Back home and back to the real world. It was a great week in New York City and was very enjoyable although we walked a lot despite riding many subway lines to reach far flung locations all the way from Ground Zero in lower Manhattan to Riverside Church on the Upper West Side, close to Harlem, as well as eastward into Queens (Forest Hills) and into Brooklyn (Brooklyn Heights) from which we walked back to Manhattan across the Brooklyn Bridge for some spectacular views of Manhattan. Also got good views of Manhattan from the Brooklyn Heights Promenade. The highlight of the visit was the Metropolitan Opera. Having been attending performances here at SFO since the fall of 1976 we had grown used to the somewhat muffled sound of the orchestra at the War Memorial Opera House so the Met's superb acoustics was spectacular especially in Verdi's Otello with the crashing chords of the beginning of Act One. Also discovered St. Thomas Church in midtown Manhattan, somewhat similar to Grace Cathedral in SF (although physically smaller) but the choir of men and boys is excellent and is sometimes in residence at King's College Chapel in Cambridge, U.K. Yes, they are THAT good.

Now we just have to stay calm during the remaining 14 days until the presidential election. Those jerks still have not let up and now accuse Kerry and Edwards of saying anything to try to win the election. Strange but I thought that that was what Bush and Cheney were doing. That is like the pot calling the kettle black. So sad...so sad!