“Mr. Gatanas is also holding his own against the sidewalk tree sellers that pop up every December.
'They’re either gouging you or undercutting you,' he complained. Such is the season."
I'm sympathetic, but I don't know, as this 2015 NYT story informed me, the migrant tree sellers seem to have a pretty tough life. They sleep in their vans and campers.
https://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/08/nyregion/how-loyal-are-your-customers-a-christmas-tree-vendors-friendships-inspire-a-film.html
2
The new theater in Brooklyn, Nitehawk, will always be the Sanders to me.
There, I saw "The Giant Behemoth," "Gidget Goes Hawaiian," and other memorable films. A ticket cost 25 cents.
The Sanders. The Sanders. Nothing wrong with that name.
1
@B. - And a real New York theater story, that Deborah Walley was discovered for "Gidget Goes Hawaiian," when she was seen in Chekhov's "Three Sisters" off-Broadway! (Joyce Selznick, who was the agent for James Darren, Moondoggie in the Gidget films, saw Ms. Walley in the Chekhov play.)
1
Billy Eichner - Stuyvesant High School grad
Lin-Manual Miranda - Hunter High School grad
1
One of the most joyous (and free) things to do this season is walking past the rows of pine trees that suddenly appear on street corners the day after Thanksgiving (no exaggeration!) and breathe in deep the smell of the pine forest.
And if you don't feel like shelling out a mint for a tree, there are always some fallen or sawed-off branches happy to go home with you...then forget about Facebook and make your own cocoa.
10
“Weather: The sun will come out –- on Monday. Till then, three warmish gray days of drizzle and showers.”
That really sings, (tune of “Tomorrow”)
The sun will come out on Monday
Bet your hard-earned dollar that on Monday
There’ll be sun.
When you go to work on Monday
You’ll think what good weather for a fun day
But there’s none
After Sunday’s a day
That’s gray and drizzly
Call and get Monday off.
Deep cough, and say
I’d better stay out this one day
Coming in and spreading germs on Monday's
Not okay!
Contagious, contagious
Contagious all Monday
It’s best if I stay - a-way
4
"And finally: Is anybody happy? (With Lin-Manuel Miranda)"
My mom's happy with Lin-Manuel Miranda. She's had the printout of his 2015 tweet about my "Freddie the NY Times commenter" https://twitter.com/lin_manuel/status/669222699361771520?lang=en
for years now, but when I went to North Miami Beach to visit last month, the pdf of the "Lin-Manuel tweet" was suddenly under a magnet on Mom and Dad's refrigerator, like a straight-A report card from junior high. (It's right next to my nephew's 100 on his organic chemistry exam from his pre-med program.). I asked why suddenly now, they explained that before Mary Poppins, no one over 80 in south Florida knew what a big deal Lin_Manuel Miranda is. (Mom kidded that the tweet will be really valuable if he wins the Oscar.)
9
@Freddie Whoa, Freddie, I never knew about that tweet! I completely understand your parent's attitude! In fact, if you were my relative, I'd have had it laminated and framed! (BTW, I agree with the tweet!)
6
@Shawnthedog's Mom - Noah had linked it in an "And Finally" a few months later.
https://www.nytimes.com/2016/02/03/nyregion/new-york-today-landmarklimbo.html
Maybe that's why I keep wanting "And Finally" to never go away, LOL, since I was in Noah's final "Finally." (Back then, I was always up by 5 a.m. since Europe was hours ahead of us and I'd almost always "commented" by the time my family got up 7:15 or so; that's Noah's "early mornings" reference.).
LMM tweet also linked if you scroll down in Daniel McDermon's farewell column to NYT's ArtsBeat http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2016/06/01/service-advisory-artsbeat-is-finished/ [4,000 comments sounds like a heck of a lot, but over 8 years then, it averaged under 1-1/2 comments a day.]
1
@Freddie, Ah yes, almost-senior moment here. I do remember Noah's hat tip to you, in fact I provided that link to someone else who had once asked about you in the comments section. Somehow I completely zoned out on the LMM tweet though. I think that tweet though is more precious than a Grammy! To be called a treasure by a treasure...well....it doesn't get much better than that! Your parents and I can kvell together!