This incident takes place about 1980. I woke up on a Saturday morning in the summertime and glanced at The New York Times Weekend Edition.

"Hey, look!" I shouted, "They are doing Hamlet at the Stratford Theater in Connecticut." Lorraine (my wife) was excited but none of my three kids, (aged 15, 13 and 11) paid the least bit of attention to my marvelous discovery and announcement.

"I'm going to call the theater and reserve five tickets. You kids should be exposed to the writings of William Shakespeare, the world's greatest playwright. I have always had a secret desire to take my children to see the great bard."

"Do we have to go?" was the unanimous reply of the threesome.

"We are going!" was my firm reply.

A quick packing of sandwiches and drinks and loading the Nash station wagon (with faux-wood plastic simulated paneling) and we were off. Even Christopher Walken as Hamlet could not deter my exuberance.

The whining did not stop on the Connecticut Turnpike. I finally declared, "I'm doing this for my own satisfaction as a parent and, hopefully, some day you will appreciate this day of culture."

The theater in Stratford, CT was as true to the Globe Theater of Shakespeare's time as was possible. We had excellent seats in the third row.

The melancholy Dane in the Castle at Elsinore was performed beautifully on the stage. As the drama unfolded I could feel my intelligent children getting into the heart of the play.

Intermission was on a huge lawn outside the theater with an eye-catching view of Long Island Sound. Jugglers and jesters in 15th Century garb entertained and walked between the play-goers sitting, eating and playing medieval games. It was an intermission that we all remember to this very day.

We returned to the Globe and watched the brutal ending of Hamlet. The enthusiastic applause of my children told me I had made the right decision.

On the ride home to Long Island I could feel their excitement and involvement in the drama they had just seen.

Even though the theater is gone and much time has passed, as 30-year-olds they still remember that day and so do I!