Whatever Wednesday - Wait Till Next Year by Doris Kearns Goodwin

 And this book is going, going, gone.... It's outta here....a real hit!

Wait Till Next Year by Doris Kearns Goodwin is a delightful memoir. She brings  her nose  for history and recollection and combines it with warmth and wit.  It's 1950s New York  City. The neighborhood is divided - who do you root for?  Dodgers, Giants,  or Yankees? 

Doris was a daddy's girl and she was by his side to listen to baseball games on the radio and learn  how to mark up a game. She rooted for the Dodgers - Jackie Robinson (her favorite), Roy Campanella, Pee Wee  Reese, Duke Snider, and Gil Hodges. Her  descriptions of teasing jousts with best friends and discussions at  the  local corner store are heartfelt. 

Her mother taught her a love of books and her sisters helped raise her. She writes well about growing  up - life, love, friendships,  death - and  balances it with the ebb and  flow  of baseball.

Wait  Till Next Year is wistful,  poignant, and a delight.  Batter up (this book) and play ball (read it). 

Finally Friday - No Business Like Show Business

Saturday November 19, only a day in New York City.  Alas, no time for a show.  Oh the lights. Oh the bustle. Oh the energy of Times Square.  I want to see all the musicals. 

I actually did see Lion King many years ago on Broadway. So innovative

Josh Groban stars in a new Sweeney Todd.  I bet his voice sounds awesome booming from the stage

I did see a touring production of Hamilton. I'd like to see it again. Clever show

My sister saw the original Wicked twenty years ago.  I did see it a few years later on Broadway.  Defy gravity!

 Times Square is magical

Whatever Wednesday - NYC Adventure

Saturday November 19th, I enjoyed a bus trip to New York City with my sister and friends.  Here we are in Union Square.  Lori, Jenn, Me, and Colleen.   We wandered a farmer's market and Christmas bazaar. Plenty of tasty food booths, lots of folks, and a nifty energy on a crisp clear day. 

Rockefeller Center area

A quick stroll into St. Patrick's Cathedral.  I feel some religion here. 

Oh my - that's a big plate of meatballs.  Ten of us met for a family feast at Carmine's  So yummy!

No, Lori and I are not tall enough to be Rockettes. 
 

Finally Friday - New York City

This was a zillion years ago. I came into NYC. Dad and my sister Lori rode the train up from PA to meet me for a show.  So fun.  

Now this year,  I'm going on an NYC bus trip with Lori and her friends.  It's just for the day, but I plan  to cram my face with a bagel, cheesecake, and we have dinner at Carmine's.  Oh yeah!

NYC is just magical.  I love the energy, the people,  the lights, and the overall size of this city. 

I could  live here if I had a ridiculous amount of money. I'm watching "Billions" on Prime - that's the way I'd want to do NYC. 

I visited NYC in September of 2001, right before the attacks  and the towers fell.  Still so profound - something I will never forget. 

New York, New York - every song about it rings true. We are going to have SO much fun. 
 

Book Review - Sweetbitter

Sweetbitter by Stephanie Danler defines the crucial transition from girl to woman, from living in a place that feels like nowhere to living in a place that feels like the center of the universe. (cover blurb)

Our heroine, Tess, is a flawed slightly naïve young lady who gets a job at a known Manhattan restaurant. There she learns the art of eating – a celebration of palate, sweet, bitter, salt and the textures involved in food. Simone the all-knowing connoisseur senior server teaches Tess about the fine art of service. Jake, the elusive bartender, is a mystery and teaches her heartbreak.

Champagne, oysters, cocaine, lust, love, and dive bars  - Tess runs in a nonstop world. The book covers a year and the pace is fast and tantalizing. Danler’s writing is wry, descriptive, and rich. She immerses you in the restaurant world.  I wanted to visit her fictionalized places – eat, drink wine, and enjoy New York nightlife or lowlife.   

p.6  Salt:  your mouth waters itself. Flakes from Brittany, liquescent on contact. Blocks of pink salt from the Himalayas, matte gray clumps from Japan. An endless stream of kosher salt, falling from Chef’s hand. Salting, the most nuanced of enterprises, the food always requesting more, but the tipping point fatal.  Now if I eat something that’s too salty I think about that fatal terminology. Danler captures food, the process, and the insanity of the restaurant world.

Sweetbitter is ultimately about the power of  what remains after disillusionment, and the transformation and wisdom that come from our experiences, sweet and bitter.  (cover blurb)

July Junque: Day 21 Movie Review Madness: Begin Again

Nothing blows up in Begin Again and that’s a good thing. This “little flick” stars Mark Ruffalo as a down and out music producer. He has a drinking problem, gets kicked from his own company (by a very professional looking Ludacris), and ends up in a bar listening to a girl sing. The girl is Keira Knightly and she’s contemplating a return to her native London after being dumped by her boyfriend – Adam Levine playing a singer who’s hit the big time. So Mark feels the magic of Keira and convinces her to cut a CD with him. Both are wary, but pull together friends and contacts to form a group. Nobody is getting paid as they record on the streets of New York.  (And NYC is an awesome location – Central Park, between buildings, under a bridge, etc) 

The joy of music shines through. Everybody has pushed their restart button and are trying to figure out their lives. Mark reconnects with his daughter (Hailee Steinfeld) and slowly stops annoying his ex – Catherine Keener (always good). Keira works at forgetting Adam Levine, but they do cross paths. I won’t say how that ends or begins. All in all – the music and songs are quite decent and entertaining, as are the performances. Ruffalo plays shaggy haired well, with those puppy dog eyes and lopsided grin. I will say that fortunately the movie does not give us a cliché hook up for him and Keira. That would be quite oogie. Instead it’s a friendship and that’s more powerful.  

Begin Again starts with angst, but ends with smiles, singing, and joy. This is a nice date movie, or one to enjoy on your own. Just sing.

Browse a Book Store

Yes, Amazon is convenient. Barnes & Noble still has brick buildings. But what's more fun than stumbling upon a "creaky-floored bookstore"? If you are headed to New York City, here are stores to visit that aren't named Macy's or Bloomingdales. All info courtesy of the Wall Street Journal contributed by John Lee

The Strand   www.strandbooks.com   opened in 1927, it's slogan is 18 miles of books. Sounds like a dream world to me. Apparently, besides books there are cool literary t-shirts and souvenirs.

McNally Jackson Books   www.mcnallyjackson.com   Lee describes this place as cheery. Fiction is organized by region based on author nationality - "makes for adventurous hunting. "

BookBook   www.bookbooknyc.com   located in Greenwich Village (already cool quotient is high) browsing turns into bargain buying. Save room in your suitcase.

St.Mark's Bookshop  www.stmarksbookshop.com   Lee describes this store as a "serious-minded indie bookstore".  Lots of design and architecture books, plus an array of journals and poetry publications.

I never get tired of New York City and now I have new reasons to plan a trip.

Do you have a favorite indie bookstore in your hometown or found in travels?

New York: Buildings

 New York architecture is intricate - large-scaled and yet highly detailed. Best to walk with someone down the street and take turns gazing, while the other person steers. Here's the New York Public Library with the famous lions standing guard. The docent tour offers a lot of behind the scenes information, and is mind boggling for any author/reader/lover of books.

 Best FREE ride - the Staten Island Ferry. Shuffle on and stand or take a seat for thirty minutes to Staten Island. Get off, turn around, and get back on (security reasons for not staying on the same ferry). The ride back allows you to wave to the Statue of Liberty, see Ellis Island, and admire the new evolving skyline. It was a very overcast day, but the World Trade Center is standing tall and the whole site bustles with construction for the new memorial.

 We were walking toward the WTC site, down a narrow pedestrian alley. I looked up and managed to capture this dizzying perspective. There's a poem here somewhere. I need to contemplate the geometry and put pen to paper.

 Over to SoHo in search of a yummy lunch (we found a small tearoom in a chocolate shop), then walked in and out of nifty stores. Again, just strolling down the street offers eye candy.

One morning I sauntered over to the Museum of Modern Art. Alas, they had a private event, so it was closed to the public. However, further down the street I spied this tiny door. No sign. I have no idea what it led to, but I'll come up with something in a story or poem someday.

New York: The Morgan Library

 NewYork City - love it, never have enough time to do everything on my list. I did get to the Morgan Libary this trip, and what a treat. Pierpont Morgan, financier, assembled his world class collection of books, bindings, medieval manuscripts, literary and historical manuscripts, plus drawings and prints in the 1890s.

 Today the library and museum, brownstone and new modern airy spaces, welcome the visitor into another world teeming with a vast rich history.

 Here is one view of the East Room, filled with rare books.

 Another view of the East Room. Note the stained glass windows, the vaulted decorated ceiling, wood carvings, and ancient tapestries.

Here's a postcard illustration, courtesy of the Morgan collection - A.A.Milne's Winnie the Pooh and his Ten Honey Pots by artist Ernest Howard Shepard. So many gems to unearth in The Morgan Library. It's heavenly.

New York, New York

 Adventures await. I'm headed to NYC with a friend and we have no official plan. Well, I personally see a bagel in my future, and some italian, and let's face it - there's always a food theme in New York. I can justify it with a straight face because, "I walk a lot."  I also found out Tracey has never been on the Staten Island Ferry, so that's on the agenda. It's a great way to see the skyline, the Statue of Liberty, and Ellis Island for free.

 Maybe I'll hang around the New Yorker building and hand out cards advertising my book.

 Churches, museums, libraries (I want to visit the Morgan. Two years ago I did the New York Public Library tour - wow, impressive). And of course, we'll stand in line at TKTS and find a show to our liking. So many choices - tap dancing tunes or serious dramas

This is a picture I took near Bryant Park. Stories, reflections, and poems waiting to burst forth - I just have to keep my eyes open and soak it all in.

Broadway is Trade and Vanity made flesh - Ralph Waldo Emerson

Got to go pack my bags. New York bound.

9/11 - Today and Ten Years Ago

September 11, 2011. It's a quiet Sunday. Blue skies. Ray's settling in for a day of NFL television viewing. His exercise will be running outside to the grill - slow cooking some pork ribs. I've got U.S.Open Tennis Women's Final dvr'd (ten years ago, I'd be taping, now DVR is a verb). He hosted his monthly poker crew last night (and won 3rd place). Today we straightened up, vacuumed, and I just completed our laundry loads. Life at the Faries household - all the "new normal", kinda the same as the old. But is it?

One year ago August, Linda T. and I visited New York City. We enjoyed fabulous weather, yummy meals, superb theater musical, and a visit to the World Trade Center site. This statue is outside of Trinity Church. We had hushed moments, and also were amazed at the hustle bustle energy of new construction.

Ten years ago, 2001, Ray and I spent a week enjoying New York City - US Open tennis, Mets, Yankees, bagels, and pizza. We left the city on September 1st. On September 11th, we watched television in horror - the towers coming down, the areas we walked cloaked in smoldering ruin.

My sister visited NYC that October - took the train up from Delaware and enjoyed the hospitality of a city still in shock, but hardy and welcoming and encouraging and friendly. She bought me this FDNY t-shirt, and I'm wearing it today to honor the firefighters, the first responders, the victims, and the survivors.

Ten years later, we still remember and yet so much has happened. Two sons became Marines, did their duty, and are now employed civilians utilizing skills learned from Uncle Sam. I've changed jobs. Ray's changed jobs. Our 401k plummeted this Friday - see nothing has changed.

Ray's grandparents are gone. Other friends and family have passed. Everyone's a little older, a little grayer (and yes, that includes Ray and me). Ten years encompasses so much LIFE.

9/11 tributes today and in the future bring tears to the eyes and cheers for America. The Statue of Liberty still stands proud in New York's harbor, sends a message of hope and peace and welcomes huddled masses.

United States of America ... liberty and justice for all.

Throw Away the Schedule

We sat eating pizza on this corner. Cutesy bistro seating and plenty of horns blaring. I loved this sign for the sheer orneriness of NYC drivers. So, Labor Day Weekend - I spent it in Texas accomplishing some errands, enjoying movies, lazing on the patio, and floating in the pool. I also reflected more on my time in New York - hence these photos as backdrop to some quotes from Annie Dillard's The Writing Life. (page 32)"How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives."

"What we do with this hour, and that one, is what we are doing. A schedule defends from chaos and whim."

"A schedule is a mock-up of reason and order - willed, faked, and so brought into being; it is a peace and a haven set into the wreck of time; it is a lifeboat on which you find yourself, decades later, still living."

"It is a scaffolding on which a worker can stand and labor with both hands at sections of time."

"There is no shortage of good days. It is good lives that are hard to come by." p. 33 Who would call a day spent reading a good day? But a life spent reading - that is a good life."

I have to say, I stood outside Harper Collins, and restrained myself from running into their lobby and begging to see an agent or editor. I didn't force my way in with bagels or donuts. I didn't drop off a box filled with manuscripts. Sigh. I behaved, took a picture, and resumed my day's schedule of strolling, dining, and humming show tunes.

It's a good life.

Post-It Communication

Are you sick of NY pics yet? Well, tough. I'm going to use them as backdrop since I had such a good time and I took a lot of great angles. Here's the NY Stock Exchange down in Wall Street. Ray and I were there in August 2001. No big deal. Tons of hustle and bustle, cars, buses, traffic, people,etc. Now it's a bit of a fortress for good reason. Strictly pedestrian traffic and a bit of a holy hush. This flag is monstrous and truly memorable. America = money & power. Wall Street is the epicenter.

Our Staten Island Ferry trip was a bit hazy and overcast. Nonetheless, the great lady loomed large and people from all over the world paid her proper homage. I'm surprised we didn't capsize. I swear everyone was on the side of the ferry to view the Statue of Liberty. Truly - she gives me chills every time. I've visited Ellis Island and when you think of the immigrant history - it does give one pause. That's America!

St. Patrick's Cathedral. I'd turn Catholic if this was my church every week. Holy cow! It's gorgeous, ridiculous, and overwhelming. The amount of money spent on this place would feed, clothe, and care for multitudes. Nonetheless, the sheer facade brings in more and more and more, so who am I to question religion? It makes no sense, but I for one walk in the door and pay homage to stained glass windows, statues, and the sense of the Holy. It's a sight to behold.

Cool decoration outside Radio City Music Hall. I've seen shows in here and I've seen the Rockettes. Amazing facility and worth a tour.

Grand Central Station - absolutely a fabulous place to experience. Trains from everywhere. New York timing on a dime. Folks arriving with dreams, and people leaving crushed and beaten. You see everything and everybody. The restoration is gorgeous. So, post-it communication. I love writing post-it notes. I love the little yellow pads. I put a note in my husband's lunch every day. I leave notes on folders at work. Ray rolls his eyes sometimes, as do my guys at work. I throw in humor or commentary.

Either way, I'm amused. Sometimes (sadly) that's my writing for the day. Pithy, earnest, and worthy of a chuckle.

Broadway Baby - Lights

Times Square has to be seen to be believed. Video advertisements are way cool. Aeropostale spent a ton of bucks to catch my eye.

I saw the Lion King back in 2007 or so. Awesome production. Julie Taymor's costumes and creations are genius.

Come Fly Away is Twyla Tharp amazing. The blend of choreography and Frank Sinatra tunes is two hours of entertainment and wow! factor. The dancers work hard for the money and their skill is par excellence. Huge thumbs up on this show.

Yep, Me and Linda shlepping in NY. We saw a matinee of Promises, Promises and it was sheer joy. Kristin Chenoweth is a tiny thing with a HUGE voice and she delivered. Lovely performance. Sean Hayes, new to Broadway, is charming, funny, and talented with a pleasant singing voice. Together, the song "I'll Never Fall in Love Again" proved charming. Other Burt Bacharach/Hal David winners are "Say a Little Prayer" and " A House is Not a Home". The whole production was A-1 fantastic.

Friday night - caught A Little Night Music recasted. Bernadette Peters and Elaine Stritch totally kick butt. Bernadette is a national treasure. I can't exclaim enough over her acting, singing, and stage presence. Elaine milked her role and so she should - she's been around a zillion years and has the ooomph. Kudos to Steven Sondheim for wordplay, thought, and calculating lyrics. Excellent revival and a total holy cow! experience.

Dinner at Sangria's on 48th St (between 8th and 9th avenue) was a treat.

Gotta love NY theater and dinner.

Splendid Summer Days

My blog readers are going to have to bear with me - I had too much fun in New York City and took lots of pictures. So, upcoming posts shall feature the Big Apple. I normally hate to be in pictures, but here's Linda T. and me. Actually we were on our way to A Little Night Music

, but Come Fly Away would be Saturday night. Couldn't miss the photo op. I'll feature Broadway in the next post. Here's Saturday in Central Park - an oasis of greenery, people watching, and the opportunity to stroll. I contemplated the miles famous writers have walked in the park - seeking plot points, working out characters and no doubt drawing from the hordes crossing paths. It is inspirational.

Glorious weather on Saturday 8/14 - mid-80s with a breeze. Sure beat the 100+ in Texas.

Water feature near Rockefeller Center. Sure, there's lots of people and taxis and traffic and noise. But New York also works at greenery, fountains, and plots of calm serenity. You just have to seek them out.

Reflection in more ways than one. I was sitting in Bryant Park on Tuesday morning, munching on a multi-grain bagel, watching folks do free yoga behind the NY Public Library (does it count as exercise if you watch?) and the trees/buildings reflected in glass caught my eye. It's in my notes and might pop up in a poem or a book scene. Or as a happy memory.