Bill Wilson's New York trip routine

By: Bill Wilson | Morganton News Herald
Published: January 21, 2009

Each year since 1986 I have attended the Association of Performing Arts Presenters held in New York City. It's the place to be and the thing to do for theatres and performing arts centers like CoMMA in their planning of and preparation for the events that will soon make up a new season of shows.
Our standard routine for the past 10 years or so has been to fly out of Greensboro, and more recently Charlotte, to New York's LaGuardia airport.
Upon arrival and following picking up our luggage in the baggage claim area, we take a taxi, or sometimes partner in a limo with others, traveling to Midtown. Depending on the traffic and the driver, the ride can be tedious or like a rollercoaster.
Once at the hotel, check-in is routine, and I spend the rest of the weekend meeting with artist reps, the artists themselves and colleagues. I also attend a number of showcases to get a first-hand look at some of the up-and-coming groups as well as many of the revival pieces. I'd be lying if I told you I only ate Big Mac's while in the city.
My wife and son make the trip with me. We have a bit of free time to do a couple of things together. Sherry's primary target is Chinatown for pocketbooks and Macy's and Lord and Taylor's to check out the post-holiday sales. Son Will makes it a point to go to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, eat a "dirty water dog" or two from a street vendor and take in a bundle of showcases.
This year classical guitarist Miguel Pico tagged along in search of professional representation. Two other friends joined us for the weekend. And although the weather was typically Big Apple cold, we had a productive and great weekend. The flights to and from were on schedule, no luggage was lost and everyone remained healthy to enjoy the city.
We boarded our flight home on Jan. 12, lifting off from the LaGuardia runway a few minutes before 3 p.m. Will and I sat on Row 11 and would be in charge of opening the mid-plane hatches in case of an emergency. We took off and the pilot began a bank to the south over the Hudson River and we were safely on our way back to North Carolina.
Three days later on Jan. 15, the same Flight No. 1594 loaded with 155 folks just like us, did exactly the same thing, but without the same uneventful results. It was the same crew, same flight on a different day with new passengers sitting in the seats we had occupied only 72 hours earlier. You know the rest of the story. It makes saying, "It's good to be home..." truly meaningful and real.
Fortunately the passengers of the Jan. 16 Flight 1594 and the rest of us can continue with our lives even with this interruption. I plan to do so but with positive perspective a lot more appreciation. Although this occurred three days later, that is close enough for me to give pause. I will also pay absolute and undivided attention the next time the airline attendant instructs me on emergency procedures. I hope you will, too.
So we are back, safe and sound with a bundle of information to sift through and digest in planning MainStage Morganton, 2009-10.
In the meantime, make your reservations for "Your Arms Too Short to Box with God," "Oliver!," and Boys of the Lough in Concert, all at CoMMA during the month of February.
Finally, just a bit of trivia … CoMMA's Benjamin F. Long fresco "Sacred Dance & the Muses" was being painted into the theatre's gallery ceiling five years ago this month. The artist is currently in Charleston completing another similar project and returns to Asheville this summer, I have been told, to begin a fresco at the NC Arboretum.