Stones Close out 17th U.S. Tour in DC

Next Monday, June 24, the Rolling Stones will close out their 17^th U.S. tour with one show at Verizon Center. If you don’t have a ticket yet, there are still some available for what could be their last U.S. show ever. Or maybe it won’t be – people have been (wrongly) predicting their demise since 1969, longer than most of their current fans have been alive.

By the way, that’s 17 U.S. tours in the past 50 years. Not exactly a heavy workload, but with extra points for longevity and still giving a great bang for the bucks it takes to buy their tickets, they remain at the top of “you gotta at least see them once” pile. After all, this is the British rock ‘n’ roll band that truly integrated black American RnB into their music and sold it to the masses. Then they added country music and, later, reggae and funk to the mix, creating a sound that’s ten times richer than you hear on their greatest hits albums.

I’ve seen the band twenty times and on every tour since 1975, so I don’t see any reason to break my streak and skip this tour despite the ticket prices. There, I said it: ticket prices. I learned by the early 1990s that you can count on a few things when the Stones tour:

• They’ll play “Jumpin’ Jack Flash” and a handful of the old warhorses they’ve played every show since the 1970s
• Mick Jagger will move like the one man on the planet unaffected by the aging process
• People will complain about ticket prices
• Many will still buy tickets
• Almost all will be glad they did

Tickets to the 1975 Stones tour cost $5.50 and $6.50 and enraged people with the “price gouging.” When tickets prices jumped to $15.00 a few years later, the band were called decadent robber barons, lining their pockets off the hard-earned dollars of their foolish fans. So it continued until today when ticket prices (not even the VIP prices) top out at $600. For $2500 you get dinner, souvenir programs and other items, and top-tier seats. Maybe they’ll let you play Keith’s parts on a song or two or dance backstage with Mick. I don’t know.

But who can say what it’s really worth to see a band like the Stones who’ve miraculously all managed to survive since the unfortunate death of Brian Jones in 1969, Charlie Watts’ battle with throat cancer, Keith’s heroin addiction and more recent severe brain injury, and Ronnie Wood’s struggles to stay sober? That’s a decision each Stones’ fan has to make.

I’ve made that decision and am looking forward to seeing the band sharing the stage with guitarist Mick Taylor for the first tour since 1972. And, perhaps, for the last time.

Get info about the tour here

Shakespeare Theatre presents "Old Times"

I just received this review of Harold Pinter's Old Times at the Shakespeare Theatre from my friend Eric H:

Old Times is a major deviation from the standard fare offered by the Shakespeare Theatre Company. The STC normally mixes Shakespeare’s work about fifty-fifty with other significant plays. Some of those are relatively modern in relation to Romeo & Juliet, but when compared to Old Times, they all fall into the same category of conventional story telling.

Old Times is filled with ambiguity. The program notes focus on the malleability of memory. But even the story line is malleable and ambiguous. Facts change from moment to moment, creating a dynamic feeling like a face being slowly unveiled. Quickly you find that even the themes of the play seem to be changing. At first it feels like a comedy based in marital dynamics. But it quickly turns into a competition of sorts; possibly romantic, or maybe for dominance. In the end it could be seen as a struggle for survival. After all, if we aren’t the sum of our memories, what are we?

The loose story line is about a couple being visited by the wife’s old friend. Reminiscences are shared, frequently competing and contradicting with one another. Hints about the nature of their prior relationships surface. A little cryptic symbolism, a la the 1970’s, adds to the surreal affect.

If you are open to unconventional things, this is an excellent play. It will make you think about things that are usually avoided by our current, short-attention-span culture. If you aren’t philosophically minded, you’ve probably already stopped reading this.

Everest Trek, Day 13 - Lukla to Katmandu

Runway at Lukla

Shortly after I awoke around 5:30, I could hear people outside happily shouting, "the flights are coming in, the planes are flying." For a minute it reminded me of those old WWII films where people are waiting for planes to arrive to evacuate them from occupied territory. In Lukla, some people seemed unusually excited to hear the sound of  the planes, but then I remembered that some had connections out of Katmandu later that day and that the weather in Lukla is notoriously finicky. It's often too windy or cloudy to fly and people have to wait for days to get out. So we were lucky - it was a beautiful sunny morning.

After breakfast our porters gave us each a traditional Nepali gift, a khata, a long yellow silk scarf often given by Buddhist monks as a blessing. They put one around each of our necks and wished us goodbye. The 15 of us boarded our 18 seat plane at 8:45 and flew back to Katmandu.  It was extremely disorienting to disembark into the warmth, sun, dust, and smog that we had left 13 days earlier, but it also felt good to be warm.

As expected, no electricity at the hotel, but that was something I was pretty used to by now. I showered by candlelight and headed out for some gift shopping.

Our trek was over, but we had one last dinner with Tashi, at one of his favorite restaurants, Rum Doodle, where we signed one of the giant cardboard feet that adorn the restaurant, celebrating the hundreds of treks completed by previous groups. He, too, gave us each a khata, and then we walked back to Hotel Manang and said goodbye to Tashi and the people leaving early on Sunday.

I'm spending Sunday finishing up my shopping and then heading to Bhatapur with Ed and Pat from Philly. It's a UNESCO World Heritage site that I'm looking forward to seeing. Then, it's back to Katmandu to wrap things up, pick up some laundry, pack, and have a last dinner with any stranglers from the group still in town.

It's been an amazing journey, one that's made me more aware than ever of the comfort and luxury that most Americans (and other westerners) live in, and one that's made me even more conscious of the excesses in our society. The people of Nepal, Sherpas and Newaris alike, generally have very few possessions and deal with pollution, overcrowding, blackouts, poor sanitation, poverty, and very limited resources, yet they seem generally calm, pleasant, and respectful of other people. I have not heard one person yell at another person or push or shove in a crowd. They take their time when they talk to you. The driving is insane, but it's not based on aggression or anger or some arbitrary rush to get someplace. And in the mountains where they have even fewer modern conveniences, they smile and laugh even more often.

I'm very grateful to have had the opportunity to spend a few weeks travelling and living among the people of Nepal.

Everest Trek, Day 12 - Monjo to Lukla

Only 5.5 hours of trekking today and we were back at Lukla. Unfortunately, by now I was pretty sick - congested, chills, sore throat - so it was one of my most difficult days. After a few hours, Tashi took my pack, which made it easier for me, but not exactly easy. (This was the second time I had my pack taken - one of our porters, Femba, took my pack the day we made it to base camp. I had a pretty bad reaction to the altitude above 14,000 feet and had a headache for five days that felt like someone was drilling into the back of my head. Lesson learned . . . use Diamox properly the next time, or stay below 13,000 feet!)

It rained during last few hours of the trek to Lukla, but that made me more determined to get there. The faster group was long out of site, and the slower few were behind me, so I spent much of that afternoon hiking on my own. But you're never really alone out there - this route is the main route into the mountains, so you're continually passing other hikers, yaks trains, donkeys, horses, and local porters carrying ungodly amounts of things on their backs.

I arrived in Lukla around 4:00. Fortunately, I had looked up the name of the hotel the night before so I knew where to go. Lukla's by far the biggest town in the area and not some place you want to wander around aimlessly looking for your trekking group. Anyway, when I met up with the group, I found that Tashi had given me my own room for the night, so I had a king-size bed with an actual bathroom (sink, toilet, shower), attached. The hot water was only on for one hour, so everyone scrambled to get showers quickly. Then I slept until dinner.

At dinner, we sat with our porters (or "the boys," as Tashi prefers to call them). Some folks were happy to be able to eat meat again - it's not advised to eat meat at altitude and it's very expensive, so most of us hadn't had any meat for about 9 - 10 days. After we ate (I had Yak Steak . . . tough!), we presented "the boys" with their tips and thanked them for their help. It's very unusual to have the porters come back to help people along the trail, especially after they've raced to get our bags to the next town. But with so many people sick and struggling in the beginning, Tashi would call our guys and they would come back to carry bags and walk alongside anyone who needed help, which was me on one occasion. We shook hands and hugged each one of them - they did a great job for us.

Then I was off to bed while five or so of the group went down to the bar where, from what I heard, a very good time was had by all.

Everest Trek, Day 11 - Kyangama to Monjo Cont.

Our Group at Mt. Everest Basecamp

After we left Namche, I spent two hours creeping down the steep paths, loose dirt, and slick rocks along the Namche hill  Wow. . . the look on the faces of the people who passed me going uphill. I'm sure I had that same expression when I struggled up there 10 days ago. I had slipped twice earlier in the day (I slid on dirt and went down like I was sliding into second base), so I moved pretty slow from then on. My knees were pretty sore when I made it to the bottom, but fortunately that effort was followed by one of the prettiest sections of the entire hike. We trekked right along the river surrounded by tall mountains (Colorado-size, not Nepal size) for about an hour, and by now some flowers were blooming, adding a bit of bright color to all of the browns and greens in the landscape.

That day was the Nepalese New Year, and after dinner that night in Monjo, Tashi, Lhakpa, and the teahouse cooks brought out a special cake they made to celebrate. The Sherpa culture has a great respect for older people, so Tashi asked Ed, the oldest member of our group (69), to cut the cake for us. It was a very sweet moment.

Over the past two weeks I have found the Sherpa people in general to be a kind and gentle people. They have great senses of humor, work hard, and are caring hosts - exactly the kind of people you would want to spend time with when you're far from home. One of my greatest memories of this trip will be Lhakpa's call to us each morning and after each break on the trail: "Okay, jam-jam (let's go).  Smile!"

Everest Trek, Day 11 - Kyangama to Monjo

On Monday, April 11 in the middle of the afternoon I made it to the Mt. Everest Base Camp, along with all 13 members of our group and our guides and porters.  It was an amazing and difficult experience, so much so that I haven’t even processed it yet.  At the base camp, we all took photos and celebrated for a few minutes, I hung a prayer flag for Dunquin, and we headed back on the 2-hour trek to Gorek Shep.

Base Camp is situated in a cold, forbidding place. I am in awe of  the people who actually live there for months as they acclimatize and get ready to attempt their climbs. As it was, it was hard enough for me with the cold (ice on the inside of our bedroom windows for 5 days straight), dirty squat toilets, and long hard days of trekking. But we saw so many marvelous things, which I will write about in subsequent posts. Right now we are heading back to Lukla, so we're taking a quick break in Namche to get more money, food, etc. 

Last night we had a real treat - separate bathrooms in our rooms! With western-style flush toilets!! We felt like queens and kings. And you wouldn't believe the view from the window next to my bed. I'll post the photo later. 

So all is well. I had a 5-day headache from the altitude but that's gone now that we've dropped below 14,000 feet, my knees are sore and I've developed a sore throat. But that's pretty good, considering. Of course, I've taken more medicine (Diamox, Cipro, Advil, Immodium, and some other things I can't remember) in the past two weeks than I did in the past year.

More later!

Everest Trek, Day 6 - Dingboche

Yesterday in Tengboche, several of us got up early to visit the monastery there. It is the main monastery for the Khumbu region and a very beautiful and inspirational place. It was a great pleasure to sit on cushions in the main hall while the Buddhist monks chanted.

We left Tengboche around 8:30 and hiked down through the forest on trails high above the river. Each morning of this trip has been absolutely beautiful - sunny, blue skies, 16 - 18,000 peaks rising all around us. Throughout the day, we continually pass yaks, other trekkers, and Sherpas carrying amazing loads of supplies on their backs.

This day's hike was a bit easier than the last two - we actually had some rolling hills this time amid the steep inclines and descents. We've been doing 9 km a day, but it's really the altitude that's the main issue. I started to get headaches yesterday from the altitude, so I'm going to have to watch how I feel in the next day or so.

We arrived in Dingboche around 4:00 yesterday afternoon. By now several of the group who've been sick have gotten better and one young woman from Australia has gotten worse. Tashi called for a horse for her yesterday, so she road to Dingboche. (Did I mention that Taski and Lhakpa use cell phones throughout the day to stay in touch since the group gets spread out? They also use them to call porters to come help people with their packs or, in this case, to bring a horse to carry a sick woman.)

We're at 14,100 feet now. There are no roads here at all and we're starting to see helicopters buzz by overhead to evacuate sick people from higher in the mountains. This morning when I woke up, we had ice on the inside of the window in our room and there was about an inch of snow on the ground. I still have the headache, so I only did 1/2 of today's acclimazation hike and will now go back and rest. Tomorrow we climb to over 16,000 feet and I need to get better. My legs are strong but the headaches could be a problem.

This will be my last posting for awhile since there's no Internet above Dingboche.