Harry Potter and the BLT--Day 2--Friday, September 16, 2011

Friday morning, Krista and I woke up early. As we were trying to get the motivation to get up and start our day, we were discussing the Portofino Bay. We both agreed that it was a beautiful resort, and we really liked out room.

Somehow, our discussion turned to the phone in the bathroom. Krista didn’t know why they needed a phone in the bathroom, and I gave her a few reasons why people might use it. The obvious is sometimes the phone just rings when you are on the toilet, and you need to answer. I then came up with a few other examples of why you might want a phone in the bathroom. For example, a man may want to call his mistress when he’s on a family vacation. Or perhaps a business traveler may need it to call the phone sex line. Needless to say, neither of us had any desire to touch that phone by the time we changed subjects, but we sure got some laughs out of it.

We finally got up and ready to start our day. We were planning on going on the water rides at Islands of Adventure this morning, so we decided to just throw on clothes and go, and then return to the resort later in the day to shower and get dressed. The water rides at Universal get you so bone drenchingly soaked that this is the best plan of action if you want to ride the water rides and you are staying at a Universal resort.

We were ready a bit early, so we decided to explore the resort. We stopped at Sal’s market, and where I grabbed a ham and cheese croissant for breakfast (since the muffin I got at Walgreens was NASTY). The sandwich was very tasty and piping hot. We then wandered around the resort looking at some of the beautiful piazzas and the main swimming pool. The harbor area is stunningly beautiful as well.

We then headed towards the dock to catch the boat to City Walk. We just missed a boat, so we decided to take a pedicab to Islands of Adventure. Our driver was very friendly, and told us that he had been driving a pedicab at Universal for about five years. He dropped us off at the Hard Rock Café, and we walked the rest of the way to Islands of Adventure.

The gates to Islands of Adventure opened about 7:50 for early entry into the Wizard World of Harry Potter. I picked a short line, and of course, per my usual luck, the people in front of us were having ticket issues. If you ever see me in a line to get into a park, choose a different line, even if it’s a lot shorter than the other lines. There could be two people in line in front of me, and they will have issues with tickets, or not know how to put their finger in the reader. On this morning, we watched at least 10-20 people go through the other turnstiles by the time we were able to get in.

Once through the gates, we followed the mob to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter, taking the short cut beside the Green Eggs and Ham restaurant. Our first stop was Ollivanders.  There were only about 15 people in line when we got there, so we got into the next available show. Mr. Ollivander picked an adult to have the experience of having a wand choose her. This show is really cute, but I wish there was a way to have more people have the experience, and also a higher capacity for the show.

We then made our way over to the Forbidden Journey. I really love walking through the line to get on this ride. There is so much to see, and every time I walk through the castle, I notice something new. They really did a fantastic job on the castle.

The ride, of course, is amazing. It is very intense, and just keeps you flying throughout the entire experience. There are times when you feel like they are going to tip you upside down. I don’t want to go into details about the ride--I don’t want to spoil it for those who have not ridden yet. But if you are a Harry Potter fan, you must ride the Forbidden Journey.

After the Forbidden Journey, we took a ride on Flight of the Hippogriff. This is a cute mini roller coaster. You get a nice view of Hagrid’s Hut. We also took another ride on the Forbidden Journey.

Krista went to browse around the shops while rode on both sides of the Dragon Challenge. I was able to ride in the front row on both coasters, which was fantastic. I took a second ride on the blue coaster as well, since I got through the first two rides so quickly. They weren’t timing the coasters to run at the same time, which took away part of the fun of the coaster. Part of the fun of this ride is coming close to the coaster on the other track, and hearing the screams of the other passengers.

After having our fill of the Wizarding World of Harry Potter, Krista and I made our way over to Jurassic Park for our first water ride of the day. Since we were dressed to get wet, we wound up riding in the front row. This ride is entertaining, and I love the big drop at the end. Of course, we got pretty wet on the ride, but I did find a dry spot on my shirt to wipe my glasses off on.

We then headed over to Dudley Do Right Ripshaw Falls. I really love this flume ride, though not as much as I love Splash Mountain.  It’s not much of a storyline to follow, but the drops and turns are really exciting. At the end of the ride, we got hit with the water guns run by the evil people on the bridge. It’s nice to know that there are people out there who are willing to spend a quarter to douse complete strangers with water just in case they aren’t wet enough already.

We then headed over to Bluto’s Bilge-Ray Barges to complete the water ride cycle only to discover that it was closed for refurbishment. Since I was already soaked, and had been planning a third water ride, I decided to take another ride on Dudley Do Right Ripshaw Falls. Krista decided to skip the second ride, and sit on a bench in hopes of drying off a bit. This time, there were several people at the end waiting to hit me with the water guns. I guess I’m really popular.

Now that I was completely drenched from head to toe, Krista and I headed to the boat dock at City Walk to catch a boat back to the Portofino Bay. Of course, a boat was leaving just as we were approaching the dock, so we had to wait about 20 minutes for the next boat. I was wringing water out of my clothes while we waited, and I think I could have filled a kiddie pool with that water.

When we arrived back at the resort, of course the housekeeper was working on our room, so we headed outside to wait 20 minutes for her to finish cleaning the room. We then went back up to the room to get ready to have more fun at Universal Studios in the afternoon.

When we were ready, we started to walk towards City Walk to have lunch at Emeril’s Orlando. The boat was there, so we hopped on the boat. We were seated at a table by the window at Emeril’s, so we were able to people watch while we dined. Our server brought us some delicious warm dinner rolls while we reviewed the menu.

I ordered a bacon cheeseburger with homemade steak sauce. The burger was juicy and flavorful. The steak sauce was delicious—very tangy and vinegary. It was served with deliciously crisp pomme frittes, which were served with spicy ketchup. This was one of the best burgers I’ve ever had.

Krista ordered the Shrimp Po’ Boy, which was also served with pomme frites. I can always tell how much Krista enjoys her meal by how much food is left on her plate. She left a lot of pomme frites, but the Shrimp Po’ Boy was all devoured.

Krista and I wound up sharing a slice of banana cream pie for dessert. Emeril’s banana cream pie is one of the best desserts in the world, and one slice is perfect to share. It’s about five inches of banana slices and rich whipped cream filling in an amazing homemade graham cracker crust. It’s worth the trip to Emeril’s Orlando (or Tchoup Chop) just to get a slice of delicious banana cream pie.

After lunch, we walked over to Universal Studios. Our first stop was the I Love Lucy Tribute. I’ve probably visited Universal 15 times, and this was the first time that I went to the I Love Lucy tribute. There were some neat Lucille Ball artifacts, including dresses, costumes, jewelry, and personal letters. If you have ever watched “I Love Lucy” and you appreciate the comic greatness of Lucille Ball, this exhibit is definitely worth checking out.

Krista headed over to see the Animal Actors On Location. I’m not an animal person, so I decided to get an extra ride on the Simpsons and Men In Black. Even with the Express Pass, I wound up waiting about 20 minutes to get on the Simpsons.  They just weren’t loading the ride correctly this afternoon for some reason.  I was sent up to the top level of the ride, and wound up in a car on the far end of the theatre. I was sitting in the back row right next to the walls of the car. This seat was horrible. It blocked my vision of a good part of the screen.

After the ride on the Simpsons, I took a quick ride on Men In Black and then went to meet Krista. We decided to take a ride on ET. We decided to give fake names instead of our real names. At my suggestion, Krista used Penelope, and I wound up using Gretchen. It reminded me of the time I rode with my friend Diane, and got to the team member who takes names first, and told them my name was Diane so she had to use a different name.

After the ride on ET, Krista went to see ET, and I went to Rip Ride Rockit. The standby line had a 25 minute wait, but since I was alone, I opted to get in the single rider line. There were about 25 people in line ahead of me. I have to say that I was a bit annoyed by the single rider line because most of the people in line in front of me were parties of two, three, or four. While I understand small groups jumping in the single rider line when the lines are long, it makes absolutely no sense if the line is only 25 minutes long. It just makes the single riders line unreasonably long, and winds up causing everyone in the single riders line wait longer, including those groups.

After waiting in the single rides line for 10 minutes, I wound up switching over to the regular line. The ride broke down for a short time, and they ran a few cars through empty.  As I got to the point where I was less than 20 people from the end of the line, they actually pulled six people from the single rider line onto the ride. When they loaded me onto the car, about five people who were in front of me in the single rider line were still waiting to board that line. So, I proved my point that groups in the single riders line when the line is just 25 minutes is a dumbass decision.

I then headed to meet Krista. Along the way, I ran into Shrek and Donkey. This is one of the best character interactions in any theme park. Since there was only one group in line, I decided to get in line to talk to Donkey. Donkey noticed my gray shirt, and asked me if I wore it to match him. He asked me my name and where I was from, and he when he heard I was from Boston, he told me that I should have brought him some Boston baked beans. He told me he’d come to Boston so we could have a cookout, and I joked that we wouldn’t serve donkey meat. He asked me if that’s what we eat in Boston, and he said he would have to stay away if we did. Donkey was really funny, and I enjoyed interacting with him.

When I met Krista, we headed back to see Disaster again. I wound up volunteering to be one of the cast members in the show. I was cast as one of the evil oil company employees, a role I’m quite good at and have portrayed three times. Unfortunately, something must have happened to the tape, because they didn’t use any of us in the group. I guess they didn’t realize that they had a two-time Academy Award winner in their cast that day.

After Disaster, I took a quick ride on the Mummy, and Krista and I headed over to City Walk. We went into a couple of shops, and then went walked back to the Portofino Bay. We stopped at Sal’s Market to have some pizza. We split a half cheese/half sausage pizza. I also got a Caesar salad. The pizza was good, especially when I added parmesan cheese and crushed hot pepper.

After dinner, we went to the room to change into our bathing suits for some pool time. Before our swim, we headed back down to the harbor to watch the singers that perform there each night at sunset. They perform from a balcony off the lobby, and there is plenty of space to watch them.  We grabbed a couple of chairs, and relaxed while they sang. They sang about six songs. Some were Italian songs that I recognized, but can’t remember the names of. They also sang “Come Fly with Me” and “Fly Me to the Moon.” It’s definitely worth checking them out if you are at the hotel.

Krista and I then went for a swim in the pool. The pool was very beautiful with a nice slide. We chatted with a nice couple from Atlanta who were there for a Royal Caribbean event introducing cruise and Universal Studios packages.   

After our swim, I wandered around the resort for a bit to enjoy the resort at night. It looks really beautiful all lit up at night.

I then headed back to the room so I could get some sleep so I could head over to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter for early entry.

Harry Potter and the BLT--Day 1--Thursday, September 15

At long last, my trip was here! It had been nine months since my last trip to Orlando, and I was excited to finally be heading back to my home away from home! I was meeting my friend Krista from Texas at the airport, and I just couldn't wait to get there.

I woke up long before the sun rose to get ready for my 8:30 a.m. flight to Orlando. My friend Carol offered to drive me to the airport. She told me she would pick me up at 6:30, and she knows that I get a bit nervous about getting to the airport late, so she promised she wouldn't oversleep or be late. She texted me in the morning to let me know she was ready to go, but at 6:32, she wasn't there, so I texted her to give her a hard time about being two minutes late, because that's what I do--I give people a hard time. She called me up and apologized for being late, but I told her I was only kidding.

Carol arrived a couple of minutes later. I loaded my stuff in her car, and we were on our way to Logan Airport. I was at the airport shortly after 7:00, and I made my way to the bag drop. It was a good thing I got to the airport early because the bag drop was huge! I guess JetBlue was trying to do me a favor by getting me used to waiting in line. It took nearly a half hour to check my bag.

I made my way to security. I was surprised to see that the security line in terminal C was combined into one line for both sides of the terminal. The set up made the security line move quicker, and allowed access to the restaurants and shops on both sides of the terminal. I liked the new set up.

When I made it through security, I grabbed a quick breakfast, and was soon on the plane to Orlando! We arrived at Orlando about ten minutes late. While we were taxiing, I pulled my cell phone out of my pocket, and discovered that it was broken! I had it in my pocket, and the screen got crushed against the arm rest. I could not make or receive phone calls or texts! I had no way to contact my driver, or Krista!

Once the plane was at the gate, I got off the plane. My first stop was the arrival board to see if Krista’s plane had landed yet. Krista’s plane was supposed to arrive about 15 minutes after mine, but the board said that here flight would now be almost an hour late! So, I was going to have some time to kill before Krista arrived.

I made my way to baggage claim, and found a pay phone so I could call Sprint to see if there was anything to do about my phone. We had a horrible connection on the pay phone, but it didn’t matter, as it sounded like my phone was not under warranty anymore. And since I didn’t buy the insurance on the phone, I was going to be out of luck. But she put me on hold, and eventually our call was disconnected. I called back again, and basically found out there would be nothing I could do since we didn’t have a car to go to the Sprint store. I didn’t really want to take time out of my vacation to do that anyways.

With my bag now in hand, I made my way over to the escalators so I could watch for Krista to arrive at baggage claim. When I saw Krista on the escalator, I waved to get her attention. I think she was relieved to see me because she had been unable to reach me on my broken phone. She had already heard from our driver Ed, and found out that he was going to be sending his colleague Gene to pick us up since Krista’s flight was so late. Gene told Krista to have me call Ed, who I have used for transportation many times. He was a bit concerned about me because it’s not like me not to have my phone on. I gave Ed a quick call to assure him that I was fine, and thank him for making arrangements to send Gene to get us.

When Krista had her bag, we met Gene, and he took us to his SUV. His SUV was clean and comfortable. Gene was very kind and personable. He even offered to take us to the Sprint store to deal with my phone, but I declined. I knew that the issue wasn’t going to be something that could be fixed quickly, and even getting a new phone up and running would take time I didn’t really want to take out of my vacation. So, off to Portofino Bay we went!

We arrived at Portofino Bay just before 1:00, and we were met in the lobby by my friend Michael. I hadn’t seen Michael in a while, so I was glad that he was able to arrange to swing over to the Portofino Bay for a quick hello. Like everyone else, Michael had tried to reach me on my broken phone, and of course, couldn’t reach me. So, he was relieved as well when he saw us walk into the lobby. Michael is truly a sweetheart, and kindly offered to lend me his cell phone for the trip, or run out and get a pay as you go phone for me. He even checked in the hotel gift shop to see if they had them.

After chatting with Michael for a while, we checked into the Portofino Bay. Our room was a standard view room on the third floor of the east wing. Our room overlooked a wooded area and had a small balcony. There was a folding chair in the closet that we could use if we wanted to sit out on the balcony. After fussing with the lock for a few minutes, we weren’t able to get the door open, so it didn’t look like we would be spending any time on our balcony. I was able to mess with it a bit more and get it open the next day, though.

Our room was very nice. It was very roomy, clean, and comfortable. The bathroom was so big that the tub and toilet were in different zip codes. There was also enough room to fit a large decorative shelving unit in the corner. I wish that the room had been designed differently so that the sink was outside of the main bathroom area.

With this stay at the Portofino Bay, I have now stayed at all three of the Universal resorts. I enjoyed all three resorts, but I don’t think I would spend the extra money to stay at the Portofino Bay on a short trip again. It just isn’t worth the extra cost if you aren’t planning on spending a lot of time at the resort. It’s a beautiful resort with lots of picturesque and quiet spots to relax, and the pool was very nice. But for the amount of time we spent at the resort, I do not think it’s worth an extra $70 a night over what we could have paid for the Royal Pacific or the extra $30 over the price at the Hard Rock. Out of the three, I prefer the Hard Rock for its closeness to the parks, and I love the music artifacts and photos throughout the resort, and the photographs in the rooms.

After freshening up, we started to walk to Universal Studios. We exited the east wing via the stairs near the quiet pool, and followed the signs along to the theme parks. We must have missed a sign at some point because we wound up at an intersection leading to the Hard Rock Hotel. We opted to cross the street, and cut through the Hard Rock. Going this way probably saved us close to a quarter mile of walking from our east wing room. I’m not sure it would save you any steps if you were staying in another part of the resort, though.

When we arrived at Universal Studios, our first stop was Mel’s Diner to grab some lunch. We both wound up getting the chicken nuggets and fries. Krista also got a chocolate shake, which she said had the consistency of a Wendy’s Frosty. The first chicken nugget I took from the container was excellent--it was thick and juicy. The rest were just OK. Some of them were very thin and tough. It wasn’t the best meal of the trip, but it was enough to tide me over until our dinner at Tchoup Chop that evening.

After lunch, we went to see the Horror Makeup Show, which was scheduled to start just a few minutes later. We showed our room key so we could access the Express Pass queue, and were seated in the front row as soon as we got in line. The show itself was typical Universal--very hokey with lots of corny jokes. The two hosts who ran the show were great, and they were very entertaining, but I thought the show was 75% corny jokes and only 25% makeup and special effects. One of the hosts went into the audience to pick out someone to volunteer to be in the show, and wound up choosing a woman from Nicaragua who could not speak English. She tried to decline participating because she couldn’t speak English, but the host insisted she volunteer. I have to say that choosing someone who didn’t speak English made the show a bit less enjoyable--the hosts were having a hard time communicating with her, and she wasn’t always sure what she should be doing.

After the show, we headed over to ET. I have the worst luck with this attraction. Every time I go to ride it for the first time, it seems to be broken down, and I have to head back there later to try to ride it. Well, this time was a different story!  It was working when we arrived! We were on the ride pretty quickly using our Express Pass. This ride is a bit dated, but it’s still fun. As we rode our bikes over the city, I felt like we were flying over London in our boat on Peter Pan.

We then headed over to the Simpsons ride. We had a bit of a wait in the hot sun when we used our express pass, but we were soon in the holding area. I love watching the movies with Apu, and janitor Willy that they show in the holding area. I really think they did a fantastic job on the theming of the ride, and the holding area and pre-show movies. The ride itself is a lot of fun. I love the way that they poke fun at the other Orlando area theme parks in the film.

We then headed over to Men In Black to fight the aliens and save the world! Once again, we got on the ride pretty quickly using our express pass (unlimited express pass is a great benefit of staying at a Universal resort). When we were seated in our ride vehicle, and waiting for it to leave the loading area, I pointed my gun in the direction of the guy who was sending the vehicles out, and asked another team member if we got bonus points for shooting that guy. The team member obviously had no sense of humor, as he looked at me with a confused look on his face and said, “It won’t really do anything yet. The guns aren’t on.”

After successfully killing all the aliens, we had bigger fish to fry--a large shark named Jaws, to be exact. We boarded a boat at Amityville, and were soon cruising the ocean as Jaws tried to attack us and tip our boat. But thanks to our trusty captain, we were successfully made it through our cruise and were safely back on dry land.

We made our way over to Disaster to see what time the next show was, and it was going to be about 20 minutes, so we decided to head over to the Mummy. This is a great fast moving coaster. There aren’t really any big drops, but there are some neat stops, starts, twists, and turns that keep you guessing. It’s a short ride, but they did a fantastic job on it considering the space they had available to make this coaster.

After the Mummy, we headed back over to Disaster. This was one show that I told Krista was a must see on the trip. Big time director Frank Kincaid casted us, and the rest of the people in the theatre to be extras in his new movie “Mutha Nature.” We met with Mr. Kincaid, and watched some scenes being filmed before filming a couple of scenes ourselves. This show is worth checking out just to see Frank Kincaid with your own eyes. He’s really amazing to see.

It was close to park closing time, and we had hit all of our main attractions in less than four hours. I was hoping to get a ride on the Rickety Rackety Ripoff, er, I mean Rip Ride Rockit, but the line was long and I didn’t feel like waiting in it, so that would have to wait for tomorrow.

Krista and I then walked over to Walgreens, which was about a mile from the front gate of Universal Studios. Since Krista’s flight was late, we had to forgo our grocery stop, so we wanted to get some water, and I wanted to look at the pay as you go cell phones. We picked up some water, and muffins, but I decided to skip the pay as you go cell phone.

We then called a cab, and had the driver drop us off at the Royal Pacific, where we would be having dinner at Tchoup Chop. We were a bit early for our reservation, but we were seated right away. I really love the atmosphere in this restaurant. The soft lighting makes the restaurant so soothing, and I love the open kitchen. The bar is very eye catching as well with a large array of colorful bottles.

September is Magical Dining Month in Orlando, and Tchoup Chop had a three course meal for $30. Krista and I both decided to take advantage of this deal as it was just too good to pass up. We both started off with the Crispy Kalua Chicken Egg Rolls with orange-chile dipping sauce. I first had these egg rolls when I went to Tchoup Chop back in December, and as my friend Diane realized that night, these are the egg rolls that Jesus would love. They are crispy, and delicious. The dipping sauce is tangy with a slight kick. They are the best egg rolls I’ve ever had in my life.

For my main course, I ordered Herb Broiled Free Range Chicken in a sake mustard reduction sauce, which was served with kimchee fried rice. The chicken was delicious. It was very tender and juicy. The fried rice had a lot of flavor, and was very light. I would definitely order this dish again.

Krista ordered the Beer Braised Short Ribs with veal au jus, which was served with onion mashed potatoes. I tried a piece of the short ribs, and it was very tender. You could definitely taste the beer in the meat.

The dessert of the day was a flourless chocolate cake, which was served with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. There were two small individual chocolate cake pieces. The cake was very rich and had the consistency of a piece of fudge. Although it was very tasty, it was a bit too rich for me, and I was so full from my meal that I could only eat a couple of bites of it. The vanilla ice cream was the best vanilla ice cream I’ve ever had, very smooth and creamy.

After dinner, we took the boat to the City Walk, and then walked back to the Portofino Bay from there. This time, we followed the path all the way to the resort. It was about a mile from the security check point just outside of City Walk to the Portofino boat dock. It was a pleasant walk, and much needed after our delicious dinner.

We had both been up since about 5:00 a.m. so we were pretty tired by the time we got back to the resort, so we got ready for bed. We had only been in Orlando about 9 hours, and we had already had a full day. And we still had six more days of fun ahead of us.

United We Remember--Part 4--Remembering the Spirit

As I mentioned in a previous part of my September 11th blog, one of the things that struck me the most was the spirit of our country in the weeks after the attacks. People seemed a lot more patient and kind with each other. People let their American pride show through their words, dress, and actions. We were all moved by these events and we treated everyone with a bit more respect for a few weeks. Even crime seemed to drop in the weeks after the attacks.

I really wish that we could get some of that spirit back in our country. When I watched the Stanley Cup finals this year, I was so impressed with the crowd at the games in Vancouver. Every person in that arena showed their love and pride for their country by loudly singing along to their national anthem. They also showed respect as our national anthem was played. While some people in Boston were singing, it was no where near as loud and proud as the voices of the Vancouverites.

I wish that we would show that kind of pride when our national anthem is played. We should all stand proud, place our hands over our hearts, and sing our national anthem loudly and proudly so everyone can see. We should do this every time we hear it as a show of support and honor for the vicitims of September 11th, the service men and woman who lost their lives fighting for our freedom, and also the service men and woman who continue to fight for us. We should do this to show those who want to attack us for our freedoms that we are strong as a country, and we won't let them bring us down.

God Bless America!

United We Remember--Part 3--Remembering My Trip To New York City

In mid-October of 2001, I took a weekend trip to New York City with my friend Leah. This trip had been planned long before the attacks of September 11^th so that we could do some sightseeing and see on my favorite actors, Ethan Hawke, in an off-Broadway play. I had planned on taking Leah to the World Trade Center Observation Deck on the trip, and we had both been excited to go there. We would still make the trip to the World Trade Center, but it would be a very different plan than we originally made.

On the first day our trip, we went to the Empire State Building. It made me so sad to look downtown in the direction of World Trade Center, and not see the buildings anymore. It just didn’t seem possible that the massive skyscrapers collapsed into a pile of rubble in just a few minutes time. I glanced at the Statue of Liberty, and thought about all of the hope that she brings to our country. And then I looked at the site where the World Trade Center had stood, and thought about the hopeless and despair brought upon our country by the senseless terrorist attacks on September 11^th. Here it was, a month after the attacks, and I was standing on the observation deck at another mighty New York City skyscraper still wondering how attacks of this magnitude happened on U.S. soil.

Even though the Empire State Building is a few miles from Ground Zero, we could clearly see the site from the observation deck. We could see smoke coming up from the site, and water being sprayed on the debris. My heart broke as I stood out the window looking at the site. So many innocent lives had been lost that day. We lost so many heroes who bravely ran into those buildings as thousands of others ran out of the buildings on September 11^th. As I stood there staring at the site, I prayed for the victims and their families.  I prayed for the men and women working to clear the debris so that the remains of those who had been lost could be returned to their families so they could have proper burials.  

The next morning, Leah and I took the subway down to Ground Zero, or as close to Ground Zero as we could by subway. The stop was a few blocks away from Ground Zero, and one of the first things we came upon as we stepped out of the station was St. Peter’s Roman Catholic Church. The church had suffered some damage in the attacks, but its doors were open for worshippers. I decided that we should make a stop in the church to so we could say a prayer for the victims and their families, and light some candles in their memories.

As we made our way to Ground Zero, I noticed all of the stores and restaurants in the surrounding buildings that were closed for business. One of the stores that stood out to me was a small Hallmark Greeting Card Store. I spent a long time peering through the window of the empty show. There were stuffed animals and cards strewn about the store. It looked like the store hadn’t been entered since the attacks. I couldn’t help but wonder about the person who owned that shop. That store was probably that person’s livelihood—something that the owner worked hard to make successful and profitable. And now, the store stood empty after the senseless acts of terrorism.

Looking at this store made me realize that these attacks affected more than just the victims of the attacks. This Hallmark Store was one of many stores in the vicinity of Ground Zero that remained closed a month after the attacks. I couldn’t help but wonder about the people who owned these shops. Were they hurt or killed in the attacks? Would they be able to rebuild their businesses after the attacks? I said a silent prayer for the shop owners as I looked through the windows of that Hallmark shop, hoping that they would all be back in business one day soon.

As we walked closer to Ground Zero, I noticed tributes to some of the victims. Family members and friends had placed pictures and stories about their loved ones on fences, and buildings. Some of the pictures were of one of the victims with their families. It was so overwhelming to read the stories, and look at the pictures. The tributes made the victims more real to me. It was moving to learn a bit about some of the victims through the tributes made by the people who loved them. I couldn’t imagine what it must be like to have a family member taken from you in such a tragic way. I couldn’t imagine the heartache and pain that these families must have been going through.

We finally made our way to the site of the World Trade Center, and seeing it with my own eyes was difficult. It was just so surreal to look at the piles of rubble that was once two gigantic skyscrapers that was the workplace for thousands and thousands of workers. It was overwhelming to think that I was staring at the location where thousands of people breathed their last breaths. It was overwhelming to know that there were still thousands of bodies somewhere in that rubble. Thinking about it now, as I write this 10 years later, I am overwhelmed by the thought of visiting Ground Zero just a month after the attacks.

As overwhelming as visiting Ground Zero was, I was glad that I went. Seeing the site with my own eyes was so much more powerful than looking at it on television. It gave me a better understanding of the magnitude of the attacks. I was also grateful to have the opportunity to pay my respects to the victims of the attacks in person.

After walking around the site reading the tributes to the victims and viewing the devastation, Leah and I started walking back towards the subway station. I decided that I wanted to make another stop in St. Peter’s to say another prayer. 

During my next visit to New York in 2002, I made another journey down to Ground Zero to see how the recovery and cleanup was going.  Once again, my first stop was St. Peter’s to say a prayer and light a candle in memory of the victims. Nearly a year had passed since my first visit to Ground Zero, and seeing it was still as overwhelming as the first visit. But this time, I saw something that gave me hope, and renewed my faith.

I was wandered around, I walked past the Hallmark Greeting Card Store that had made a huge impact on me back in October, and it was opened to business. And business was booming. I could see many people in the store shopping for card and gifts. I was so excited to see the store open that I had to go in and make a purchase. I was so excited to see this little shop reopened that I wanted to do something to support the business.

As I walked out of the shop with my purchase, for the first time since September 11^th, 2001, I knew that we would overcome this. If this little card shop could rebuild and prosper in the aftermath of these attacks, so should our country. I walked back to the subway with more hope than I had since the attacks.

United We Remember—Part 2—Remembering the Aftermath

On September 12, 2001, like the rest of America, I woke up to uncertainty in our new world. The events of September 11^th were just so unbelievable to me. It was like I was stuck in an action movie witnessing horror beyond my wildest imagination. The memories and emotions were just so raw and cut right through me.

The next several days, coverage of the attacks was the only thing on the television. The images and stories were just heart wrenching. It was tough to watch the TV when they showed Ground Zero, just knowing that so many perished in those buildings. But I felt that I had to watch, and I had to pray for those who had lost their lives. I also prayed that any survivors would be pulled from the wreckage as soon as possible.

Even more heart wrenching than watching the images of the crash sites was seeing the families and friends of missing people trying to get their missing loved ones names and faces out there in hopes that they could be located. So many families were on TV holding pictures of loved ones who were missing, just hoping that someone had seen them alive. They were clinging on to that hope that their loved ones would be pulled from Ground Zero, or located in a hospital.

It was reported that a former Boston Bruins player Garnet “Ace” Bailey was on one of the planes that crashed into one of the World Trade Center Towers. I had met Ace a few years before the attack at a Boston Bruins event, and hearing that he had been on one of the planes made the attacks seems even more real to me. Although I spent less than a minute interacting with Ace, it was enough to put a face and a personality behind one of the victims of the attacks. It was so surreal to think that a Bruins legend who I had spoken to and posed for a picture with was a victim of the attacks.

The more I watched the news, the more fearful I felt. There was just so much uncertainty, and I was afraid of what the world would be like in the coming weeks and months. I remember being really concerned for my nieces and nephews, who ranged in age from six to twelve. I was afraid that they would have to grow in living in fear of other attacks on U.S. soil. I prayed for them, and their future.

Amidst all the stories of loss, I heard a couple of stories of people who could have died that day, but a single decision kept them safe. A co-worker’s son worked in the World Trade Center, and he was running a bit late for work that day. Since he was already late, he decided to make a detour to pick up some Krispy Kreme donuts. His craving for a donut probably saved his life. If he hadn’t stopped to get some donuts, he would have been at his desk on a floor above impact in one of the World Trade Center Towers.

A friend of mine knew someone who worked in the second tower. The people working in that tower were told that there was no need for them to evacuate the building. This man had been in the federal building that had been bombed six years earlier in Oklahoma City, and he remembered the chaos involved with that event. He didn’t want to live through that chaos again, so he gathered his co-workers and told them that they should evacuate even though they had been told they didn’t need to leave the building. The man in his co-workers made it safely out of the building just 15 minutes before the building collapsed.

In the days after the attacks, I felt extremely helpless. Although I donated money and supplies to the cause, I still wished that there was more that I could do to help. I needed something to make me feel like I was doing something to help, and to show my American pride. I came up with a project that would allow me to show my pride in my country, and hopefully something that would allow others to do the same. I printed out hundreds of business cards with an American flag with the words “United We Stand” above it on one side, and the words to “God Bless America” on the other side. I then laminated them with clear contact paper, and handed them out to my friends, family, co-workers, and complete strangers. Making the business cards was very therapeutic for me. It gave me something to do that would allow others to carry the American flag with them wherever they went.

One thing that amazed me was the spirit of the country in the days and weeks after the attacks. People seemed a lot kinder, and we seemed stronger as a nation. United We Stand became the catchphrase for the country, and we truly did seem to be more united after the attacks. Everyone was showing their American pride. Flags were flying in front of more houses than usual, and many people even put flags on their cars. We were all united in our concern for the victims of the attacks, and our love for our country. Everyone seemed even prouder to be an American.

The Friday after the attacks, word spread around the country that people should join together with their neighbors to hold a moment of silence for those who lost their lives. Some of my neighbors and I decided that we would print out notices and invite everyone on our street to meet at the intersection in the middle of our street that night. We walked from door to door and left the notices at in every mailbox.

As the gathering time approached, my neighbors came out of their houses to join us. Many neighbors who I had never met came out to join us, and a handful of people came from neighboring streets to after they heard that we would be gathering. The drivers of two cars who just happened to be driving by at the time we were gathering parked their cards and joined us.

We had about 40 people on the street corner that night. There was so much love, and pride in the group that night. Some people brought candles. Others proudly waved American flags. We were all there to show our solidarity as Americans. We were all there to show our sympathy and support to the victims of the attacks, and their families. We all there to show our support to the rescue and recovery teams at the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, and the field in Pennsylvania. We were all there to show our support for the police officers, fire fighters, and service men and woman who would be protecting our county in this time of uncertainty.

One of my neighbors asked me to lead our gathering in our ceremony. I can’t remember exactly what I said, but I made a brief statement thanking everyone for joining us. I asked everyone to join me in a moment of silence in honor of the victims. After our moment of silence, we joined together to sing “God Bless America.” I don’t think there was a dry eye in our group. We lingered on the street corner chatting, and hugging, and getting to know our neighbors a little better. Just as our nation became stronger as the result of the attacks, our neighborhood also became stronger.

I found so much strength and hope in the gathering that night. United we stood on my street, honoring those who lost their lives, just like others were doing at the same time all around our country that night. We would unite, and show the terrorist that they may have put a crack in our spirit, but it wasn’t broken. We would come out of this a stronger nation, and we would not fear them.

United We Remember--Part One--Remembering the Day

Note: When I started writing this blog, I planned on just writing one piece about the event, but I soon realized that I had a lot more to say about it. This is part one of what I am expecting to be a four part blog that I will be posting over the next several days. Here is a brief description about what I plan to write about in each post:

Part 1:  Remembering the Day—This post will be about how I heard about the attacks, and what I remember feeling and thinking that day.

Part 2:  Remembering the Aftermath—This post will be about what I remember of the spirit of our country in the weeks after the attack. I will also share a couple of survival stories from that day.

Part 3: Remembering My Visit to New York—This post will be about my trip to New York six weeks after the attacks.

Part 4:  Remembering the Spirit—I do not want to give a description for this one.  You’ll just have to wait to read it.

So, here is part one of my September 11^th blog.

God Bless America

************************************************************************

Tomorrow marks the 10 year anniversary of the terrorist acts of September 11, 2001. It’s hard to believe that 10 years have passed since the day when we witnessed the shocking attacks that claimed the lives of almost 3,000 people at the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, and on four airplanes.

They say that you will always remember what you were doing when a shocking tragedy occurs. I can remember using the mimeograph machine in the school office at my grammar school when I heard about the space shuttle Challenger blowing up, and I can remember being sick with food poisoning in a hotel room in New York City when I heard that Princess Diana died.

On September 11, 2001, I was in my office scanning the radio stations to find some tunes when I heard the phrase “an airplane has crashed into the World Trade Center.” I quickly scanned back to hear what was going on, and oddly enough, the station was actually the local station that aired the Howard Stern Show at the time. Yes, I heard about the 9/11 attacks on the Howard Stern Show of all places! I wound up staying with the station because they actually were doing an excellent job of reporting the events of that day with a raw emotion that you don’t get from a seasoned reporter. Howard and his crew were witnesses to the events just like all of us, and the spoke with a frankness and emotion that you didn’t get from the seasoned newscasters.

When I heard the news, I wound up calling my co-worker Abbi to tell her about the plane crashing. She was a bit confused at first when I told her, as she thought I was referring to the World Trade Center in Boston, which is only a couple of miles across the harbor from Logan Airport. At the time of that conversation, only one plane had struck, so we assumed it was a plane that ran into a mechanical problem.

As we listened to the news, and heard about the other planes crashing, we were shocked to the core to realize that such a major terrorist attack was happening on U.S. soil. The news circulated quickly around the office, and everyone was shocked and saddened by the news. I remember being really angry by the news. How could this happen here, in the U.S.? This kind of stuff wasn’t supposed to happen here.

I remember the tension and fear in my office that morning. We were all sad, confused, and angry. Over the next hour as we heard about each plane crashing, we became more and more concerned.  I think everyone was thinking: Would there be more attacks and could there be attacks in our city of Boston? Everyone really wanted to get home to be with their families.

We were all shocked when we heard that another plane had hit the Pentagon. It was frightening to think that the building that held the headquarters of the Department of Defense was attacked. I couldn’t help but think how tense it must have been in that building that morning. The brave men and woman in that building must have been working out what needed to be done to protect our country after the attacks on the World Trade Center when the plane crashed into that building.

Perhaps some of the most amazing and brave men and woman were the ones who were on the plane that crashed in Pennsylvania. It was rumored that plane was headed towards the White House, or the Capitol Building, but some brave souls had something else in mind. The stood up to the terrorists, and fought back.  Forty people perished in that plane on September 11^th, but if they didn’t stand up to the terrorists, who knows how many more lives would have been lost that day. The passengers on that plane are heroes for all of us.

At some point that morning, my office, like so many offices in the city of Boston and across the country closed. It was a very confusing time with all of the news and misinformation surrounding the attacks. There was much talk about other planes that could have been overtaken by terrorists, or even attacks on the ground in some of our country’s major cities. Most offices closed that morning because no one wanted to be the employer that kept their employees working if there was going to be another attack.

With all of the rumors swirling around regarding the attacks, and rumors that there could be other targets, I didn’t really want to get on the subway that day. One of my co-workers, Lyra, lived in the same city as I did, and she didn’t really want to get on the subway either. We decided that we would walk three miles to a subway station where we could get a bus home.

When Lyra and I got outside, we soon realized that we weren’t the only ones trying to get home. The traffic on the streets of Boston was at a standstill. It was worse than I ever recalled seeing. I don’t remember ever seeing traffic on the side streets backed up even at the start of a holiday weekend. People seemed a lot more patient than they usually are when they are stuck in the traffic--no one was beeping their horn, or shouting obscenities at other drivers to get moving. Drivers seemed to realize that everyone was in a hurry that day, and everyone had the same important purpose--to get home to their families.

I was very grateful to have someone to walk with that day. I was scared and sad, and it was nice to have company on the journey to discuss the events with, and express my fears and concerns. I recall how quiet the streets were despite the traffic. The skies seemed a bit eerie because the commercial and private planes were grounded. It was very bizarre to be walking parallel to one of the major flight paths used by planes taking off from Logan Airport, and not seeing or hearing any planes. The only planes that we saw on our walk were a few fighter jets. Although the fighter jets should have been a comfort in a time of extreme turmoil and terror in our country, they made me even more nervous.

Lyra and I soon made it to the subway station, and caught buses home. I wound up taking a bus that dropped me off in the center of my city, and walked home from there. I was so grateful to be home with my parents, and safe in my home.

Like every other American, my television was tuned into the coverage of the events. As much as the images disturbed and shocked me, I couldn’t turn away from the television. I couldn’t believe my eyes as I watched the World Trade Center towers burn, and eventually collapse. It was just unfathomable that a skyscraper could collapse and compact like it was made out of cards.

Even more shocking was hearing the stories of people who were trapped above the point of impact with no way to get out of the building. Some of them decided to take their fate into their own hands and jump out of the building rather than wait for the fire to reach them, or perhaps help to reach them. I can’t imagine what their fear must like to make that choice in this situation.

A few years before the attacks, I went to observation deck the World Trade Center during a trip to New York, and it was so strange to think that the building that had awed me so much was now gone. I had always recommended a trip to the observation deck to people on their trips to New York because I thought the view was more breathtaking than the view from the Empire State Building. The observation deck had benches that you could sit in and let your feet swing freely over some glass windows. I sat in one of those benches for a long time, just looking at the Statue of Liberty. It was truly a beautiful sight to take in.  

And on September 11^th, it hit me that no one else would be able to go to the top of that building and look at the Statue of Liberty. No one would be able to walk to the windows on the opposite side and see the Empire State Building and the Chrysler Building. No man would take his girlfriend to the observation deck and propose. No one could look out those windows at Ellis Island and remember that their ancestors once passed through there on their journey to the United States.

I had also toured the Pentagon a few years before the attacks. The Pentagon is truly a remarkable building. It is just massive, and I couldn’t help but marvel at the design. It was interesting to see the five rings within the Pentagon, and also the shopping area built right in as a convenience for the employees. Visiting the Pentagon was my favorite part of my first visit to Washington, D.C.

And on September 11, 2001, the twin towers were no more. The Pentagon suffered major damage. Four planes had crashed.  And the lives and spirits of every American would be changed forever.

Why Chris Colfer Should Win An Emmy

As many of you have probably realized lately, I've been on a major Glee kick this summer. Summer television is so boring that I would rather rewatch episodes of shows I love than watch some of the junk that they throw on TV during the summer. Plus, I love anything that includes great songs sung by great voices, and there are some amazing voices on Glee.

I recently rewatched both seasons of Glee, and the thing that stood out most to me was the performance of Chris Colfer. Chris’s character, the gay fashionable soprano Kurt Hummel, has always been one of my favorite characters on the show, but watching all 44 episodes in about two weeks gave me an appreciation of how wonderful Chris is as an actor, and how much he has grown as an actor in just two years.

Last month, Chris received his second consecutive Emmy nomination for Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy. He is up against Ty Burrell, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Ed O'Neil, and Eric Stonestreet from Modern Family and Jon Cryer from Two and A Half Men. That's some pretty tough competition for a young actor who is just 21-years-old and working on his first professional acting job. But his performance on the show this season has been absolutely stellar, and totally Emmy worthy.

For those of you who aren't familiar with the Emmy process, after an actor is nominated, he chooses an episode of the show to submit to the Emmy voters. It was reported that Chris has decided to submit "Grilled Cheesus" to the voters. In the episode, Kurt’s father suffers a heart attack, and winds up in a coma. Kurt’s glee club friends rally around him, and want to pray for his father. Kurt reveals that he doesn’t believe in God, and tells his friends that he doesn’t want their prayers. The glee club spends much of the episode discussing their religious beliefs, and trying to understand why Kurt doesn’t believe in God. Chris’s performance in this episode was absolutely brilliant, and featured a heart-wrenching performance of the Beatles “I Want To Hold Your Hand.”

Chris did an amazing job of conveying the stages of grief as Kurt was dealing with his father’s illness in the episode. He really displayed the full range of emotion a person goes through when they are dealing with the serious illness of a loved one. He shows pain and anger over his father’s illness. He pushes his friends away and isolates himself as he deals with the stress of the illness. He shows guilt when he stands at his father’s bedside and says some of the things that he regretted not saying to his dad before the heart attack. He shows acceptance when he starts letting his friends in to help him.

I have always felt that a good actor makes you believe a character, but a great actor makes you feel for the character. There are plenty of actors who I think are good actors, but there is only a handful that I consider great. Chris is one of them. I am not one who gets teary-eyed while watching television very often, but Chris has made me cry on many occasions. Chris puts so much emotion, heart, and passion into his portrayal of Kurt that it is easy to become invested in the character, and really care for Kurt.

Chris has an amazing handle on the emotional side of acting. His emotions are spot on in every single scene. I can’t think of another actor on television who shows the range of emotion that Chris shows on Glee. There are lots of actors who can cry on the spot, or show anger and make it believable (and Chris is a master at that). But there aren’t very many actors that can convey more subtle emotions. Chris can convey so much with just an expression and body language.

A great example of the range of Chris’s emotion in his acting can be seen by comparing his demeanor in “Duets” with his demeanor in the later episodes when he starts to develop a friendship with Blaine, a gay student in a competing glee club. In “Duets,” Kurt is feeling very alone because he is the only out gay kid at school, and he is facing some criticism from his friends and his father because he wants to sing a duet with the new boy in class, who he suspects could be gay. My heart broke for Kurt in this episode because Chris did such an amazing job of showing Kurt’s pain and depression over being alone with his facial expressions and his slumped posture. When Kurt meets Blaine, Chris portrays Kurt with so much more confidence, joy, and lightness. He showed newfound happiness in his interactions with all of the other characters. Chris’s body language showed a spring in his step.

Although he may not be the strongest singer on the show, I believe that Chris is the strongest performer in the cast. With the emotion and passion he puts into his individual musical performances, you can tell that he was born to be on a Broadway stage. Most of his solos have been big Broadway numbers complete with choreography. One of my favorite Chris Colfer performances on Glee was “Le Jazz Hot” from Victor/Victoria, which was performed on “Duets” during season 2. “Le Jazz Hot” is a stunning song and dance number which truly shows just how well Chris commands the stage when he is performing. Chris’s dancing is very fluid, and he is so much fun to watch because he seems to be having so much fun performing. When he is performing a show stopping solo, it’s hard to take your eyes off him because he puts so much energy and heart into his performance.

Chris’s best performance on the show (and in my opinion the best individual performance by any actor or actress on Glee) came in the episode “Born This Way,” when Chris performed “As If We Never Said Goodbye” from the Broadway musical Sunset Boulevard. It was actually Chris’s idea to use this song, and they couldn’t have picked a better song to mark Kurt’s triumphant return to McKinley High School, and the New Directions. The song was beautifully performed, beautifully shot, and perfectly placed in the episode. Chris’s performance is absolutely breathtaking—it’s five minutes of pure magic. Chris absolutely nailed the emotional feel of the song. He showed Kurt’s joy and wonderment as he returned to the school where he knew he belonged. He shows Kurt’s increased pride and confidence for overcoming all the difficulties he faced in the past few months. Chris also showed Kurt’s love for his friends as he sang to the glee club, and his excitement to be back with them.

The Emmys are just a few short weeks, and whether or not Chris wins will really depend on how the voters interpret the category. Chris’s performance in Glee is primarily dramatic, so he didn’t really have a strong comedic performance to submit to the voters. It is not unheard of for an actor or actress to win an Emmy for a dramatic performance in a comedy category. If the voters decided to base their decision on a comedic performance, one of the Modern Family actors will win the Emmy. If they base their decision on the best overall acting in the episodes submitted by the actors, Chris should win the Emmy Award.

Win or lose, it is us, the viewers, who are the biggest winners because we are able to watch this amazingly talented young man week after week. Every time Chris is on screen, whether he is performing a show stopping number or he is just in the background, you feel that you are witnessing something special. Chris has a lot going on for him outside of Glee. He just finished filming his first film, Struck By Lightning, which he also wrote. He is developing a television show for Disney, and also has a two book deal to write a fantasy series for children. Chris is truly a multi-talented performer, and I am sure he will continue to entertain and amaze us for many years to come.

I truly believe that Chris has the heart and the drive to achieve anything he sets his mind on. I look forward to seeing where Chris's career leads him next. I'm sure it will be a fun and awe-inspiring journey.

They Say that Charity Begins at Home, but I Believe it Begins in the Heart

Earlier this week, I decided to make a donation to an organization in honor of an accomplishment in someone else’s life. What I didn’t expect when I made that donation online was that I would still be feeling so good about it days later. I found that I was walking around with extra spring in my step, and it made my heart feel good. It was so uplifting that it made me want to give more.

I have always been good about supporting charities that are close to my heart. I do my best to support my friends when they do walks or bike rides for charity. I also donate money when there is a natural disaster or whenever else I hear of a need. I may not always donate as much as I would like to, but I donate what I can at that time. I believe that my small donation can make a huge difference when combined with all of the other donations the organization receives.

While I always feel good about it when I make a donation, this is the first time that the feeling has lasted this long. I think the difference here is that the donation was made in honor of a wonderful achievement in someone else’s life. Through this donation, I was able to celebrate that accomplishment, and also do some good by supporting an organization that both the recipient and I believe is doing wonderful work. I also was able to surprise the recipient because he had no idea that I was so moved by his accomplishment, and didn’t know that I would acknowledge it. Making a donation to celebrate an accomplishment or event in someone’s life is a fantastic way to honor someone who doesn’t really need or want anything.

Donating your time can be even more rewarding than donating money. One of the most amazing experiences of my life was volunteering for Habitat for Humanity, which I have done twice. My experience with tools prior to volunteering for Habitat for Humanity was hanging pictures, and making minor repairs around the house. But on the Habitat for Humanity build site, I was framing windows and doors. It was hard work, but I left there feeling so fufilled and uplifted.

Both times I volunteered at Habitat for Humanity build sites, I worked along side people who would one day own a Habitat for Humanity home. For those of you who aren’t familiar with with Habitat for Humanity, families who are going to purchase the homes must volunteer several hundred hours of “sweat equity” into building their home or working on other Habitat for Humanity projects. I worked with four people who would be living in Habitat for Humanity homes. They were all hard working, and extremely grateful for the opportunity to purchase a home. They were also grateful to the volunteers who came out to help make their dream of owning a home a reality.

I think the main reason I found volunteering for Habitat for Humanity so rewarding is the thought that I played a small part in something that was a major life changer for the families who would be purchasing the houses. With most volunteer opportunities, your work only helps the recipients in the short term, but when you volunteer for Habitat for Humanity you are helping to change the lives of a family long term. The families who wind up living in these houses no longer have to worry about whether or not they will have a roof over their head, or if they can afford to pay the rent from month to month. I often wonder about the two families who now live in the houses I helped build (the first is a three generation family of six, mom, dad, grandma, grandpa, and two little girls, and the second is a single mom with two children, including a handicapped teenage boy). I hope that owning their own home has been as good for their hearts as helping to build it was for my heart.

So, while it is said that charity begins at home, I think it really begins in your heart. Support the causes that are close to your heart. Take advantage of volunteer opportunities that interest you. Giving does amazing things to your heart.

Am I Really One of the Last Honest People on Earth?

In recent years, I have had two experiences with finding items that belong to someone else on the street, and I did what I could to get the items back to their rightful owner. I knew getting the items back to the owner was the right thing to do, and didn't think twice about putting some effort into finding the owner.

The first item I found was a set of keys on a train in Boston. There were about 20 keys on the ring, and several store cards. I knew I could turn them in at the ticket booth at the station when I got off the train, but I was afraid that the keys would just go forgotten in a lost in found bin somewhere. Who knew if the owner even realized that she had lost the keys on the train? I had about 20 minutes left until I reached my stop, so I decided to see if I could figure out a way to contact the owner.

So, I began to look for clues. I looked at all of the cards on the ring, and came across a card for a gym membership. There was a phone number on the card, so I pulled out my cell phone, and dialed the number. I explained to the receptionist that I had found the member's keys on the train, and I asked if he could call the member and give her my cell phone number so I could try to get the keys back to her. The receptionist agreed to pass along a message to the member.

Before I even got off the train, the woman called me, extremely grateful that I made the effort to locate her, as she didn't know she had lost her keys. We arranged to meet later so I could get the keys back to her. When I handed her the keys, she told me that she was shocked that I went through the effort I went through to get the keys to her, and she told me that it was good to know that there were still nice and honest people in the world.

I didn't think much of her comments until a few years later when I found a wallet on the ground one morning on the way to work. Once again, I wanted to make sure that I got it back to its rightful owner, so I looked through the wallet for clues. There was a driver's license, a few dollars in cash, a couple of credit cards, and a couple of checks. I tried to find a phone number online for the woman, but came up empty. There were two different addresses on items in the wallet, so I didn't even know where to try to mail the wallet.

I really wanted to get the wallet back to her before she started going through the hassle of cancelling credit cards, and trying to get those checks reissued. I took a second look through the wallet, and took a closer look at the checks. One of them looked like a reimbursement check from her employer, so I thought that would be my best option to contact her.

I found the company's phone number online, and gave them a call. I asked to be connected with someone in human resources and left a voicemail explaining that I found one of their employees wallets, and I was hoping to get that wallet back to the person.

A short time later, the woman called me up, and said she hadn't even realized that she dropped her wallet. She was extremely grateful that I found a way to contact her to get the wallet back to her.

She came to my office later that morning to pick up the wallet. She told me that I was one of the last honest people on earth. I was surprised to hear her say that, and I remembered that I had heard something similar from the woman whose keys I found a few years earlier.

When I think back on these events, I have to wonder if I really am one of the last honest. I know I put some effort in it, but I would like to believe that most people would make a reasonable effort to get a wallet or keys back to their rightful owner. I would hope that if someone found something of mine that he or she would try to get the item back to me.

So, what do you think? Am I one of the last honest people on earth? What would you do if you found a wallet or a set of keys somewhere? Would you pick them up and try to get them back to the owner? Would you just leave them where they were? Would you take the cash out of the wallet and throw it in the trash?

Maybe it's a bit naive, but I have to believe that we live in a world where most people would do the right thing and try to get the item back to its rightful owner. I hope that I am right. If I'm not right, I guess I'll just have to settle for being one of the last honest people on earth.