#12 – Ride that Bull! – May 21, 2011

In the American tradition the rider must stay atop the bucking bull for eight seconds. The rider tightly fastens one hand to the bull with a long braided rope. It is a risky sport and has been called "the most dangerous eight seconds in sports." ~ Wikipedia

I really have no history to draw upon as far as riding a mechanical bull. Perhaps it was just that I was basically afraid to do anything as a kid for fear of failing or being humiliated. One of the plusses about aging is that you finally realize that you gain strength from failing…if you allow it. The things I have been most afraid of doing, have been the things I have done the best at. However, bull riding is not one of these things….

Jen called one night and invited us to the Montessori School Fund Raiser. It would be a Hoe Down with ribs, line dancing, silent auction, and, yes, a mechanical bull. She thought of me instantly ~ which still puzzles me. Anyway, we said yes and went to the closet to find flannel, leather vest, boots, and bandanas.

The event was in a riding stable with authentic horse pies to navigate through while wearing my fancy NYC Nine West leather boots. We grabbed a beer, chips, guacamole, and ribs, and tapped our boots to the sound of Garth Brooks. The mechanical bull was impossible not to notice on the far side of the stable but no one was going near it. Since most of us are in our ‘surgical’ years, you have to think two or three times about what looks like fun and what looks like stitches.

After Jen, Bart and Dave finished licking BBQ sauce off their fingers, I knew it was time. Let’s go before there is a line. I spent some time talking to the bull masters from Leominster, since I like to research everything I do, and got few tips for outlasting the bull. They gave me time to mount and figure out my form. There is only room for one hand on the rope so the only place for the other hand is swinging in the air. A bull has a pretty large body and there are not a lot of places for your legs to go. Just wrap and cling the best you can.

The bull began to move back and forth and I thought “This is cool.” I whooped it up as the giant Taurus moved up and down, smiling for the camera. Once the masters started moving it side to side, the game changed dramatically. Bull tips left, I tip right. Bull tips right, I tip left. At this point a crowd had gathered but my 8 seconds were coming to a quick close. There is only one way to get off the bull and that is to fall. To fail. And by not breaking or straining anything at all, it was a win.





Later that night, there was a riding competition. All I needed was someone to egg me on but Dave was getting the car, Jen was in the checkout line and Bart was not convincing. When I watched the bull whip a 25 year old around like Gumby, I decided to take my pictures, my memories, and bragging rights, and go home.

Mechanical Bull Ride: Check ✔

#11 – Taking it all in STRIDE – March 13, 2011

When you live in a mountainous ski area that seems to have exceptionally lengthy winters, one of the only ways to survive the long months is: Ski! That’s pretty much how I made it through my first 23 Berkshire winters. But in 2006, I was spring skiing on some sloppy wet snow, took a spill, and destroyed my shoulder. One of the most unpleasant surgeries I will probably ever have was soon to follow. It took a good year before I could scratch my back with my own hand so, as you can imagine, skiing wasn’t a priority, in fact, I was just plain scared to go again.

Now, almost exactly 5 years later, I made my return to the big hill – but not in the way you might imagine. 25 years ago, Mary Ellen Whitney created the STRIDE Adaptive Sports Program for individuals with disabilities to participate in sport and recreational activities. She immediately enlisted her friend, Rich, who in turn invited me to experience life as a skier who has lost the use of their legs. Since I hadn’t been skiing in years, I was absolutely petrified but ready to bring attention to this worthy organization.



Me and Anna

It was promised to be a gorgeous spring ski day – sunny in the 40’s – but it wasn’t. I woke up to yet another flurry, blowing wind, and patchy clouds. This looked like an opportunity to balk but Rich called and said he was at the mountain and ready for me. Crap.

I picked up his daughter Anna who has been a STRIDE volunteer since helping a little girl who was having a terrible time skiing with the older men. Anna said she loves hearing that students want to know if “Annie” is coming to ski. She skied with a young non-verbal autistic boy as well and I wondered how she knew if he was having fun or not. She said “fun is easy because you get big smiles from the kids (and adults). A bad time could bring tears or flopping in the snow and giving up.” At that point, the strategy is to get them in the lodge for a snack. She said that learning to read the non-verbal cues takes some practice. But it's all worth it.

Various outrigger poles

Some of the disabilities Anna and Rich have encountered and given adaptive lessons to include paraplegia, autism, cerebral palsy, multiple sclerosis, visual and hearing impairments, traumatic brain injury, and the Wounded Warriors. This program empowers disabled adults, invigorates children with special needs, and provides a much needed respite to full time care givers.





 



Getting strapped in



When we arrived at Jiminy Peak, Rich took us to the STRIDE equipment closet. That’s where I got fitted for a bi-ski and outriggers (special crutches with small skies on the ends). Rich decided to attach adjustable outriggers to my bi-ski (these are like training wheels) and I didn’t complain. At the bottom of the lift, I got strapped into the bi-ski. Rich said that my body-fit in the seat is like my foot would be in a boot. He strapped in my feet, legs and body. Being the slightest bit of a Type-A personality, you can imagine that being strapped in and putting all my trust in Rich was very difficult (I have trusted Rich in the past with hiking, water skiing, and tubing and let’s just say it’s always “at your own risk”).

We were allowed to cut the lift line and get right on the lift. Anna and Rich boosted me up as the chair slid between my bucket seat and the skis. I felt like this was the easy part and the greatest challenge for a paraplegic was getting from the parking lot to the lift.



"Trust"





STRIDE workers are all volunteers and carry radios in case they encounter problems. People were looking at me and more so, the ski. I felt a bit guilty being a healthy, able-bodied person. Getting off the lift always has its share of anxiety but now I was at the mercy of my aides. They were in control and I did what they said to do. At first, Rich held the handle bars and guided me to the trail head. Then he attached the tethers to his arms so I could ski myself while he kept me from getting out of control.

At the top, there was no other way down. Keep my outriggers down and out front; use my hips to turn the ski; keep my head on the target; and TRUST! GO! We went down West Way which I had been down many times in the past but never like this. Rich was yelling commands that were hard to hear over the noisy granular snow. Figuring out how to use my outriggers and when to lean with my hips was like learning to tango. I started to figure it out and it felt really cool to make my own turns. When we got down, Rich assured me that we could remove the training wheels and get more response from my turns – did I need more response? Trust…



Black Diamond

 After another green trail and then a blue, Rich needed more. Black. What? Huh? He said the snow was much better and more consistent and Anna was laughing while he was delivering these lines. What the heck? I was practically a pro now – let’s do it! Anna pushed me to the top of Wild Turkey. I know I have done this before and I knew I could do it again (and kept forgetting that this time I was strapped to a sled). We headed down and it was steep and slick. I could feel Rich pulling hard on the reins and realized I wasn’t helping him very much. Hips! Yes! I started to turn side to side and I could hear Rich yelling “Yes! That’s it! Great turns!”


I realized how much I needed to use my hands and arms when trying to control my balance. Rich said he had one paraplegic pull out of the program because he knew that his arms were his lifeline and he didn’t want to risk injury despite Rich assuring him that the risk was extremely minimal. I think a paraplegic would have much stronger arms than mine but after having one false move take out my shoulder, I couldn’t argue. Using the outriggers were an option if you want to have more control of your ski experience. You could also keep your arms inside and let your guide handle the turns as quadriplegics have also been taken down in the bi-ski.



After four runs – two on easy trails and two black diamonds – it was time to go in. My hands and feet were freezing and my toes were numb. Sitting in the bi-ski doesn’t give you much of a workout or allow you to generate much heat. I was fortunate to know that my feet were cold as someone with no feeling would have to take extra precautions to keep their limbs from freezing. The heat in the car would feel good. I really can't believe I put this task off all winter - one of the best ski winters ever in the Berkshires!



Navigating the black diamond trail

I accomplished a few different things on this task. I got out onto the slopes again (and I am actually anxious to go with skis on my feet). I was able to put on the boots of someone who was either born with a disability or had a life changing injury and showed that they can still enjoy a very challenging sport. I was able to introduce a few more people to the STRIDE organization and just one of the many programs they have to empower individuals with disabilities. And finally, a personal favorite, I was able to take Rich down for his first fall of the 2010-2011 ski season - Winning!

Please click to learn more about STRIDE!!

Rachael is a 16 year old volunteer with STRIDE. Here is what she has to say about it:
"I've had a great experience with Stride! I have done the camping trips in New York State and Skiing with Stride so far and would like to do more. I have been skiing for about two years and only one year with Stride and hope to do it in the years to come. My great Stride skiing experience is teaching Sam, a seven year old boy, who is physically and mentally disabled,(one of the kids I ski with a lot). I teach him to ski without clinging to the instructors and being able to teach him how to ski on his own. Yes, I look forward to it each week because I love working with children with disabilities and that is what I would like to do when I am older."

I got even for this one!

#10 – Backstage with Pat Metheny – October 10, 2010

Say what you will about Facebook - but for all the trouble it may cause, it has also enriched my experiences by tracking down people who have been missing for decades (and sometimes it’s best for some to stay missing)...

After reading Blog #7 (SHS Mini Band Reunion), high school friend, Sheri, said she found band friend Carolyn a few months earlier working for jazz artist Pat Metheny. But actually trying to reach Carolyn was another story. At that time, she was touring through South Korea and Japan but my diligent weekly checks on the tour website showed that they would eventually be coming to the Berkshires in October. What luck! About a week before the concert, Carolyn finally made it to her email to discover my note and set aside 3 tickets to the show for me. I immediately contacted Pam (also from high school band) and invited her up from RI for the concert.


SHS Band Officers
CAROLYN, MARIANNE, Dave, Deb, PAM


Dinner in Great Barrington gave Pam and me a chance to reminisce about high school band and what we remembered about Carolyn. We also imagined what it would be like to travel around the world and perhaps stow away onto the tour bus for a few weeks.

We headed to the Mahaiwe Theatre a little early for the chance that we might be able to say hi. We had been warned that Carolyn wouldn’t get a dinner break and that load out could take an hour and a half after the show. The box office had our tickets and “back stage passes” ready to go. We tried not to blush and look like groupies but we couldn’t help it – we were so excited!

Pam and I settled into our balcony box seats where Dave met us just before the show. As final prep was taking place on the stage, we finally saw Carolyn run out to place Pat’s guitar into the stand. We screamed “Carolyn!” and she excitedly waved and ran off stage right. Down went the lights and Pat Metheny took the stage for an amazing acoustic opening. Before we finished clapping, the black drapes behind him fell to the floor revealing the “Orchestrion Project.” My eyes were trying to take everything in at once as the various rhythm sections began to beat, multiple marimbas sent out their tones, and Metheny’s guitar brought it all together. All senses were now fully engaged. Some of what we saw included: pianos, marimba, vibraphone, orchestral bells, basses, guitar-bots, percussion, cymbals, drums, and even blow bottles!

After seeing it and researching on the web, I still was unable to explain or even comprehend what was happening on that stage, but it was incredible. This is how Metheny describes it on his website:

"Orchestrionics" is the term that I am using to describe a method of developing ensemble-oriented music using acoustic and acoustoelectric musical instruments that are mechanically controlled in a variety of ways, using solenoids and pneumatics. With a guitar, pen or keyboard I am able to create a detailed compositional environment or a spontaneously developed improvisation, with the pieces on this particular recording leaning toward the compositional side of the spectrum. On top of these layers of acoustic sound, I add my conventional electric guitar playing as an improvised component.

Nope. That didn’t help me either. About midway through the show, Carolyn brought out a crazy guitar for Pat that was as intriguing as the 200 other pieces behind him. We found out later that it was called Pikasso and has four necks, two sound holes, and 42 strings. It was created by luthier Linda Manzer for Metheny and took 2 years to build.

After a few standing O’s and encores, those with the coveted back stage passes were brought down to the front row and all others were evacuated. Carolyn finally came down to receive some hugs and praise but was needed to “orchestrate” the packing up of the equipment. At this time, Pat Metheny came out to greet his golden ticket holding fans. I told him that between the 3 of us, we were musicians, engineers and programmers and were still completely unable to figure out how he did what he did. He replied “then I achieved my goal.”

Watching Carolyn organize the packing of the show was almost as interesting as the show itself. Several giant numbered boxes appeared on stage and she knew exactly what went in each and in what order they were to go onto the tractor trailer. It became clear to us what an intense labor of love this job must be.

Once Carolyn and the crew finally fit their perfect jigsaw puzzle of boxes onto the truck (with nary an inch to spare), we were invited onto the elusive tour bus. Pam and I looked at each other with big eyes that seemed to roll into Lucky 7’s with bells and “Jackpot!” screaming through our heads! It was nearly midnight before the crew was able to settle down and join us on this massive mahogany and leather covered rolling condo. The first section was the living room with black buckskin sofas along each wall flowing into the kitchenette with sink, fridge, table, and big screen TV. The bathroom preceded 2 walls of crew bunks which lead to Pat’s room in the back. We didn’t want to completely invade their living quarters so we kept the photos to a few quick shots in the master bedroom (what groupie wouldn’t).



Checking out the master suite

We finally got to ask a few of our hundreds of questions about life on the road. In high school Carolyn played flute in the band and if you were lucky, you might hear her tickle the ivories like no one else you knew. Her entire family was musical and some 25 years ago, her brother asked if she thought she could tune guitars. She said “I don’t see why not?” That began her relationship with Pat Metheny. She showed us her tiny bunk on the bottom by the floor. She said she likes it down there because she has a tendency to roll out when the bus is moving. We looked at the tiny bathroom and thought about shaving, hair straighteners, lotions, and make up and knew there was no place for that on this bus. Carolyn was the only female in this troupe and she was living a stripped down life style. They spend months on the road and only a few months at home during the summer. She said it’s sometimes hard to sleep in her own bed because it doesn’t rock.

The crew was having pizza and beer now and when Pat returned from freshening up at a nearby hotel, the bus would roll its way to Montreal where they would get up in the morning and unload all those boxes, fix what doesn’t work, and do it all over again. Carolyn said she has friends all over the world and after 25 years, doesn’t really know any other way of life.

Now that you have a glimpse into the life of a true traveling roadie, consider this schedule from The Pat Metheny Tour last Feb 2010:

Feb 1 Champagne, France
Feb 3 Gronigen, Holland
Feb 5 Stockholm, Sweden

Feb 6 Oslo, Norway Oslo
Feb 7 Copenhagen, Denmark
Feb 9 Brussels, Belgium
Feb 10 London, England
Feb 11 Amsterdam Concert
Feb 12 Eindhoven, Holland
Feb 13 Paris, France
Feb 15 Montpellier, France
Feb 16 Bordeaux, France
Feb 18 Madrid, Spain
Feb 19 Valladolid, Spain
Feb 20 Logrono, Spain
Feb 21 Barcelona, Spain
Feb 23 Munich, Germany
Feb 25 Vienna, Austria
Feb 26 Bratislava, Slovakia
Feb 28 Wroclaw, Poland

Pam and I enjoyed every moment of our evening and our brief glimpse and visit into Carolyn’s life. We were pretty sure it wasn’t anything we could step right into but we wouldn’t mind meeting up with them again…and maybe we'd stay at a nice hotel near where they parked their bus...?

Please click here to listen to Pat Metheny and his Orchestrion.

#9 – NYC for Sharon’s 50th – October 15, 16, 17, 2010

I have had several life-parallels with my friend Sharon over the 18 years I have known her which apparently made me a candidate for her surprise birthday trip to NYC. We met in a mom and baby play group when our kids, Becca and Kevin, were just learning to walk. A few years later, Dave introduced his friend Robert to my friend Sharon which resulted in an unexpected wedding. Sharon spent time as the interim director of the Colonial Theatre where I also spent a year, however, not at the same time. And finally, for our latest parallel, we were both turning 50 in 2010.

On the morning of Oct 15, 2010, I met Sharon, along with her sister Susan and friend Linda for breakfast. It was there that we told her to go home and pack because we were headed to NYC for the weekend as a gift from her husband. WooHoo! Let’s go!

Susan volunteered to drive her Ford Expedition into the city (not something I would do!). We loaded the back with luggage, coats, and shoes and set the GPS to NYC and pulled out on a pristine fall day. Sharon insisted that we take RT 23 because she hated the Taconic. Since I was in the back seat and didn’t even know where we were staying, I thought I would just ride along and not intervene. After several miles of trying to find RT 23, I finally said “I think it was RT 22 that you wanted and I really think we should just get on the Taconic.” After a short dispute and the realization that 23 was very wrong, we reset the GPS to find the Taconic and off we went…again.

I had met Susan a few times but this was my first time meeting Linda. It became clear to us both that we would be roommates when we arrived at the fabulous Benjamin Hotel. Robert reserved two spectacular suites with living room, kitchenette and, oh, one king sized, plush, multi-pillow adorned bed. We looked at it, then at each other, and then Linda said “Well, I can just sleep on the pullout.” My first thought was “Yes!! A peaceful, snore-less, solitary sleep!” But what I said was “It looks big enough for both of us.”



Marianne, Linda, Sharon, Susan



In Sharon’s room, we had a celebratory glass of “Skinny Girl Margarita” then took them along to check out the hotel. It was under construction and we were unable to find anything except lots of fun people in the elevator who thought we were nuts. Linda and Susan made it their mission to ask for suggestions of what to do and where to go. So, to the Meatpacking District we went – destination: The Spice Market. The Spice Market would be equivalent to our very best restaurant in the Berkshires - on steroids. Everything is supersized and fabulous in NYC. I felt a makeover would be in order to go out another night. After a cocktail, some wasabi peas (that we thought were candy coated nuts), and watching perfect patrons and servers float across the floor, we left to seek out dinner.

How do four people choose where to have dinner in NYC? A seemingly impossible task was resolved by choosing the first place we came across: The Homestead Steakhouse. The place was packed with only four seats left upstairs. The menu was jaw dropping as each item was a la carte and even the burger was $27! We’re not in Kansas anymore. Among the 20oz Rib Eye and 32oz Gotham Steak we found a 10oz filet mignon, ordered two and shared them (not because we are cheap, because we are ladies and more meat than that would just be gross). As exciting as the city is in the evening, we were all a little excited to get back to the Benjamin and experience the Sleep Concierge and Pillow Menu. Choice always overwhelms me and I couldn’t find my readers so I took the recommended Swedish Memory and a courtesy Body Pillow. There was barely enough room on the bed for me and Linda as the abundance of pillows made a nice wall between us. The bed and pillows were amazing until it was time to slip out for a bathroom visit. Climbing over the man-size pillow without disturbing my bed buddy was impossible. The foam man was eventually kicked to the floor and abandoned for the remainder of the evening.



Prada Manequins



SoHo









What do they know?

Another sunny day got the shoppers all excited: Ann Taylor, Anthropologie, Fishs Eddy, and Prada! I would highly recommend Prada for the jaw-dropping experience (because no one reading my blog is actually going to shop there). I was hoping to get some leather boots and I found them in seconds at Nine West. Everyone seemed set on giving me a NYC style makeover and was pulling clothing off racks and draping them over my shoulders: $127 sweater, $520 coat, $80 shirt – STOP! I can get all this at TJ Maxx for less!! I let them bully me into a few things but then I was done. With arm loads of bags, we took a cab to SoHo to see what all the fuss was about. Little streets lined with tiny unique shops and eccentric clothing and accessories. It is easy to get caught up in NYC style as the shopping bullies once again strapped me into a one of a kind black felted ruffled coat. It was stunning and would have been great for the evening we had planned on Broadway, but back at the Berkshire Mall, I would look a bit freakish and terribly out of place.

Back to the hotel via cab and covered in shopping bags, we dressed and primped for our big night out. I had my new Ann Taylor blouse and Nine West leather boots and was ready to fit in. The concierge recommended Ruby Foos and we agreed (and hoped it wasn’t like the all-you-can-eat Chinese buffet here in town). Well, it was a spectacular Pan Asian fusion of Sushi and Sashimi, Wasabi Wonton Crusted Salmon, Coconut Sticky Rice, Pad Thai Shrimp, champagne, and more! I didn’t want to leave until every last drip of spicy goodness was soaked up…but we had theatre tickets!

We raced to the theatre, as the curtain lights were blinking, to see The Jersey Boys. At first, it sounded like it would be pretty hokey but it was gripping right from the beginning as the life story of Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons unfolded before us. We were singing along as we discovered we knew most every song. A great show and highly recommended.

After the show, we took a cab to Max Brenner’s Chocolate Shop as suggested by the clerk at Ann Taylors. I imagined a Ben & Jerry’s sort of bright and colorful place for candy but once again, I was wrong. Max’s was dark and mysterious with a line at 11pm pushing out the door. The smell of dark chocolate immediately envelops you and weakens your knees. The one hour wait forced us to seek refuge at Vapiano’s where we ordered white chocolate truffle martinis to get us through the wait. We arrived back at Max’s at midnight and were seated immediately. Still packed, a limo crammed with 13 year old girls arrived to dip fruit in warm drippy chocolate. Our bodies couldn’t take much more but our brains had so much more to do. We ordered several variations of hot chocolates and admired the treats and prizes being awarded at the other tables. We decided to walk it off a bit and then had no choice as getting a cab at 1:30am is nearly impossible on Saturday night..

In our rooms, our pillow men were quiet, patient and ready to snuggle but morning still came quickly. Sunny again, we took our time to get ready, pack and leave but needed to cram in one more NYC experience – Ellen’s Stardust Diner. This is where aspiring singers come to showcase their talent while earning rent and food money. While Ryan is serving you eggs with hash browns, Rori and Dono are crooning a duet from Aladdin or Happy Birthday to Sharon. But these waiters were hoping for a big break and it wasn’t going to be from us. Many of them live together and sing their hearts out day and night at the diner and at auditions for the small casts all over Broadway. I realized that if you can make it here, you really can make it anywhere.

We were tired on the ride home but shared lots of laughs about the people we met, the goodies we bought, the food we wanted to re-eat, and the pillows we couldn’t fit in our luggage. I had been to NYC several times but this trip was completely different. New people, new places, great memories.

Happy Birthday, Sharon!



Sharon gets what she wants
on her birthday!



Shrek made Linda pay for this!



'Stupid' was thinking we could get a cab.








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Modeling my Ann Taylor blouse.

My beautiful boots <3