded me of how I wish Bart was...all the stations were underground--the Rosslyn one had a **huge** food court with *every* type of food in the world availible and also a small assortment of mall shops.   Nadine, Hubble, myself and Hubble's best bud that went with us saturday all had something different...

Today Hubble, Nadine, and I took a large porwerboat tour up and down the Potomac--that was fun.  We saw Georgetown Univeristy and the catherdral there, FDR memorial island.  "The Awakening" a sculptor of a giant lurching from beneath the ground was also shown.  Then we saw the Kennedy Center...except there was really nothing to see except for the Hall of Nations and the Hall of States...all the flags of each...

I lost my car keys at the threatre.  I'm realtively sure I forgot them in the bathroom when I set up my gear...Tomorrow I hope to find some good soul found them and turned them into the lost and found...otherwise it's up to the locksmith to make me a new key...The president visit should be at about 9AM so we'll see that and then see to the car...

It's been an exciting weekend, full of history, admiration for this nation's capitol, excitement, arts and culture, and last but not least, friendship and calmaraderie...Tomorrow I'm hoping to get everything resolved and on the road by noon...