8/03/03 Lauren, Brian, Aaron, Mommy and Daddy on Circle Line for my 3-hour Tour:







Today I worked on Circle Line, and Brian, Aaron, and Lauren came on my morning 3-hour tour!!! I was very excited about this. A real audience of peers! Better yet, one from camp (Lauren), one from High School (Brian), and one from College (Aaron).




The problem was, I was assigned to boat #7. This boat's wireless microphone receiver is busted, and so I had to resort to the wired microphone. This keeps me within 4 feet of the microphone box, and I am paralyzed. I can't roam around the boat, making eye contact, and engaging my audience. It truly stifles the "performance" aspect of giving the tour. It's as if an actor in a play must give his performance from a wheelchair. Sort of. Anyway, it was annoying, but I did the best I could.




I gave Lauren my camera for the morning. She used to take photos of me at the dress rehearsals for the "clown shows" (sketch comedy & improv) at Buck's Rock Camp, for the yearbook. So, it was very natural to see her with a camera in front of me, once again. Who would have thought our roles would ever repeat quite like this?




She also took pictures of some of the passing sights like the Downtown Skyline, and the Statue of Liberty, both above.




Still trapped.




Aaron visits me during an intermission while I coat my vocal cords with orange juice.




Me talking with the George Washington Bridge behind me.




For the second trip of the day, my parents surprised me by showing up for the tour! I was so surprised, I didn't even take any pictures of them! It's hard to remember to take pictures when everything else is going on, but damn, it would have been nice to put that one right here. Instead, I took a photo of a coast guard maneuver that briefly upstaged me, and even made the boat stop as if at a railroad crossing. The coast guard was practicing lifting a survivor off a boat, into a helicopter. It was very impressive!




I fixed the wireless receiver on the boat for the second trip, so I could go wireless again. Here I am under the Henry Hudson bridge at the very northern tip of Manhattan Island.


It was a great day of giving tours to friends and family!