December 21, 2010

The day started around 7:20 a.m. with Jon getting a phone call from employer New England Cable News (NECN), telling him that Jon and Colleen had just been on "Good Morning America"!?! (apparently GMA picked up the interview with the WABC photographer) and wondering if he would do a phoner about his reaction to what had happened the night before.  Jon was live on the air around 8:20 a.m.  Portions of the interview ran at 9 a.m. and newscasts that followed, including Broadside.  Click here to listen.

Click here to see a portion of our interview with WABC which was picked up by "Good Morning America."

WABC updated the story for noon.  The reporter you'll see on camera (Carolina Leid) was a classmate of Jon and Colleen's at Syracuse.  Small world!

After enjoying another wonderful free breakfast and a chaser in the form of the Juniors cheesecake from last night, Jon and Colleen headed out to mail postcards and see if they could pump the Foxwoods Theater folks for info about the injured performer (and see if they could get a refund.)  They did get a refund, but no dice on the performer, so Colleen approached the photographer from NY1 (Colleen and Jon spotted the microwave truck masthead as they approached the theatre.)

The conversation went something like this:
Colleen: "I was wondering if you could tell me about the actor who was hurt because I was at the show last night."
NY1 Reporter (unnoticed by Colleen until this point): "All we know is someone was hurt."
Colleen: "I know that because I was at the show.  I was just getting a refund.  I asked if they were going to have a show tonight and apparently there isn't one."
NY1 Reporter: "Wait, you were at the show?"
Colleen: "Yes."
NY1 Reporter to Photographer: "Wait, we should interview her.  She was at the show!"

Before long, reporters from the NY Post, Associated Press and WCBS jumped in.  No evidence of any quotes being picked up, but the picture the AP photographer took is EVERYWHERE, including The Washington Times.

And who knew this was how Colleen would get into the Denver Post?

Colleen and Jon then headed to the Subway stop so they could meet the Bull on Wall Street and take a ferry to the Statue of Liberty.  Colleen hadn't been there since visiting with friend Dawn in 1993 and Jon hadn't been there at all so it was a real treat for both of them.  

After that it was off to Ellis Island, which neither Colleen nor Jon had visited.  They got audio tours at both locations, with the one at Ellis Island really adding to the visual displays.  The registration hall was particularly awe-inspiring.  This was where a lot of ancestors came through!  Colleen enjoyed the medical sections, learning about how doctors put a "B" on the coat of those with a back ailment.  An "X" meant you had a perceived mental problem.  One of the women interviewed told how they just turned her sister's coat around when an X was put on her coat.  In order to get back at a reasonable hour, Jon and Colleen had to cut this one shorter than they would have liked.  (The audio tour without an extra options took 40 minutes.)  Definitely worth the trip! -- POSTED BY COLLEEN