Lately I have been reading a lot on-line about customer service, particularly about social media and customer service. You may have followed a few news stories that covered how someone's tweets very quickly managed to get the attention of a large company. Then recently Chris Brogan discussed "guest experience design" and he followed up by touching on another new catch phrase "experience facilitators" (you might think "hotel concierge"). All of these discussions really are about marketing: marketing our businesses, marketing ourselves as employees, marketing ideas to our employers, marketing ideas to and for our clients, the list goes on. As I thought about all of this, it occurred to me that I would give you my take on "Guest Experience Design" and it might be fun to look back on some national advertising campaigns and see how effective these have been as "experience facilitators" over the years. This will be a multi-post personal walk down memory lane, because like the Meg Ryan's character in "You've Got Mail" said: "Whatever else anything is, it ought to begin by being personal."
Disney Resorts and Windows 7
Today I am going to combine two national advertising campaigns: Disney Resorts and Microsoft's Windows 7. I am a consumer of both and; therefore, an expert of sorts. Have you seen the latest Microsoft Media Campaign? It is "Windows 7 Was My Idea!"
This is a very clever ad campaign, but did you ever think that if Windows 7 is a commercial failure, like Vista was thought to be, Microsoft will have all of us to blame? All of the consumers that submitted suggestions, complaints, ideas, will be doing battle with thst MAC guy! Microsoft is trying to reach the people, the consumers, and thank them for their input on the ultimate guest experience design.
Now you are probably wondering how this campaign ties into Disney Resorts. I like to think that Disney's Fastpass was my idea. Historically I have been visiting Disneyland in Anaheim, California since 1955. My parents would drive us from San Diego, before Interstate 5 existed, when Orange County was really all orange groves. But there came a time in April 1994 when I visited Disneyland with Dennis (my husband), Aaron and Dan (our sons then 13 and 10) and my mother-in-law (then 82). In those days the Disneyland entrance had a huge sign that said "The Happiest Place on Earth". As a little girl, as a teen-ager, even as a young adult I never gave those words a second thought, but on April 17, 1994, I knew I was not in the happiest place on earth. The park was so crowded and really congested that one had to wait anywhere from 45-90 minutes to take a ride. In six hours we managed to ride four of the major rides and my children turned to us and said "can we leave now?" When we returned home from our long planned vacation I wrote a letter to the Magic Kingdom. I didn't yell, scream, or belittle the Disney staff, I didn't even ask for my money back. I calmly told them my story. I opened with this sentence: "On April 17, 1994, Disneyland was not the happiest place on earth." I pointed out to them that my mother-in-law was in a wheelchair sitting in the shade of a tree by the Matterhorn, waiting for us to disembark from the Matterhorn, when suddenly a man fell out of the skyway ride and into the shade tree! The day went downhill from there. My overall approach was not to just complain about the crowds, but to offer a solution. I suggested that Disneyland consider controlling the number of tickets sold per day, similar to a National Park (Yosemite) or any concert/special event venue. Then everyone would be able to enjoy that which they had perhaps saved for a lifetime to enjoy. About two weeks later I received a very nice letter from Disneyland. They thanked me for my suggestion and asked me to send them a copy of my receipts for all that we had spent at Disneyland that day. I sent them the receipts, two weeks later I received a gift certificate in the amount of $350 and in 1999 Disney's virtual queuing Fastpass was introduced. So you see I like to think that the Fastpass was my idea and maybe in some small way my ideas did matter to Disney. I like to think so.
Final thoughts and questions
In today's world I might have tweeted about my Disney experience in the moment and Disney would probably jumped right on my Tweet. But would they have had the opportunity to think through a resolution that would improve the experience for every potential guest? What do you think? Do you work on your "guest experience design"? Do you facilitate your guests' experience? Does the design control the guest's experience or does the guest's experience control the design?
With the holidays upon us, we wanted to take a few minutes to wish all of our clients a happy and healthy New Year. This newsletter will take you down memory lane as Webconsuls turns 10 years old, spotlighting those clients who have been with us for those 10 years, welcoming new clients and sharing some milestones.
Webconsuls turns 10!
Dick and Dennis actually met at an ARCO Business Seminar in June 1981; however, their careers took them on different paths. It was not until October 1999 when Dick and Dennis met again and decided to form Webconsuls.
Dennis likes to recall how Webconsuls came to be...he was recently interviewed by http://www.arcoalumni.com/ and here is their article:
ARCO Alumni Dennis Helfand and Dick Fay built entirely new careers post ARCO. Their focus is to help commercial clients "generate new and/or additional revenues through web presence marketing." Says Helfand, "We transitioned from a 'hobby' to a serious business enterprise very quickly. Webconsuls currently has about 90 clients across the US and a few based in Asia and Europe".
Having been Director of Public Affairs and Field Operations, at ARCO, Helfand took the 1985 Early Retirement Package at ARCO Alaska, "my wife and I bought a 120-bed country inn resort in New Hampshire's White Mountains National Forest area, which we operated from 1986 until 1997. In the mid 1990's, while at the inn, I became interested in learning about marketing the property via the Internet and pursued this activity with great interest. When we sold the inn, we were already realizing quite a bit of revenue from internet-generated leads."
After relocating to Newport Beach, CA, a number of my former NH-based competitors (friends nonetheless) contacted me to market their facilities over the internet. This became a sort of hobby, earning a few dollars here and there in the process. Then two serendipitous events occurred.
1.An inn owner and close friend had been trying to sell his property through Realtors. There were very few prospects and not a single serious buyer. I suggested selling his property over the Internet for a "marketing fee." This was in 1998 and I believe it may have been one of the first commercial property sales via the Internet. Best of all, my web marketing fee amounted to just about one percent of the total sales price!
2. The second fortuitous event was meeting my former Crude Supply Manager for lunch in 1998. I asked him about Dick Fay (W. Richard Fay) from ARCO Transportation Company. He said Dick recently retired and was looking to do something new and interesting.
The rest is history. Webconsuls.com was established in 1999. We formed an LLC and got serious very quickly. On-Line courses and technical publications gave us new skill sets and we gradually acquired outside specialists to assist us as our business grew. My wife Judy, a business analyst in the information technology field joined Webconsuls in November 2006.
We have seen our business thrive and look forward to continued growth and new experiences.
Clients come and go...
Over the past 10 years Webconsuls' team has had the privilege to work with over 300 clients in a variety of industries. Each client is unique and that is what makes web design, SEO and SMO so interesting and vital. Judy recently looked back to see which clients started with Webconsuls in the Fall of 1999 and of those which ones are still our clients. Interestingly enough, there are four! They are New Hampshire Campground Association, Motorcars East, Newport Channel Inn and Edna Deeb Law.
Here are some interesting facts from Webconsuls first business quarter: 22 clients, nine California clients, nine New Hampshire clients, four Connecticut clients, 31 invoices!
New Clients round out our base...
We are happy to introduce you to our newest clients and we invite you to check out their websites.
Dick Fay remembers how when they first started in 2000 Webconsuls could make some small changes to a site and viola!the site would be on the first page of Alta Vista. The number of competitors to most sites was measured in the hundreds, pay per click was in its infancy with something called Overture, Google was an upstart, and no one had heard of Social Marketing. Potential clients were trying to decide if they "needed" a web site. Websites themselves were usually static and straightforward.
Now some clients face thousands or millions of competitors for key terms, Google has about 70% of the search engine marketplace, pay per click is huge and requires expert management to be successful. Clients are deciding when to redesign their web site to keep it up to date with the available technology. Facebook, Twitter, blogs and video are staples of many successful businesses whose owners work hand in hand with Webconsuls to grow their business.
Webconsuls Grows and Evolves
Webconsuls has also grown and evolved over the last 10 years. We have added a third partner, Judy Helfand. The entire team keeps up with the latest in Search Engine Optimization. We have added specialists in web design, pay per click, social media, and link building. We have redesigned our web site several times to reflect our growing business. We have added a blog and links to news feeds on Search Engine Marketing and Social Media. Check them out:
Let us know if you have a twitter account and would like us to follow you.
Webconsuls' Team News...
As most of you know Malik Moosa-Soomar, our web development specialist and designer, was married to Zaheen Allibhoy on April 11, 2009. Dennis, Judy, Dick and Fran were happy to attend their wedding celebration in Austin, TX. Speaking of weddings, Dick and Fran were married February 20, 2009. Keith Hansen, our pay-per-click specialist, and his wife, Diana, welcomed a baby boy, Layne, on April 26, 2009.
We are happy to welcome Alycia Kaczuwka as our new Social Media expert. Alycia is working with our clients focusing on brand-building using tools like blogs/RSS, Facebook, Twitter and social bookmarking. She brings her extensive background in audience development and website design to social tools to keep the SMO process in focus as an integrated part of a web-based marketing plan. In addition, Alycia has a comprehensive background in web analytics using Google Analytics and Omniture to measure campaign performance and return on investment.
Happy Holidays
This year rather than send a small gift to our clients we are making donations to the following:
Big Brothers Big Sisters of Midcoast Maine The vision of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Midcoast Maine is successful mentoring relationships for youth in Knox, Lincoln and Waldo Counties, contributing to better schools, stronger communities and brighter future.
The Promises Foundation Miriam's House
The Promises Foundation is committed to restoring hope for families by creating a safe environment for mothers and their children to grow and develop the tools they require to live meaningful and self-sufficient lives.
Do you remember Steve Martin in "Father of the Bride?" Certainly you remember Martin Short who played Franck Eggelhoffer, the wedding planner. But wait a minute; this movie is now 19 years old, so maybe you don't remember it or the characters. Yes, it is Saturday morning and I thought I would share some personal news and show you how if your planning a wedding your wedding planner no longer needs to hire an executive assistant, as we are discovering that the "Father of the Bride" role of Howard Weinstein can be replaced with Google, Franck's New Virtual Executive Assistant.
But first things first...Dennis' and my oldest son, Aaron, became engaged to Allison (Alli) Gubanich on October 15, 2009. Dan and I were in Las Vegas when all the excitement happened. As I understand it, Aaron set up the Scrabble board (both of his Grandmas would be proud) to welcome Alli home from class/work and the words spelled out "Will you marry me?" (Of course, I questioned how those words could ever really come together on a Scrabble board- to which Aaron rolled his eyes and shook his head - he is really a romantic!)
Aaron and Alli, the A Team, have known each other for quite a few years, but started dating in the Summer of 2007, at the time they both worked at Bluepoint. Alli is from the Philadelphia area. Her parents are Kathy and Chris Gubanich. She has two sisters, Nikki and Jessica. Dennis and I had fun meeting the Gubanich family when Alli graduated from the University of Arizona in May 2008. And of course since we moved to Tucson in March 2008 we have really enjoyed spending more time with Aaron and Alli.
Ok, so now you know the engagement happened October 15, 2009, and by the morning of October 17, 2009, Nikki Gubanich was sharing a Google document with members of both sides of the family! Nikki is Alli's older sister and she just finished her MBA this past Summer (congratulations by the way) so she volunteered to be the Project Manager. What is funny is that Alli said to me "I had never heard of Google documents and how you can share them!" So now we can all participate real time and keep each other informed.
This morning it occurred to me that this past week has been so crazy with returning from Las Vegas, catching up on work, that we (Dennis and I) really have not taken time to call and congratulate Kathy and Chris! I haven't even sent them a Gmail or written on their Facebook walls! I promise to do that today; however, I also decided to create a Picasa Album (Google Product) and share it with the family members. This album will allow us to enjoy old memories and chronicle the new memories over the next year. Google (AKA Howard Weinstein) will assist with Blogger, Gmail, Google Documents, and Picasa Web Albums. And that is just for starters.
So here's to the A Team (Aaron and Alli), Chris, Kathy, Nikki, Jessica, Dennis and Dan...congratulations one and all!
P.S. The picture on the Photo Album cover was taken Halloween 2008!
Today Senator Ted Kennedy will be laid to rest in Arlington National Cemetery, close to two of his brothers. I never lived in Massachusetts, so Senator Kennedy was never my senator, but I do think that for the last 47 years he really was a senator for all of us. If you are unfamiliar with his legislative efforts, you might be surprised to know that Kennedy played a major role in Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965, National Cancer Act of 1971, Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985, or COBRA, Comprehensive Anti-Apartheid Act, Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, Ryan White Comprehensive AIDS Resources Emergency (CARE) Act, Civil Rights Act of 1991, Mental Health Parity Act (MHPA), No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, and the Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act, to name a few. But today's blog really isn't about Mr. Kennedy's legislative accomplishments, it is more about my wanting to say: "Thank you, Senator Kennedy, for keeping the dream alive!"
I never met Senator Ted Kennedy, but I wish I had. I did not meet President Kennedy, but I did have the privilege of meeting and hosting his son, John F. Kennedy, Jr., at our inn in March 1991. I did not personally meet Senator Bobby Kennedy, but I did attend an event for him (sitting in the second row) on June 5, 1968, in a large ballroom at the San Diego El Cortez Hotel, the evening before he was assassinated after winning the California Democratic Primary. In the Spring of 1988 Dennis and I traveled to Washington, D.C., and of course visited Arlington National Cemetery, viewing the eternal flame and visiting the grave-sites for President Kennedy and Senator Bobby Kennedy, as well. And you know from last week's blog post, we went to Cape Cod in April 1991, and we actually went to Hyannis Port to see the Kennedy compound.
These personal anecdotes aside, as an adult I always felt reassured that Ted Kennedy was in the U.S. Senate looking out for all of us. I will miss his humanity, his vigor, his moving speeches and his dedication.
I learned yesterday that his favorite song was "The Impossible Dream" from The Man of La Mancha, and performances at his Celebration of Life Service included, "The Impossible Dream," sung by Broadway star Brian Stokes Mitchell.**
To dream the impossible dream
To fight the unbeatable foe
To bear with unbearable sorrow
To run where the brave dare not go
To right the unrightable wrong
To love pure and chaste from afar
To try when your arms are too weary
To reach the unreachable star
This is my quest
To follow that star
No matter how hopeless
No matter how far
To fight for the right
Without question or pause
To be willing to march into Hell
For a heavenly cause
And I know if I'll only be true
To this glorious quest
That my heart will lie peaceful and calm
When I'm laid to my rest
And the world will be better for this
That one man, scorned and covered with scars
Still strove with his last ounce of courage
To reach the unreachable star
My heart is heavy today. May Mr. Kennedy be peaceful and calm as we lay him to rest.
**Brian Stokes Mitchell performs "The Impossible Dream" from "Man of La Mancha" on 28 Sep 2008 at the Salt Lake City convention center, accompanied by the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. Brian won the American Theatre Wing's Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical for "Kiss Me, Kate" in 1999. He was nominated for Best Actor in a Musical for "Ragtime" in 1998 and "Man of La Mancha" in 2002, and for Best Actor in a Play for "King Hedley II" in 2001.
I got up this morning and to tell you the truth I really didn't know what to post about today. The week has been busy working with clients, Dan is rafting this weekend, Aaron and Alli returned from their vacation, our client Jason Ackner stopped in for a visit - it is fun to meet our clients "face to face", it is nice to receive happy news from Facebook friends (Deb and Dan Fischbein's oldest son Josh is getting married today and Scott and Elyse (Wolf) Davidson returned to the Mount Washington Valley Theatre Company to perform in "Hello Dolly" directed by Andrew Glant Linden with assistant Bev Brennan and receiving rave reviews), we had a terrific rainstorm in Tucson yesterday about 3:00PM, and now it is Saturday morning. I happened to read an article this morning from Time.com which had to do with the President and the First Family taking a vacation on Martha's Vineyard, specifically Oak Bluffs, and of course I thought back to my one and only trip to Martha's Vineyard. I think I once sent a postcard from Oak Bluffs. If I didn't, I should have.
It was 1991. On April 1st Dennis and I decided to take a few days off from the inn and travel to Cape Cod with our good friends, Gerry and Elaine McManus (by the way we still hear from Elaine; however, she and Gerry divorced around 1996 - see their photo below taken by me on this trip). I believe we were trying to celebrate Gerry's birthday. What we didn't realize was this: in those days most of Cape Cod is still not really "open for the season". But off we went and after stopping at the local Chamber of Commerce we actually found a nice hotel on the water called the Ocean Club on Smuggler's Beach South Yarmouth. By about the third day of our adventure and after seeing two movies, Dances with Wolves and Sleeping with the Enemy, we thought we would take a ferry ride to Martha's Vineyard. Again, we soon learned that you don't just show up to take a ferry ride. You need to plan this if you intend to take a vehicle with you to Martha's Vineyard. So there we were at Woods Hole and we decided with our 'devil may care' attitude to board one of The Steamship Authority's ferries that did not carry vehicles and did not have restrooms!
When we inquired of the ferry staff how to find the restrooms they advised us that we would need to wait until we arrived in Vineyard Haven. And so we arrived, but the public restroom on the dock was closed for renovations. People on the dock directed us to The Black Dog (a well known restaurant); however, they were not open yet for the season! So we decided to walk into the town, as certainly some establishment would allow us to come in and use their restrooms. No luck. The businesses were either closed or emphatic we could not come in and use their restrooms. We walked further until Gerry said he would not continue on this "forced march". At that point Gerry and Dennis hailed a passing taxi. The driver stopped asked us where we wanted to go and our response was: "Take us anywhere on this island where we can use a restroom and have a meal."
Next stop: Oak Bluffs. I remember how friendly the taxi driver was to us. He took us to a great little restaurant, whose name I cannot recall at the moment. (Funny how your brain can recall the name of the restaurant that was not open, but cannot remember the name of the restaurant that was open and treated us so kindly.) Anyway the taxi driver told us he would come back in a couple of hours and pick us up for our return trip to the Vineyard Haven harbor. And sure enough two hours later we were back in the taxi and on our way.
I enjoyed learning more about Oak Bluffs in the Time article. Wonderful interesting history. So today as the First Family prepares to spend a few August days in Oak Bluffs, I will remember fondly my few hours there some 18 years ago!
So here we are with another one of those 40th anniversary Saturdays. Were you at Woodstock 1969? I am going to save you a lot of reading time. I was not at Woodstock 1969, but you all know I am old enough to have been there. It so happens that Woodstock took place in Bethel, New York, and at that time I lived in San Diego, California. I couldn't travel to New York; I had to go to work every day for Wells Fargo Bank. But all this aside I would like to take just a few minutes today to honor the memory of Woodstock and, yes, I do have a friend who was at Woodstock and indeed performed at Woodstock!
We all either knew about the music festival or soon learned about it when 500,000 people showed up and the media decided to pay attention, most of us could not really appreciate the magnitude of this festival until the Academy Award Winning documentary "Woodstock"* was released March 26, 1970 (this film has been remastered and re-released in June 2009 to celebrate the 40th anniversary). Keep in mind the average 20 year old could not easily travel to New York State for a three day festival. There was no way to purchase tickets on-line or even by phone, in fact according to Wikipedia, the "ticket sales were limited to record stores in the greater New York City area, or by mail via a Post Office Box at the Radio City Station Post Office located in Midtown Manhattan."
Over the years I have often thought back to that weekend. I remember sitting in the clubhouse of my apartment complex in the Hollywood Hills. It was then 1977 and in walked Richie Havens and he sat down next to me and introduced himself. Wow! Who will forget Richie Havens singing "Freedom"? But much later, actually around 2002, I had the pleasure of meeting Dallas Taylor. You might remember Dallas. He was the drummer for Crosby, Stills and Nash (CSN) and yes, he played at Woodstock. Dallas authored a book Prisoner of Woodstock. As mentioned on Amazon, "Taylor provided the backbeat for some of the brightest stars of the Sixties and Seventies, most notably Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young, with whom he performed at Woodstock. Prisoner tells two tales: one of Taylor's successes and failures in the rock music business, and the other of his struggle with drug addiction." Dallas has been our friend and client for many years and now with almost 25 years of sobriety Dallas continues to work with the music industry and helping others find recovery. Last summer, Dennis and I enjoyed seeing Crosby, Stills and Nash on their Summer 2008 tour. It was quite the evening sitting in an open air arena with our oldest son, Aaron, and his girlfriend, Alli, enjoying great music and memories.
I have one more anecdote about Woodstock. I opened this blog by telling you I was not there, but I actually knew someone who was there; however, I also know someone who lived in New York City at the time, was 20 years old, had tickets to Woodstock, started the drive to Bethel and when he got stuck in traffic he decided to turn around and go home! (Of course, this may be an urban legend, but this person is Dennis' first cousin.)
Sit back, take a break, rent the movie or in the meantime I invite you to watch a YouTube video of CSN Woodstock 1969
*Roger Ebert once said: "Woodstock is a beautiful, moving, ultimately great film. It seemed to signal the beginning of something. Maybe it signaled the end. Somebody told me the other day that the 1960s has "failed." Failed at what? They certainly didn't fail at being the 1960s. Now that the period is described as a far-ago time like "the 1920s" or "the 1930s," how touching it is in this film to see the full flower of its moment, of its youth and hope. The decade began with the election of John F. Kennedy and ended as the last bedraggled citizens of Woodstock Nation slogged off the muddy field and thumbed a ride into a future that would seem, to many of them, mostly downhill."
Today is Saturday morning, August 1, 2009. As you might know I had company all week and new company arrived this morning at 2:30AM. I am not kidding. Anyway, I am a little tired, but I thought I would share with you a clever helpful tip that I learned about a month ago. Here is how to remotely unlock your car using a cell phone.
Does your car have remote keyless entry? If you lock your keys in the car and the spare keys are at home (or elsewhere with another person who also has a cell phone), call that someone at home on their cell phone from your cell phone. Hold your cell phone about a foot from your car door and have the other person at home press the unlock button, holding it near the mobile phone on their end. Your car will unlock.
Distance is no object. You could be hundreds of miles away, and if you can reach someone who has the other remote for your car, you can unlock the doors (or the trunk.)
I learned this helpful hint in The Pelham Parkway Times which we receive in the U.S. Mail, because Dennis grew up in the Pelham Parkway section of the Bronx!
Ok, now it is Sunday, August 2, 2009, and my oldest son called to say the tip described above does NOT work. I tried it also and could not accomplish the feat of opening the car door. If anyone out there has tried this and found it to work, please let me know.
One more item today. Today is my friend's birthday. I don't know how old Jonathan B. Daks will be today, but I do know this: he has been my friend since the summer of 1978...31 years. Here is a photo of Jonathan. This photo, with Dennis, was taken in our home in Anchorage, Alaska, the summer of 1985!!! Nice memories and a great friend.
It was the summer of 2000, our son Aaron was working at the Togwotee Mountain Lodge (known at that time as the Cowboy Village Resort) in the Togwotee Pass, on the Continental Divide, just north of Jackson Hole, WY. Dennis and I decided to take a road trip to visit Aaron and we invited our good friends, Arnold and Joyce Glassman, to go with us. I'm sharing this story with you today because it is Saturday and today Arnold and Joyce are coming from California to spend a few days with us. As I await their arrival I thought back to that crazy road trip when I read She's Come Undone in the back seat of the minivan.
We left California on August 17, 2000. It was a long road trip, 2042 miles round trip. We covered a lot of ground and found ourselves at our final destination, elevation 9658 ft, enjoying views of the Grand Tetons and learning to horseback ride, again. When the trip started, I announced to my fellow travelers that I was going to keep copious notes of our adventures. I got into the rear seat of the minivan, arranged my notebook and pen, and then from my tote bag I retrieved my copy of Wally Lamb's bestseller She's Come Undone. Have you read it? It was the Oprah's Book Club selection for January 1997, and according to Wikipedia "She's Come Undone explores a feisty but troubled young woman's journey through her suburban New England existence." I know it may sound a little dull, but believe me it is the kind of book you just don't want to put down. The main character, Dolores, was born in 1952, and the story begins when she is about four. Since I was born in 1949 many of the story's historical references are familiar, particularly the parochial school experiences of the 1960s.
Well, as I said, I don't have a lot of time today. If you are wondering what happened to my "copious notes", it so happens I still have them. In fact, just last night I was re-reading them. You might wonder why I never published them. Good question. Answer: Arnold threatened to sue me! I am not sure how serious he was, but I didn't want to take any chances.
Typical conversation between Arnold (driver) and Dennis (riding shotgun). Dennis: "We are going to turn right on Rt 12." Arnold: "Thanks for telling me, that is 60 miles away!"
Here are your action items for today: plan a trip to the Togwotee Pass or sit back and read She's Come Undone. Either way you won't be disappointed.
Last night your Sunday blogger, Dan Helfand, was literally Waiting for Godot on Broadway. Since Dan is traveling today, sans laptop, he asked me to post a blog for him. You may remember reading Dan's May 24, 2009 post Waiting for Godot is Back on Broadway. In that post Dan reported that he was able to get tickets to last night's performance of Waiting for Godot and he was beside himself with anticipation. After all, Dan was going to see this Tony nominated production with Nathan Lane, Bill Irwin, John Goodman, and John Glover.
I am sure Dan will want to write his own review of this production, so I will take this opportunity to tell the sidebar story of how our Facebook friends played a "role" in Dan's ultimate adventure last evening.
When Dan first discovered that Waiting for Godot was playing on Broadway he went on line to see if and when he could secure tickets. It appeared that the only seats available at Studio 54 for the time frame that Dan could be in New York City were in the back side aisles. So Dennis suggested that we call Angela DeCicco, our longtime friend since 1992 and Facebook friend. I called Angela and asked her if she was familiar with the seating at Studio 54. She asked us why we wanted to know and when we told her that Dan was trying to get tickets for Waiting for Godot, she said "Don't worry. Tell me when you want to go and I will have Matt (her husband) order "house seats" for you." For those of you not familiar with the term "house seats", they are 'not available through the box office. "House seats" are some of the best seats in the theater, set aside for use by cast members, producers, the creative team, and others directly involved in the production.' Keep in mind, these seats are not free of charge, you pay regular price, but they are the best seats in the house and Matt Stern (Angela's husband is a well respected Stage Manager on Broadway) secured these seats for Dan! Just for fun, here is a photo of Dan with Angela taken on Broadway April 1997, when Angela was starring in the Broadway production of Les Miz.
But back to Facebook...a couple of weeks ago I reconnected with a friend through Facebook, Beverly Brennan. She in fact is also a mutual friend with Angela. Beverly contacted me last week to say she had just read on Facebook that Dan was going to the city to see Waiting for Godot. She reminded me that she now works for ON Location Education and she tutored the two little boys who play the part of BOY in Waiting for Godot. I asked Beverly if there were anyway she could arrange for Dan to be able to go back stage after the performance. Beverly sent an email to the stage manager, but didn't hear back. So last evening when the production ended, Daniel made his way to the stage door and waited. The door opened, a gentleman asked Daniel if he could be of help and Dan said something to this effect: "I am a friend of Beverly Brennan, the tutor for Matthew Schechter, and I am wondering if I can say hello to Matthew." The gentleman asked for Dan's name and said he would be back in a few minutes. The next thing Daniel knew he was backstage being introduced to Matthew Schechter and his parents. Matthew gave Dan a tour of the stage, introduced him to Bill Irwin and John Glover. All in all, quite a night for Dan and his friend, Josh.
Now if all this isn't enough excitement...last evening I casually asked Daniel how were the "house seats"? He calmly replied, "They were perfect, Row H, dead center...and by the way I was seated right next to Harrison Ford!"
I have said it before, Broadway is filled with magic and the unexpected! Comments, anyone?
Happy Father's Day from Waterville, Maine. As luck would have it, the internet is down today here in Waterville. Who knows why, maybe the non-stop rain. Anyway I asked Judy to send this greeting. Here is a photo of my dad holding me when I was a few hours old. That is my brother Aaron looking on.
This next photo is of me with my dad, Dennis, on the day of my Bar Mitzvah.
Over the years I have listened to Cat Steven's song "Father and Son." The words are remarkable and sooner or later I think all fathers and sons can relate. Enjoy this youtube video and Happy Father's Day.
Exactly one month ago I was on Facebook making a comment to a Webconsuls' team member. Why I was commenting is not important; however, what I determined in the commenting process was that my team member did not have a US Passport. His exact words were: 'Last time I left the country I didn't need a passport, We don't get out much...' Don't get out much? What if you have an emergency? What if you have an unexpected opportunity? The US Passport rules changed effective June 1, 2009. Who needs a US Passport?
The easiest answer to my rhetorical question is every US Citizen should have a US Passport. Effective June 1, 2009, US Citizens now need a Passport (or an enhanced Driver's License issued by some states) to re-enter the United States from Canada, Mexico, Bermuda and 17 nations in the Caribbean region.
Perhaps you are wondering why I am discussing passports on a Saturday morning. Well, I learned a long time ago that having a passport just makes good sense. In 1981, Dennis had to travel on business to France. Before he left he insisted that Aaron and I get our passports, just in case there were an emergency and we had to travel to France. So 28 years ago this month Aaron and I were issued our first US Passports. (See the photos below).
Now let's talk about today. Webconsuls has clients in foreign countries and while we have not yet traveled to visit our client in Cambodia or the Bruzzos in Italy, it could happen! Here in Tucson, the owner of La Fuente Restaurant recently asked us to travel to Mexico for an afternoon.
The up shot of my Facebook discussion with my team member is that this week our Tucson neighbor offered us the use of his condo in Rocky Point, Mexico(overlooking the Sea of Cortez). We called our team member and asked him if he wanted to go with us...but alas, no US Passport!
Today is the 65th Anniversary of D-Day and this past Monday Americans waited to hear the news of General Motors' bankruptcy. Yes, the same GM whose industrial power helped our country be on the winning side in WWII. The news of this bankruptcy was startling, even though we have had so many shocking economical events in the past nine months, I feel this news hits a part of us that is not just about the economy, but our life's memories. If you read my Saturday post regularly, you know I am not an economist, and I do not have an MBA. I have, although, worked for major US corporations, mainly banks, and in my day was quite proficient in the automobile financing world. But today's post is not about economics, albeit I am heartsick for all those workers impacted by this latest chapter in the American automobile industry. No, today's blog is about my memories of GM. And so I say: Good Night GM...Que sera, sera.
For the record, my life's memories as they relate to automobiles are not just about General Motors' products. For example, I do remember fondly my mother learning to drive in late 1953. We had what I believe was a very used Plymouth. Then one evening in 1954 I remember my father coming home from work. When he came through the door I ran to him and grilled him, as little ones do, what had he brought us? I expected ice cream, but to my surprise, he smiled and said: "I brought you a new car!" Outside sat a brand new 1954 Plymouth sedan. It was two toned, dark brown and beige. And it was in that car in 1956 that we (our the family of six) traveled from San Diego to Great Falls, Montana, to show off our new baby brother. It was during this trip(I was 6.5 years old) that the magical car radio repeatedly played "Que Sera, Sera", (the 1957 Academy Award winning song from the Alfred Hitchcock thriller, The Man Who Knew Too Much.)
By the time we reached Montana I had memorized this wonderful song and my father happily had me sing it for his brothers and sisters! Memories.
My days and nights with General Motors began in 1959. My father traded in the 1954 Plymouth and purchased a 1959 Chevrolet Impala. It was two toned (green and white), no accounting for taste. I never cared for the color, but it seemed so fancy. In 1964 my father traded up for the latest Chevrolet Impala, four door, a really big engine, and a pale blue. He was beside himself. See a typical window_sticker.pdf here. Following the General Motors' Mantra...my father loved to see the USA in his Chevrolet. In the summer of 1964 our family made another jaunt to Montana and the song of the summer was the "The Girl from Ipanema", which won the Grammy for Record of the Year in 1965. I believe everyone had a love affair with this car...even Hertz featured this model in their Rent a Car ads in 1964. (I am sure the only reason I saved this ad, which you will see in my Picasa Web Slide show, from my 1965 Hilton Hotel room was because of the Impala.)
The summer of 1967 my parents drove me to college in this '64 Impala. I wore some flowers in my hair and they dutifully dropped me at the University of San Fransisco and tried to avoid getting lost in Haight/Ashbury on their way out of town!
Here are some car facts about me: 1. Since 1968 through today I have owned 13 vehicles. 41 years...13 vehicles. Two(2) were General Motors products, three (3) were Chrysler products and eight(8) were foreign models. 2. What I love best about my General Motors vehicles is this: In 1980 we brought our new born Aaron home from the hospital in the 1979 Buick Regal and in 1984 we brought Daniel home from the hospital in our 1984 Chevrolet S10 Blazer. 3. In 1997, Dennis and I drove across country with Aaron and Daniel in our 1994 Dodge Caravan...more memories.
My friends know this about me. I am not a car person. I do not care about cars, I hate worrying about vehicle upkeep, I would love to have all of the money I have spent over the past 41 years buying, renting, leasing, insuring, and repairing vehicles. I would happily live in Manhattan, Chicago, or San Francisco and take mass transit. But I will never trade the memories of being brave enough to ride with my mother when she was learning to drive and I was only four, or my father settling in the driver's seat for a Sunday drive in the country, or road trips to Montana, Las Vegas, Denali, Howe's Cavern, the Bronx, Washington, D. C...and let's not forget front bench seats, no seat belts, no A/C, crossing the desert with a canvas radiator bag.
So today, que sera, sera, whatever will be, will be. But for some reason I cannot bear to say good-bye to GM. I will remember the great ads, Dinah Shore, and my favorite from 2002.
I will say good-night to GM, savor my memories and wait and hope the reinvention is successful.
P.S. Let me hear about your GM memories and enjoy my YouTube video selections and Picasa Web Album.
P. P. S. A good friend just read this blog and he reminded me that in 1960 my father purchased a used 1940 Cadillac mourning car. It had jump seats and held about 10-12 people. It was the real fore-runner in our family for a mini-van. Go to this blog post to read about my dad and see a photo of this crazy car.
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