New York, New York

Or, should I perhaps say, remembrance of things past.

As I said earlier, Alison and I had not seen each other for 35 years, and a lot has happened between then and now, and in many ways time has been harder on Alison than it has been on me.  Alison, princess, born with a silver spoon in her mouth, married to her childhood sweetheart, with son Jonathan, an advertisement for motherhood (even for me, who, as we all know, doesn't like children very much).  But about 10 years ago, Alison was involved in a car accident.  Her spine was compressed, with all the pain and other misery that entails, and she is very much incapacitated.    She is still lively and beautiful in spirit, though it was certainly enough for me to be grateful for my health and mobility.

We spent a few days catching up, and then I joined Hank in the Econolodge in New Jersey on Thursday afternoon (or should I say, evening; he too had travel woes - equipment malfunction rather than weather - but arrived safe and sound if tired.

Friday, I left Hank in the hotel to catch up with time changes and the wear and tear of travel, and I headed in to Manhattan.  God, it is wonderful to be in a part of the world where there actually is public transportation, quick, easy and inexpensive!  I had no particular agenda - there are no matinees on Friday afternoon, so theater wasn't on - and so I headed down to the South Street Seaport (say that five times fast, even without drinking!)..

It was a lovely, sunny fall day, and I happily wandered about for hours, stopping for a piece of wonderful New York pizza, and even going to the Museum, where I had never been before.

...and then took the subway back uptown.  A word about the subway.  For those of you who remember the bad old days, well, it ain't like that any more.  The subways are clean, fast and efficient, and a joy to use.  The only negative change; noone is reading a newspaper anymore.  In the old days, it was all newspapers of different types, all folded with the "subway fold", and all cause for conversation.  Now, like everywhere else, it is all mobile phone and I-pods.  That was not unexpected, but a little sad nonetheless.

Well, on to mid-town, and to another more positive change.  Bryant Park, behind the library, used to be the hangout for the bums and winos.  Look waht they have done to it now.....

....and on to Fith Avenue, and the library itself (some things actually don't change)

(and no, I am  sorry, one cannot take a picture of only one of the lions!)

...and, of course, Saks Fifth Avenue (that hasn't changed, although my relationship to it has.  When I was living in New York, with almost no money, I spent what little I had there.  Now, I wouldn't dream  of it!)

...and Rockefeller Center...

....and just aimlessly wandering the streets of midtown doing the "old home week" thing ( I used to work at the Empire State Building; alas, no photo).

The, back to Port Authority, and the bus back to New Jersey.  Hank went to the Springsteen concert on Friday night; I had decided to take a pass, and took the opportunity to catch up on my emotions (between my reunion with Alison, which was difficult, and my reuntion with New York, emotions were running high) and to rest my feet.  Redds, a nearby restaurant provided a convenient happy hour and really good bar food, as well as a shuttle to the Meadowlands for Hank, so the logistics worked.  He went off to sing himself  hoarse; I went to the Econolodge to watch some television and so to bed.

The logistics on Saturday morning worked quite well also, considering that they were pretty convoluted.  We changed hotels (to the Affinia, right across from Madison Square Garden in Manhattan), dropped our luggage there (it was, of course, way to early to check in), and went seeking theater tickets.  Ah, Times Square.....

(Only in Times Square are the subway signs in neon lights....)

...where we got two-for-one tickets for our first choice, Newsies

What a great show!  I love musicals anyway, but this was fabulous.  Apparently it was a movie once (Hank seems to be the only person on the face of the planet who saw it, or even heard of it), but it was a flop.  Disney remade it into a Broadway show, and viola, Tony Award shower down on one and all.  And the lead, well, what a set of pipes on him!  He just graduated from Carnegie Mellon's theater program , first show on Broadway, and getting standing ovations!  Enough to bring tears to your eyes!  Anyway, his name is Corey Cott!  Remember that name; he is going places!

Did I mention that it was a matinee?  Now for the rest of the logistics.  He headed back to the hotel, checked into our room, took the briefest of rests, and took the train back to the Meadowlands in New Jersey for the excuse for the whole trip, the Springsteen concert.

And, it was one for the record books.  The Meadowlands is an outdoor stadium.  Rain had been threatened (Hank, ever the prudent trust officer, had bought us rain slickers just in case), and when we arrived, lo and behold, they hearded all the standing room general admissions into the ramps of the stadium  (even those with seats were not allowed into them) for a two hour wait until the thunder and rain, and, more the point, the lightening had passed.  By this time, I had lost Hank, to noone's surprise, and happily made friends with those close to me in the line up (including a woman who had gone to my high school, Philadelphia High School for Girls) around the same time I was there.  Only Bruce Springsteen fans would wait so good naturedly, possibly because (1) it was noone's fault; and (2) we knew we would get a hell of concert when it finally started.

It did start, two hours late, and yes, it was a hell of a concert, including every song with rain in its title, and, of course, "Waiting on a Sunny Day", and at midnight, Bruce looked up and said, "Well, I guess I have just asked 55,000 people to my birthday party, whereupon the place erupted with the singing of Happy Birthday.  (Of course, everyone knew it was his birthday, the audience was littered with "Happy Birthday, Bruce" signs).  The concert lasted for three and a half hours, followed by his family coming on stage for another round of "happy birthday", a huge cake in the shape of a guitar, and even fireworks!

Of course, by this time, having been on my feet for six hours, I thought I would never walk again, and still had to wend my way back to the train (which, of course, had been kept running way past the 12:40 stop time, and a standing room  only ride back to Manhattan).  And now you see the benefit of having a hotel across the street from  the train station.

I finally hit the bed aroud 3:30 A.M. - Hank arrived shortly thereafter - and we were exhausted but happy.  As noted, one for the record books.

Which brings us to Sunday.  Hank and I had hoped to see the 9/11 memorial, as well as a matinee and an evening theater performance.  Well, what can I tell you, we are not as young as we once were.  We didn't make it to the memorial (have to save something for next time), but did go to see Spiderman: Turn off the Dark for our matinee.  Most of you have no doubt read about this show - it was fraught with trouble at the beginning, including a death due to flying on the set), but it had to be seen.  For one thing, it cost over a million dollars to renovate the theater for this show - it is not ever ever ever going to come to, oh, say, Vancouver.  And Julie Taymore, the Director (also did The Lion King, and, for the opera lovers in the house, The Magic Flute) is brilliant.  The staging, the choreography, the costumes, the singing, all fabulous (watch for Reeve Carney, Spiderman, elsewhere - he too is going places).  So, a good choice. 

At this point, Hank and I split up, he heading for dinner and Mary Poppins, and I, ever the serious one (for one play, at least), went off Broadway for An Enemy of the People,.  I was meant to be an Ibsen fan (my father was born the day that Ibsen died, and always said that if he were to have a daughter, he would name her Nora, after the heroine of The Doll's House), and, surprisingly, I am.  Also a wonderful production, although certainly not as flashy as our other choices).

Hank and I met up again at the hotel, and, after critiqueing our choices, dropped off into blissful sleep.

Hand left on Monday morning, and, I am  happy to report, had an uneventful trip home.  I headed back to New Jersey, to spend one more night with Alison before leaving the next day.  For my last dinner, we headed for Harold's Deli, where excess was very much in evidence.

Do you see the size of that matzoh ball?  (You will be happy to hear that the bowl fed three of us!)

How about the sandwich?

(that fed three of us, with enough left over for at least six more sandwiches taken home)

And the condiments.....

Dessert anyone?

(and no, we did not order dessert, but someone else did, and I had to get a picture)

And, speaking of pictures, here we are, talking with our hands, laughing, eating and generally having a good time...

Alison, as she now is, still smiling, still beautiful...

Bev, her care giver for a number of years....

And yours truly, while she could still move....

And on Tuesday morning, I bid Alison and New York, a fond farewell.  Alison got me to the Newark Airport with time to spare, and although it is a long trip home (especially as I flew to Seattle - cheaper than flying to Vancouver don't you know - and so had to drive from there to Vancouver), it was as it should be - uneventful.

And so, on to the next adventures.....  Are you still with me?

Ah, The Joys of Travel

.......but before we go there, I got into a little more trouble at home

Last Saturday morning, we celebrated friend Sue's birthday with breakfast at the Steveston Hotel, which is just like what you would expect an old hotel in an old fishing village (which is what Steveston used to be, of course) to be.

Kelly, Donna and Sue

Donna, yours truly, and the birthday girl

(see what happens when you get a little sunshine after all that rain?  You forget not to take pictures facing  into the sun!)

It was such a lovely day in Steveston that Donna and I decided to continue the day walking around, enjoying the sunshine, the breeze, the tourists everywhere....

That evening, I went off on my own to see the United Players doing Room  with a View by E.M. Forster.  I used to see these guys often, but in recent times, they have been doing too many restoration comedys, and too much Chekov - and we all know how much I love Chekov (not).  Anyway, a colleague of mine had seen this production and said it was the best thing that they had ever done.  I'm not sure I would go that far, but it was lovely, and it was good to be back.

My friend John (the bridge player and jock, two descriptives I'm sure you don't often see in the same sentence) wanted to share Pacific Sprit Park with me - he was appalled the other night when I told him I had never been, even though it is adjacent to the University of British Columbia, where I went to law school.  Anyway, Sunday was another glorious day, and so we went for a two hour hike, up hill and dale.  I even stopped someone on the trail to take our picture, knowing that some of you would not otherwise believe I had been there!

It was a fine hike - carefully chosen not to strain my definitely-non-jock capabilities, and followed by a delicious lunch at the near-by golf club!

Then, home to pack, and Monday after work, I headed for the border and Seattle. The idea was that Mariah and I would have a bite to eat, and then I would grab a few hours of sleep, before getting up at the crack of dawn to fly out to New York.  Well, the bite to eat part went well; the sleeping, well, not so much.  I should have known better; I can never sleep before a trip.  No, I am not a nervous flier; I just always think that I am going to sleep through my alarm (it has been known to happen), so after a few hours I just got up and knit, and at 3:30 A.M. headed for the airport!

So far, so good.  I didn't get lost on the way to the Park 'n' Fly (I have been known to do that too), parked, got the shuttle to the airport, got through security before they got crabby, found coffee, discovered that the plane to Chicago was on time .....all is well, you might think.   You would be wrong.  When we landed in Chicago (okay, I admit it, I had to have a slice of Chicago pizza for lunch - and it was good, too!), I found that the plane into Newark was delayed - indefinitely - because of bad weather in Newark, torrential rain, winds, fear of a tornado (a tornado?  In New York?  Who ever heard of such a thing?  There may not be global warming, but there certainly is climate change!).  As it turns out, we were only two hours late getting off the ground in Chicago.  That's when the fun started.  After circling around Newark for what seemed like forever, we landed - in Pittsburgh, because they closed the runway in Newark! 

Really, I won't bore you with all the details (the only thing worse than living through a travel nightmare is reading about it!); the long and the short of it, both fellow passengers and crew (god bless Southwest Airlines) were good natured, and we finally landed in Newark at 11:30 P.M.  Even given the time change, it was a hell of a long day.

 But, at the end, friend Alison was faithfully waiting at the airport.  Alison and I used to get into a hell of a lot of mischief together in New York when we were in our 20s, but hadn't seen each other for - wait for it - 35 years, and a lot has happened between then and now.  But that, my friends, is a story for another day.

Fall in Vancouver

I have to say, when Vancouver is wonderful, it is very, very wonderful.  The weather has been close to perfect, not too hot, not too cold (yes, perfect convertible weather!), with views of mountains and seas everywhere!  I must say, I was not looking forward to coming back to Vancouver in June, but I must say, it has been a wonderful summer.  It has taken awhile, but I think I have finally reached critical mass - more and more friends here, and at least some of them have time to come out and play!

Last week, I had signed up for Opera in the Movies.  I knew it was not the Metropolitan Opera; it was the Royal Opera of London, but what I didn't know was that it was in 3-D!  Yes, I typed that right, not HD, but 3-D.  I almost left - I mean, who can imagine it?  But I was already there when I discovered it, and I had already bought the ticket, so, well, why not?  It was Puccini's Madame Butterfly.  Puccini is not my favourite - gasp! - but I haven't seen Madame Butterfly for at least a decade, so I guess it was time.  And, lo and behold, it was - after the initial bit of getting used to the whole 3-D thing - wonderful!  So, thumbs up, see it if you can - great music, great staging, and - 3-D.  Another belt notch!

The next night was set to be another movie night, this time The National Theater of London in HD, playing The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time.  It is creating quite a buzz in London, and I was really looking forward to it.  And, indeed, it was a wonderful piece of theater.  Imagine trying to act the part of an autistic (Aspergers) kid?  The play itself, the acting, the staging, all wonderful.  So, are you sensing a "but"?  About 35 minutes before the end of the play, the HD transmission conked out.  No more movie!  Of course, the theater provided tickets for future special events, but that wasn't the point - how does it end?

And that is why got created the Internet!!1

Another thing to see if they ever show an encore.

Last Friday, I had another first.  Friend Robin McGillveray, who lives just north of Seattle, had asked if he could stay at my place on Friday night, as he was coming up to Vancouver for a blue grass concert, and, oh, by the way, did I want to come?  He highly recommended the group, the Bills, and I decided to go.  I am always telling people to broaden their horizens, and it would have been pretty hypocritical for me not to go just because I thought I would hate blue grass.  So, the game was on.

Robin had collected a group to go to the concert, including John Reay, of my bridge boys.  We met John for dinner at Milestones for dinner

Yes, that's John, enjoying himself as usual.....

and then headed off to the venue, St. James Church in Kitsilano, to meet the rest of the crowd.

And the concert was well worth it.  I am not sure I would classify their music as strictly blue grass, but it was a lovely sound, they were all consumate musicians, and it was a hugely fun evening, topped off by the ride home with the top down in the balmy air, blasting the newly bought CD!  A very worth while stretch of the boundaries!

Followed by a weekend of eating:  Dim Sum on Saturday morning with a lot of the same Friday night group; a trip to Bellingham on Saturday evening to meet Mariah and Mar (who had come up from Seattle and were meant to come up to Vancouver for dinner but had forgotten their passports!); and breakfast (dim sum again, in fact) with friend Lorrie on Sunday morning.  (Normally, I wouldn't eat dim sum two days in a row, but when I found out that Lorrie had never had dim sum, well.....

I don't have to explain dim sum to you guys, do I?  Alright, I can't get an answer, so I will explain just in case.  Dim sum is chinese breakfast, small plates of either slimy or fried stuff.  It used to be brought around restaurants on carts, you pointed at what you want, and the women (and it was always women) none of whom could speak a word of English would stamp your "bill", which would be calculated into dollas and cents later.  These days, very few places still have carts, which is kind of a shame; they have been replaced by menus.  On the other hand, the food is hugely better.  And the Fisherman's Terrace, my current favorite, is one of the best, evidenced by the fact that my friends and I are often the only "round eyes" in the placd!

Time for bridge again on Wednesday, but with a bit of a twist.  Tom, our usual 4th, is in Europe with his 82 year old mother, visiting his sister in Switzerland.  However, Jules, who has been out of our bridge loop for ages, had called.  He was back from China, and would love to play some bridge.  And so it came to pass!  Another restaurant meal, at the Millstone Creek Inn in Coal Harbour not far from John's apartment (another thumbs up, a chain, but predictably good food), and another great night of bridge.

Well, as you can tell from the posts, I have been having a busy summer, full of theater and music and bridge and friends.   Another busy weekend coming up, and off to New York on Monday night for more Springsteen (in the Meadowlands in New Jersey), theater and museums.  You will hear from me.

Anon has arrived already

Well, a cancellation caused a hole in my schedule, and I thought I had better get up to date.

First, an omission.  I see that I somehow forgot to tell you that when I was in San Diego, I went to see the USS Midway, an aircraft carrier now set up as a "living museum" of sorts on the San Diego waterfront.  To tell the truth, I went as sort of a tribute to David - he would have loved it, of course - but ended up staying 4 hours.  I am fascinated always by what Man hath wrought (what God has wrought, i.e., nature, not so much), and planes really are beautiful creatures...

And, finally, the view from the flight deck.....

including Navy Seals on a training mission. I was only sorry that David was not there with me - he would have loved the flight simulator, as well as all the rest!  I finished the day with - of course - a seafood dinner at the Fish Market, very touristy, but good food nonetheless, and a great location on the Bay.

Okay, where were we.  Oh, yes, it was Friday morning, the 25th of August, and I was just leaving San Diego for Palm Springs.  It is an easy drive, and I will no doubt come back for the opera during the winter season, but, for now, it was enough.  It was actually good to be back in Palm Springs.  It is not that it isn't hot in Palm Springs, but it is dry heat (as opposed to San Diego, which is not), and, in any event, there is air conditioning.    It was a busy few days.

I had arranged (god bless e-mail!) to meet friend Geoff at Tropical, our current favorite watering hole, on Friday night.  And so it came to pass.

The big guy on the right is Tom, Geoff's friend from Vancouver.  I had heard all about him, and it was great to finally meet him.  I'm always happy to add friends to my arsenal!

And, by chance, I was in town for the party on Saturday night, celebrating my neighbors' 22nd anniversary!  Arlene and Deb are great neighbors and have become good friends, as have the rest of the crowd, and I was happy to be able to celebrate with them.

And a great time was had by all!

So much so that we continued the buzz with breakfast at Elmers the next day.  No fine dining here, folks, but lots of fun nonetheless!

Art and Wally had been escaping the heat in the Pacific North West, but I managed to miss them when we were all there at the same time; the proverbial ships in the night.  But lo and behold, they arrived back to Palm Springs on Saturday, and on Sunday we went out to dinner at the Rainbow Room to catch up.

The Rainbow Room is one of those old Palm Springs places, piano bar, dark wood and all, but I had not been there before.  I recommend it; it is not foodie stuff, but if you like the old standbys, like veal (gasp!!  yes, Vancouver, people still eat veal), and liver and onions and prime rib and rack of lamb, well this is the place for you!

And finally, Monday has arrived, and it is time to go back to Vancouver.  All went as advertised, including a pick up at Bellingham Airport by friends Donna and Pelham, and I was home by 10 P.M.  (by the way, for those of you wondering, the house was as I left it. But then, I have never returned from a house exchange when it wasn't!)

And back to a busy week.  Of course, I am back to work - after all, I have to pay for all this fun!  Tuesday night, I had dinner with friend David, someone who travels as much as if not more than I do, so it is rare that we are in the same place at the same time.  David was a client of mine when I had my own law practice - a few minutes ago now - and we have managed to keep in touch and remain friends ever since.  It was good to catch up.

On Wednesday night, bridge with the boys again, always a good time, and on Thursday morning, continuing a new tradition, duplicate bridge in White Rock with friend Robin.  We are working on become a good partnership, and managed to place again, earning at least a partial master point in the process.  Once again, a celebratory lunch at our favorite Greek taverna, joined by frind Diana, who had also played.

Geez, if Robin weren't so nice, you could really hate her.  There she is on the left.  She was drop dead gorgeous when we met in law school, and she's still drop dead gorgeous all these years later!  Anyway, we are very much enjoying playing together, and hope to continue when we get back to the desert later in the year!

Thursday night, Tom and I were back at Bard on the Beach for our final outing there for the season, Macbeth. 

Well, Ashland may have better acting (although Chrisopher Gaze, the founder and director, pictured above, would argue that), but you can't beat our natural backdrop.  Actually, the Macbeth was fabulous, from the acting (Bob Fraser, who played Macbeth, is one of my favorites), to the staging to the sound and light effects, all special.  Overall, a great theatrical experience!

And yet another theatrical experience to end the week, Altar Boys on the Granville Stage.  I've already bored you with pictures of Granville Island, so no more right now.  Suffice it to say that this was the polar oppisite of Macbeth - a musical review, with five hugely talented boys (I use that word advisedly - although they were probably old enough to drink, none of them looked like it, but boy could they sing and dance!).  Theater was preceded by dinner at Whet, a restaurant which has been around on the Island for a while, but which we had never tried.  It was quite good, interesting menu and gorgeous location right by the dock; we will go again.

And so, here we are at Labour Day, and everyone is basking in the glorious weather (lord knows, it will be raining soon enough), and sighing over the end of summer.   Ah, the seasons they go round and round.....