Busy, Busy, Busy

     Once again Uncle Jack apologizes to all those faithful readers who have been clicking in vain for the past several days while nothing new appeared in this space.  It isn't as though he hasn't had anything to write about.  It has been another fun-packed week for sure but the doing has left little time and energy for the reporting.
     The highlight of last week was his first cultural excursion to D.C. which is something he and Mrs. U.J. have been talking about doing ever since they got to Baltimore.  Trains leave from nearby Penn Station every 45 minutes or so and the 40 minute ride costs senior citizens a mere $7.00 round-trip, making trips to our nation's capital both convenient and cost-effective.
     A play at the Kennedy Center was the catalyst for this adventure.  Called "August: Osage County" it's a sad but also very funny examination of an extremely dysfunctional family whose members gather at the homeplace for the funeral of their patriarch.  The part of the deceased's surviving wife is played by 82-year-old actress Estelle Parsons who is on stage for hours, yelling and stomping around like the lunatic she portrays.  She gives an incredible performance and one can only wonder how, at her age, she can do it twice on Matinee day which this happened to be.  Steroids perhaps. Or geritol.
      Neither Uncle Jack nor Mrs. U.J. had seen Union Station since its massive renovation of a few years back and he can tell you they were impressed.    When it was built a century ago it was the largest building in the country and one of the most ornate.  It languished after World War II when trains went out of favor but in its reincarnation you can almost imagine the grandeur of rail travel at its finest back in the first half of the twentieth century. Even the restaurants are first rate which is not usually the case in train stations these days.
      Look for another blog entry in a week or so if you are so inclined.  Happy shopping.

                Part of the vaulted interior of Union Station in D.C.  The building contains over 130 stores and restaurants and appears to be thriving as a shopping destination as well as a train depot.

The sign says that this Christmas tree is a gift of the country of Norway.  Uncle Jack is not sure what we have done for Norway lately but it is certainly a lovely tree.

  Union Station's exterior.  The Plaza in front of it is about to receive a multi-million dollar reworking, too.

                              One of the interior hallways in the magnificent Kennedy Center.

  This gentleman performed a rhapsody by Johannes Brahms at a concert of Christmas music Uncle Jack and Mrs. U.J. attended last week.

                        And here's a picture of Brahms himself at the piano.  Amazing.