The Eagles Concert

Its been a couple of weeks since Dakota and I attended the Eagles Concert at the Nokia Theater and I have to say it was a success-- Once again If there is anyone out there who is looking to sponser a special needs kid Please contact me Because these activities are killing me in the wallet--- Heres the "rant" {I will get this part over quickly} From Ticketmaster NOT A SCALPER the Orchestra tickets were $265.00 {A PIECE--Thats right EACH} PLUS tax PLUS "service charge" Then they GAB you with a delivery fee from an Online prnted ticket the cheapest about $2.50 to Next Day Delivery by FedEx which can be upwards of an additional $20.00 to $25.00. So we are talking about 600 bucks just to get in the door! Now lets add $25.00 for parking even handicap parking--not reduced $40.00 for a T-shirt and about $22.00 for a Coke and a few snacks--WHEWWWWWWWWWW How can an average family afford this???It just boogles my mine. I know your activities dont have to always be "fancy expensive" activities but come on folks all of us want do a few things for our kids or just have a night out from the kids with out paying for it for the next year-- How do you do it??If you have any recommendations I am all ears.

As far as the Nokia Theater it was a very nice venue but it has its imperfections as well.We were lucky to get really great seats as far as location--in the front of the Orchestra section however all the seats are not the same in actual size or should I say width--the 3 center sections have larger seats than the outside sections and even some of those seats have tighter restrictions because they have added cupholders which make the "point of entry" even slimmer.My suggestion for future design of these types of venuesis to install the same type of seats that are in the Movie Theaters-- The ones that have the arms that raise up -to accomodate couple as well as people who have trouble"fitting" into the restrictive seats. Needless to say I will be more decerning of my selection of seats the next time I can AFFORD to attend a concert at this venue-- By The Way THIS IS NOT THE ONLY VENUE WITH THIS PROBLEM!

Ok Heres my biggest bitch about this-- If I am paying $250+ for a damn ticket I should be able to fit in the seat COMFORTABLY! I am not the only person with a "Rubenesque" figure perhaps over 50% of the people at this event were "over sized"or "plus-sized"Give up a hundred extra seats so those of us who are in attendance can COMPLETELY enjoy the venue .

Now the rant is over THE SUCCESS was overwhelming Dakota did so incredibly well! This event happened on a night he usually goes with his Dad, this is usually a point of contention which could trigger behaviors--We had NONE The noise, congestion and confusion of people going every which way hollering, running and moving in unorthodox ways he handled beautifuly. A new place with lots of challenges elevators, escalators, stairs etc No problem--- I cant sing his praises enough And I can say that 5 years ago I am sure he would not have handled this situation. You have to keep the faith that your child will evolve because Dakota proved that to me. Even when we struggled with a seating change he was compliant and rolled with the changes.This is the type of the opportunity you can take to "stretch " your childs abilty to grow.

When The Eagles hit the stage; although we were to the extreme side of the stage; we were very close and the visual affects were almost overwhelming. Although Dakota was reserved I could tell he was completely in to the music. He stood up, hollered and whooped it up , clapped and sang the words to the songs --I could not be MORE PLEASED! This was only the second concert I have taken him to and the first indoors and I have to say that I was so happy for him because I know he enjoyed himself.

When he went to school on Monday he "donned" his Eagles T-Shirt and several of the kids {including typical kids} and staff approached him and asked him if he went to the concert and did he like it? So not only did the weekend produce an activity for him that he had great success but it became an avenue for "inclusion" or "mainstreaming" with the typical community at school! A Win Win scenario.