Touring New York With the Fondest of Memories. As we travel on.

From the Madeline Murals at the Carlyle, and foie burger at Minetta Tavern, We Love New York.
A stroll through the Modern
buying clocks with big numbers at the gift shop.
We Love New York!
With euphoric recall we remember the Days of Comedy Clubs and “Arthurs“ jazz club , two drink minimums, laced with “sunshine and sodas and beer.” Oh the crunch of multi colored leaves as we strolled across the park in Autumn to have lunch at The Boathouse.
Ah, yes NYC.
From Drinks at the bar at The Four Seasons before the variegated visuals of the flowers and soufflés at Grenouille, we Miss our golden New York. Memories of dancing at El Morocco and Le Club before backgammon in the backroom at Cavalleros, priceless. We closed the night before with an early breakfast at The Carnegie. How about the days of sitting on an auxiliary seat in the back of yellow cabs with leg room, en route to an underground Allen Ginsburg poetry reading in a dive on Astor place near Tompkins Square Park. ”I took a deep breath and listened to the bray of my heart. I am. I am. I am.” Poems by Sylvia Plath inspired us to walk down to the Hip Bagel. An infamous, artistic guy named Shelly Fireman had a vision we jumped onto. We heard about him and his multifaceted interests. A perfect panoply of his Peter Max Art, knowledge of herbal cures i.e. Dr. Giller and his cocktails known as ACE (adrenal cortex extract) and the smoked fish from Barney Greengrass. We couldn’t help but prophesize that he would find a unique recipe for success through the perfect antipasto in the most lyrical of neighborhoods. He would breathe garlic into locations housing music, art and the sounds of Placido Domingo. Good guess, indeed. Moving on now to the long ago delights of Steak Diane at Quo Vadis before it became The Post House. A little black jack and throwing dice at a private after hours gambling joint in a townhouse on 72nd and Park. Brass, red carpeting and pink walls added to the late night fantasy of downing Harvey’s Bristol Cream and suffering the after effects the next morning. Bromo- seltzer set up on our nightstand could have served as the back drop of an Andy Warhol painting. B. Altman’s, Rita’s Blue Tent Dress Shop on Madison Ave and accessories and Mini Dresses at Bendels was our idea of a perfect Saturday shop around before lunch at Yellowfingers or Daly’s Dandelion. Sunday Mornings of counting Ninas on the cover of The Sunday Magazine section through the distinct brilliance of Al Hirschfeld, was the precursor to lunch at Maxwell Plum’s. Oh those Eggs Benedict and mimosas under the kaleidoscopic stained-glass ceilings imagined and realized by Warner LeRoy. What a treat before grabbing the latest Woody Allen film at The Paris Theater on 59th Street. In the way, way back of the memory bin, the Pate at Brussels, anything at Le Bernardin- and the pasta at Joe and Rose (favorite of the Kennedys) were all pieces of our we Love New York Days.
So just for today, we will brush off our blue suede shoes, pick out a paisley blouse, grab an old hermes belt, add a touch of Shalimar and dream of the Date-nut bread sandwiches at Chock Full o’ Nuts. Make it a memorable “Sunday in New York.”

Ordering from Katz’s Deli. Delicious food- no bull ( dog.) Pure breeds-😎-rye, pumpernickel, bagels. ( beagles.)

Hot dogs, pigs in the blankets, Catsup, Yorkshire pudding ( terriers.) Welsh rarebit ( rabbit.) Chili cheese and corn dogs. Beanie weenies ( franks and beans.) Catfish. Chicken salad. What’s your choice of drink? Hair of the Dog, grasshopper, Moscow mule? Desserts-Cow milk, Beetle juice, Animal crackers, chocolate moose, yankee (golden) doodles, Swedish fish. Oh yeah!

Sing it Strong- one year ago today- Jimmy Buffet didn’t waste away in Margaritaville.

Hair, hear, hare today.
Gone tomorrow.
“All I wanna do is have some fun till the sun comes up on Santa Monica Blvd.”
We went to the drive-in on Friday night, down in Margaritaville.
Brought Doritos and salsa, ordered a salt around the rim tequila and waited for Goodbye Columbus to come on the big outdoor screen. (No mosquitoes welcomed.)

Keeping our blood pressure in mind.
But not bringing our buzz to a halt.
Our second drink please -sans salt- extra lime. ”

Pour me something tall and strong,” cause it’s only half past 12:00, but it’s “5 o’clock somewhere.” Oh, Bubba Buffet- you kept your eye on the Fun.
You and The Boss -Born to Run. The consummate “Trip around the Sun.”

“So goodbye yellow brick road.
Where the dogs of society howl.
You can’t plant me in your penthouse.
I’m going back to my plough.”

We love you Elton oh yes we do. Conrad Birdie got nothing on you.”
“Every breath you take-
And every move you make,
Every bond you break,
Every step you take.
We’ll be watching you. As long as it doesn’t “Sting.”

Upon Request also Moving On.

One hundred memories of life in a box.
One hundred memories of life.
None were left on the cutting floor.
None were lived through a splice.
We are sorting through decades of life on the run, baby pics and sporting events.
We are heavily endowed with the emphasis on Fun and go on while we still -can run.
Papers of sadness, rekindled our grief, a moment to sit and reflect.
A box filled with toys unfolded the joy-blessed with 2 girls and six boys.
Our heap of relief.
Legos and baby dolls, more shoes than we need.
So we sort and we pack and we throw and we keep.
On from Plan A to Plan B and C.
Wait don’t toss that just yet.
We may need it some day to learn how to knit, or to sew or crochet.
Tomorrow may offer a second chance ok let’s keep it out of the way.
One hundred more memories of life in a box.
Can you believe we did oh! so much.
We are moving on to a chapter unknown.
New ventures and hobbies and such.
So we add some more “stuff,” to the bag of give aways.
We pray we won’t miss that old sweater.
We have a little room in the box that says “save.”
As we move on to new ventures in warm weather.
On our way we will go, yes we are ready and set.
We will count on the hope of new beginnings.
With our lives wrapped up tight.
0n our wings with our prayers.
As we sail into sunsets unknown.
Here’s to one hundred more boxes.
Of memories to make as we add a new Place to call Home.

Measure twice, Cut once.

On the days before the Jewish New Year your presence in our lives feels even more pronounced. We sit still for a moment and reasonably try to evaluate where we could try harder, embrace change and clean up shop.

We hold on to the lessons that have propelled us into a place with more acceptance and the understanding that our journey is just that. The people in our path who are deceptive are there to help us understand wrong from right. The benevolent, kind and selfless offer us lessons for good values. One of your long term themes is for patience. We go along at our own pace and hope that our recognition of who needs a leg up grows more keen with time. Our gut is really our mind speaking through our heart. You know when you know. Don’t underestimate a vibe, a sideways look on someones face. Eye rolls speak volumes. Some of the people, some of the time.

When we are pushed to the limit in our values you leave us with the decision to hold tight or compromise and restructure. When we slip up and waiver we look over our shoulder for the feathers, or dimes you drop along our path.

We feel less alone.

There are days we wonder when it’s our turn again for you to come back our way. It’s often during our toughest lessons.

And so we wake up early, make the coffee as we look ahead to the “Days of Judgment.” We will wait for the feathers, leave our “judgments” in the recycle bin and know, as long as we work together our backs will be covered. G’mar Chatima Tova.

Get off your high horse and out of your comfort zone on this chill in the air, no malaise Sunday.

So your knee jerks and you have a touch of arthritis-flip it and listen up.

They had no more raisin bran muffins left at our local deli so we went to corn, Plan B. The restaurant only had a 6:00 or 9:30 time slot available to dine, so we chose another restaurant- yup-you got it.

One and done meager alternative are you kidding me choices .

Up early, in a time to make the donuts moment, we watched the news recount the time Christina Applegate, a.k.a. Kelly Bundy in Married with Children received her Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. She was barefoot and being held by her co-star Katey Segal. She was grateful and weepy as she explained her continuing decline as she negotiates life with MS.

We binged watched her performance in Dead to Me on Netflix.

This piece of work is touted as her best and funniest performance. In Anchorman, with Will Ferrell, there were laugh out loud moments.
She is a versatile actress. Funny, clever, engaging and relatable.

So as we drank our early morning coffee and read the newspaper we came upon the story about “Dolls in Wheelchairs” at Disney. It was a preface to the article on the final ceremonies at The Paralympics being held today at the Stade de France in Paris.

This newly added diversity represents a population of children who live with the physical limitation of getting up and walking to the next exhibit. Seriously people.

In 2019 Ali Stoker (first caught our attention on Glee) was the first person on Broadway to perform from her wheelchair. She was paralyzed since youth from a spinal cord injury as a result of a car accident. She never begrudged her fate, studied performance art and went the distance, sitting down. If anything her disability served as a motivator and helped propel her all the way to her Tony winning performance in Oklahoma.
Ali Stoker has since become part of the #AerieREAL Role Model Campaign. It is a body positive and inclusivity initiative led by the underwear retailer Aerie. The campaign highlights a diverse group of women from varied industries and backgrounds and uses their unretouched photos in ads.

In the everyone got something category, grab a make it happen opportunity and make peace with a relative or friend you “walked” the path of life, lost touched with, but really enjoy.

So just for today let’s embrace our individuality, mix in our limitations and remember when it comes down to it- “It’s a small world after all.”

5785 we’ll welcome you with a determined stride.
With another chance to shrug off the impossible and err
on the side of the probable.
We’ll pray to continue our daily routines.
Filling in the blanks on the in-betweens.
With a fierce willingness to play by the rules.
As we have the floor plan and the tools.
We’ll stay close to our nearest and dearest.

We will absorb the force of the familiar, never holding them at bay.

So let’s become the laureate of this new opportunity.

Make a difference in anyway we can.
Call on help when we need it.
United together-stronger we’ll stand

On this day Sept 5th in between mitn drinnen, we’ll stop at the pitch and putt in our local Calaveras County. We’ll be careful to watch for the jumping frogs as it is their high season.

With dejavu on our breath we’ll turn up the radio that is set to Cousin Brucie on our local WABC Am. The top is down on our new yellow mustang convertible, our hair (what is left of it) blows in the late summer breeze ( which makes us feel fine.) We add some pedal to the metal.
We will sing along to the catchy phrases “ in the village the mighty village The Lion Sleeps tonight.” “In this whole world, you can love but one girl. Let me be that one girl. For I’ll be true to you. End quote. Loud shout out to our Devoted Soldiers.
We heard they added some new holes at the aptly named Periwinkle Pitch and Putt. One hole is named after Mark Twain and one named after Shania. We are thinking maybe his great niece. We’ll try their new chili dogs and awful awfuls. Order a peppermint stick (a la Howard Johnsons) ice cream cone for dessert and call it a near perfect walk down memory lane.
As we woke up to the devastating news in the core of our arena, we thought exhuming a moment in time when the pending officials in office were not slinging mud at one another on screen, when access to weapons were not readily available to 14 year old Children and when the alarm system in our house (who had those growing up?)- didn’t go off because armed villains were coming into your safe haven to steal your black and white T.V.’s you watched Bonanza on- let alone your Life. So just for today, pick up a T.V. Guide and look to see what time Gene Rayburn is hosting The Match Game on NBC. Make it a good Thursday.