6 November 2019
Tom reminded me of something today and I had not remembered. The Hilton Midtown is the largest hotel in New York City with over 4000 rooms. It is pretty massive.
After breakfast in the club room, Tom and I walked to Central Park and I did a quick walk through. Tom waited on a park bench just outside the park. There were some great fall colors.
I admit to loving Central Park. My first experience with it was in 1970 when I was sent to radio school at Governor’s Island. The Coast Guard ferry was right next to the Staten Island Ferry and I would take it to the tip of Manhattan and then take the subway to the first stop for Central Park. I would spend hours roaming the park.
Today even more impressive are the large condos going up with great views from the park. Because real estate is so expensive in Manhattan, and the footprints of buildings so expensive, most of the new high rises and very, very narrow. They look like needles piercing the sky.
We also stopped in at the Plaza. It reminded me a great deal of the Palace hotel in San Francisco with its glass ceiling/atrium. I’ve had great brunches with Wade at the Palace during my San Francisco Opera trips.
Atrium and dining room of the Plaza
Tom headed back to the hotel and I headed to MoMA. I wanted to see the renovation of the place. The last time I saw it was when I came with Tom and Kurt several years ago.
MoMA’s renovation is great. It really showcases the building and the art within. I really dislike the newly renovated Norton in West Palm Beach. They spent a great deal of money and not much changed. MoMA is significantly different and for the better.
I confess to a favorite at MoMA. Matisse’s La Danse.
I began to notice a variation on a theme of other artists.
Lunch was at Michael’s, a favorite of Kurt and Tom’s, and now a favorite of mine. We shared 1/2 dozen raw oysters (it’s OK, the month has an “r” in it) and I had the Korean beef tacos. Tom had the lobster risotto. I splurged with the banana creme brûlée. Ecstasy!
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We are then walked about five blocks to the theater, The Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre. Trust me. After that lunch we both needed it.
The musical was Come from Away about the events in Gander, Newfoundland the day of and after 9/11. Gander, during WWII, used to be the largest air base in the world. Planes had to refuel before flying across the Atlantic back then.
The story was how the town of 9,000 coped with the influx 7,000 passengers forced to land after the FAA grounded all air flights into and out of the U.S.
The energy of the performers was amazing, considering we were at a matinee and they had another show tonight. It was moving, funny, sad, and rewarding. It was a strong cast and you couldn’t help but tear up several times during the performance.
One favorite scene in the performance was the role of the Egyptian who was constantly asking to help in the kitchen to help prepare food. He was constantly pushed away because of his ethnicity and religion until they found he was a famous chef with restaurants all over the world. They immediately put him to work in the kitchen.
I’ve read several articles about Gander over the years since 9/11. As Americans, we always think of Canadians as friendly, but what Gander and the communities in Newfoundland did on 9/11 and subsequent days restores your faith in humanity.
The musical didn’t pull any punches. It also dealt with the conflicts, the biases, and the difficulties as well as the good. Some of the play was a little rough around the edges but overall it was a moving experience. When finished, the audience didn’t immediately file for the exits but stayed at the edge of the stage and applauded – a sign of a good performance.
After the performance we had martinis at Sardi’s upstairs bar. We met two ladies from Jersey who hadn’t been coming to plays for several years but recently had now seen 9 in a few months time. We compared notes on the play and agreed it was one of the best we’ve seen in a while.
We took Uber back to the hotel and then partook of the happy hour at the club room. Uber has become tricker in New York City for some reason. It took two tries to get someone to pick us up outside Sardi’s.
Can you say shrimp dumplings and chicken Kiev croquettes? Ooh, Kiev may not be the best name to use these days. Anyway, why bother going to a restaurant when they offer gourmet happy hour?
Tomorrow, we have tickets for a 11 am ascent up the Freedom Tower. Years ago, I came to New York with Rob Nathans and we visited Ground Zero. At the time, it was a hole in the ground. I look forward to seeing the memorial plaza and then going up in the tower.
When I was a radio school, I saw the Twin Towers being built. You could walk out of the barracks every day at Governor’s Island and see the progress.
On 9/11, I was swimming laps early in the morning of 9/11 prior to going to teach. I never play the radio outside while swimming but for some reason I did that day. Something was bothering me and I thought life is too smooth. In between laps, I heard the first reports of a problem in New York. After my laps, I decided to turn on the tv. That’s when I saw the first tower burning. As I watched, the second plane hit the second tower.
I was pretty much undone but had the presence of mind to get dressed and drive to school. I decided on the way there I was in no shape to teach that day so I walked into the department chair’s office and said I was not going to teach that day, that I had seen a second plane hit the tower and on the way to the college heard about the plane and the Pentagon.
My friend (and book rep) Nancy was there with her boss and I remember the department chair asked why, was I afraid the college was next? He didn’t mean it in a bad way but I took offense. I said no, I was too upset to teach because of all the thousands who had just died. He never did charge me with a sick day for that.
If you ask my Dad or his parents the most momentous event in their life, they would have probably said December 7, 1941. Up until 9/11, if you asked me “where were you when…” I would have responded at Camp Kickapoo in Clinton, Mississippi checking in Scoutmasters for summer camp when the moon landing occurred. Now, I would have to say, I was swimming laps in my pool with 9/11 occurred.
