Oh, Those New York Moments

Jordan took the bus from E 96th Street to the subway at W 96th St. last night. It was still light, and early enough that traveling alone was not an issue. The bus was very crowded and so when an elderly gentleman, dressed elegantly in a suit and bow tie, got on, Jordan offered him her seat. He declined and insisted she remain seated but was very grateful for her offer. They chatted for a bit and he asked her if she would like to accompany him to the Philharmonic. Jordan said that it was a wonderful invitation but she was on her way to meet a friend for the theater. That’s too bad, “my wife was feeling a bit under the weather”, he shared. “But we’ve been married for 55 years, so I think I’ll forgive her.”

It’s one of the reasons we love NY. While it is true that he might well have been an axe murderer, I prefer to believe that he was just a lovely old gent who wanted company for a performance he expected to enjoy.

It’s street fair time again and yesterday was especially fun because we went with our cousins Tiah and Sheila. Jordan and Tiah, who have not spent a great deal of time together bonded immediately. They are both 21, adorable and talked that short cut language that kids do on computer and in their text messages. After a diner breakfast we went back to their apartment and played dress up, which is one of my favorite games. In this game, which avoids having to make a trip to Loehmanns, you go through a closet, not your own, and try on every fabulous item of clothing. Jordan, who was trying to find something to wear to the Tonys, (she was credentialed for the Red Carpet and the Media Room, because she produces an all show tunes radio show at WERS in Boston), tried on all Tiah’s and some of Sheila’s lovely dresses. She decided that there were three possibilities, but we all knew in the end, she would chose the short “roaring twenties” looking green dress which would be perfect, not only for the carpet but for any after party to which she happened to get invited. (We did see the back of it and her tonight on NY One in their special Red Carpet coverage.) I guess no one really cares about the Red Carpet at the Tony’s except New Yorkers—so it wasn’t on the network which broadcast the awards.

Today, another New York moment. Alex (one Jordan’s closest friends as well as my child by choice) came over this morning for breakfast and to hang out. So we went to the Madison for a bite, followed by a little relaxing at the apartment and then a trip to Bide a Wee – a place where you adopt pets.


Iris plays footsie with Samson, the tan feline

It’s a pet rescue place where they don’t insist on adopting pets in pairs nor do they want you to promise them your first born if for some reason the rescue doesn’t work. So you go there and fill out forms and then they take you into a back room where you look over the perspective pets. Once you find a pet you think might be your soul mate, they take you into another room where you can play with the animal and see if there’s that necessary connection. If you and the pet bond you fill out forms proving that you are allowed to have pets in your apartment and you really live in the place you say you live.

Alex and the Pet Cat to Be
It’s all a bit complicated because in the city there are places that prohibit pets—so Bide a Wee doesn’t want to take the chance of having the pet returned for reasons which are avoidable. Maybe this was not only a New York moment, but I’ve never been to a rescue facility in the city, and the one in Key West doesn’t ask you to produce a paper saying pets are allowed where you live. Anyway, Alex had to put his new chosen pet, a sweet little gray kitten he is calling Milkshake, on hold. He didn’t know he needed to produce a written document allowing him to have a pet and the office (he lives and works in a college residence), was closed. Let me just say as someone who doesn’t care for cats, there was an orange kitten in the same cage as Milkshake, who was pretty colorful. This kitten just wanted to be touched. I mean every time a person walked past the cage he threw himself against the bars and begged for attention. He was not for Alex but he’s going to make someone a wonderful pal – if they don’t care that they will not be the one and only love of his life.

The day ended on a lovely note. Dinner with Kay and Billy at a French restaurant on the West Side. I might mention that we were still recovering from dinner last night with Howard and Nancee in a Mexican restaurant on the east side where we drank way too many margaritas – this was not necessarily a New York moment, well maybe a Bowery Moment—but it sure was fun.


The WERS crack Standing Room ONLY squad, en route to Radio City
When we got home we watched the end of the Tonys where some of our choices won and some lost. But the big award, Best Musical, went to “Spring Awakening.” We have seen it twice, both on and off Broadway. One of Jordan’s theater camp friends, Skylar is one of the lead actors. While I did love Skylar in the show my favorite moment with him happened years ago when all the camp kids were on break between sessions and they traveled to NYC to do some theater.

Skylar, at the TONYs

I’m not sure how many kids stayed in our apartment overnight but at about 7am the doorman called to say there was one more kid wanting to come up. I said it was Ok and moments later Skylar appeared at the door. Almost before I had the chance to close the door, Skylar had his trousers off and was jumping onto the sofa bed where there were already at least three or four other kids sleeping. When I got back into my own bed with David and he asked who it was, I confessed that I didn’t know who he was, but it was not someone who seemed uncomfortable without pants. And tonight he performed at Radio City, his show won the Tony, and Jordan was on the Red Carpet. What a treat. We’re just sayin...Iris