Holiday magic
I am sure that each city has it own holiday magic. All year long New York City is filled with an electric energy. From Times Square to Little Italy to Soho to Chinatown one is bombarded with a fast paced and electrifying energy. Whether it is ice skating in Rockefeller Plaza, the drama of the Metropolitan Opera, the soaring music of the New York Philharmonic Orchestra, or a quiet moment as one absorbs the awe of an exhibit in one of the world famous museums one can feel the sparks of the neurons firing. Seattle brings me to my favorite waterfront market, a quiet afternoon on the ferry which takes one to the many island communities or the sensational smells of freshly baked bread and the rich aroma of coffee at my favorite café book store. There the sparkle is a quiet light. Reinvented Indianapolis is alive with art, restaurants, sports facilities, and bike paths. The spark is of youth. Washington DC confronts one with the energy of history past and history in the making. Museums, concert halls, traffic and politicians share a sparkle, which is at once bright and just as quickly snuffed out.
Princeton, New Jersey quiets hide the lack of sparkle of the “hired help” behind the sparkle of elegant homes and crashing words.
Both Juneau and Hoonah Alaska brought the sparkle which only perfect snowflakes falling on the rich history of the Native Americans could bring.
Before moving to the Pittsburgh area to be close to my son following my divorce, I thought of steel mills, blackened buildings, and the edge of Appalachian poverty. What I continue to find are magical sparkles the combination of which is unlike any other city.
It is a Sunday in December. We arrive at the very clean, modern airport; pick up our rental car whose GPS directs us to the city via the Fort Pitt tunnel. The city is invisible until one begins to emerge from the tunnel. Wow! There it is all lit up all year long. I am reminded of the Christmas tree in the Nutcracker ballet. Blink and on goes the Christmas tree lights. If one has been lucky enough to see a Nutcracker production at the historic, restored Heinz Hall one is first greeted by the enormous Christmas tree decorated with musical notes. On a Sunday afternoon the sounds of a youth orchestra or a string quartet nestled under the tree greet one before glancing at the sparkling chandeliers illuminating the bright red carpet leading up, up, up. Eventually one is greeted by the sounds of the world famous Pittsburgh Symphony orchestra.
While in the city in December one will surely want to visit Phipps Conservatory. From the welcoming sparkle of the chamber music to the over 2000 poinsettia plus many other displays, the train room and the amazing glass sculptures of Chihuly and other artists peeking out of the rich foliage to the winter light garden, one’s eyes and hearts will follow the sparkle of the exhibit and the excitement of the many children who bring their own magic.
Pittsburgh is the sparkle of modern, clean buildings, the three rivers, Point Park Holiday Tree, Oxford Center ice-skating and a small town sense of home.
Pittsburgh is magic – lights, art, museums, the history of Joe Hill and other labor movements and even the robber barons who then created Carnegie Library, Phipps Conservatory, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh University, and so much more. Pittsburgh arises from the sparkle of the coal dust to sprout diamonds. Welcome to sparkle city.
594 words
Written December 6, 2017
I am sure that each city has it own holiday magic. All year long New York City is filled with an electric energy. From Times Square to Little Italy to Soho to Chinatown one is bombarded with a fast paced and electrifying energy. Whether it is ice skating in Rockefeller Plaza, the drama of the Metropolitan Opera, the soaring music of the New York Philharmonic Orchestra, or a quiet moment as one absorbs the awe of an exhibit in one of the world famous museums one can feel the sparks of the neurons firing. Seattle brings me to my favorite waterfront market, a quiet afternoon on the ferry which takes one to the many island communities or the sensational smells of freshly baked bread and the rich aroma of coffee at my favorite café book store. There the sparkle is a quiet light. Reinvented Indianapolis is alive with art, restaurants, sports facilities, and bike paths. The spark is of youth. Washington DC confronts one with the energy of history past and history in the making. Museums, concert halls, traffic and politicians share a sparkle, which is at once bright and just as quickly snuffed out.
Princeton, New Jersey quiets hide the lack of sparkle of the “hired help” behind the sparkle of elegant homes and crashing words.
Both Juneau and Hoonah Alaska brought the sparkle which only perfect snowflakes falling on the rich history of the Native Americans could bring.
Before moving to the Pittsburgh area to be close to my son following my divorce, I thought of steel mills, blackened buildings, and the edge of Appalachian poverty. What I continue to find are magical sparkles the combination of which is unlike any other city.
It is a Sunday in December. We arrive at the very clean, modern airport; pick up our rental car whose GPS directs us to the city via the Fort Pitt tunnel. The city is invisible until one begins to emerge from the tunnel. Wow! There it is all lit up all year long. I am reminded of the Christmas tree in the Nutcracker ballet. Blink and on goes the Christmas tree lights. If one has been lucky enough to see a Nutcracker production at the historic, restored Heinz Hall one is first greeted by the enormous Christmas tree decorated with musical notes. On a Sunday afternoon the sounds of a youth orchestra or a string quartet nestled under the tree greet one before glancing at the sparkling chandeliers illuminating the bright red carpet leading up, up, up. Eventually one is greeted by the sounds of the world famous Pittsburgh Symphony orchestra.
While in the city in December one will surely want to visit Phipps Conservatory. From the welcoming sparkle of the chamber music to the over 2000 poinsettia plus many other displays, the train room and the amazing glass sculptures of Chihuly and other artists peeking out of the rich foliage to the winter light garden, one’s eyes and hearts will follow the sparkle of the exhibit and the excitement of the many children who bring their own magic.
Pittsburgh is the sparkle of modern, clean buildings, the three rivers, Point Park Holiday Tree, Oxford Center ice-skating and a small town sense of home.
Pittsburgh is magic – lights, art, museums, the history of Joe Hill and other labor movements and even the robber barons who then created Carnegie Library, Phipps Conservatory, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh University, and so much more. Pittsburgh arises from the sparkle of the coal dust to sprout diamonds. Welcome to sparkle city.
594 words
Written December 6, 2017
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