I once bought a necktie at the gift shop in the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. When I got it back to the US, I discovered a tag in back that read, "Made in USA".
8
"“I’m a barber,” he said, “not a magician.” This made my day!
4
I've never read Metropolitan Diary before (never knew it existed), but I will again. My dad was a New Yorker, we visited there often to visit his family when I was young. My wife and I have visited and enjoyed it many times. I don't know why it became popular to characterize the city's residents as cold and rude. I've never seen that. The first time I was ever in a stretch limo, it was parked in front of a Broadway theater. My friend and I, visiting from the Midwest, had seen these on TV and were curious. The driver, waiting for his employer we assumed, cheerfully invited us to get in and have have a look around, which we did. That's the sort of person I associate with the city. We've always enjoyed getting around on the Subway, and found the people on it to be nice, even when crowded. Even the cops are friendly and helpful. This column reminds me of that. Thanks.
22
As an inveterate reader of Metropolitan Diary, and one time contributor, I propose a new name for this marvelous feature.
More often the setting for the diary entries is the NYC Subway, hence "Subway Diary."
The necktie entry merits a "Hall of Fame" accolade.
A runner up , in my opinion, would re-name it as the "Pedestrian Diary."
If someone sat down and did the calculation for each and every entry since the inception of Metropolitan Diary, my sense is that the prevailing mode has to do with people moving about NYC.
My entry, BTW, involved a taxi cab ride from the George Washington Bridge to LaGuardia Airport.
May it never end.
10
Dear Mike,
I've always rather liked the word Metropolitan with its connotation of great size and diversity together with its use in the names of a wide variety of New York City institutions, from the bus and subway system to a wonderful museum and opera company, all of which have furnished stories featured in the Diary. As have taxi cabs, apartment and office buildings, accidents and hospitals, bookshops and books, the airports, parks and playgrounds, bicycles and automobiles, parking headaches, restaurants, grocery stores, food, Broadway and Off-Broadway plays, movies, songs, concerts, the weather, love, anniversaries, longing, heartbreak, loneliness, happy moments being alone, first encounters with the city, laughter, touching random acts of kindness, hilarious responses, one-liners and puns, people from toddlerhood through old age experiencing and responding to the city, and so much else from rooftops to subways and across boroughs and neighborhoods from Inwood to Montauk Point and everything in between.
Greetings Mike and happy memories of long ago meetings of Ken Jackson’s Columbia Seminar on the City. In those days, the early 1970s, before getting on the number 1 train to go down to 116th, I would purposefully be sure to carry only a small amount of cash and my health insurance card. Happily, while I sometimes used the former, I never needed the latter.
Cheers,
Allen
12
@Allen J. Share
YES, Allen, I suspected it was the Allen Share I knew from long ago.
Warm good wishes to you!
6
Clearly, you wish to miss your plane! @Michael Ebner
This is one of the coolest regular parts of the NYTimes. These are wonderful snapshots of lives in a great city...
25
I've made what I usually deem "the mistake" of reading the comments on internet article so many times. Afterwards, I've wondered where in this world are all the smart, not-bitter, interesting people.
Seems like a bunch of you are ... here! Hooray!
47
That should be "articles" -- [Sad trumpet noise].
3
@FoundEm Sad trombone. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dqPxDYdbgoc
1
Am I the only one who finds the "younger officer took my hand and began to dance with me" extremely sweet but poignant like a lost possibility in these #metoo times?
14
@Suzanne If you can't tell the difference between a welcomed dance (or other touching) then THAT'S the problem. Clearly these two people were on the same page, as are many.
You seem quick, like so many assault apologists, to insinuate that women having come forward as part of the #metoo movement are somehow spoiled sports for eliminating this kind of playfulness. Please stop it.
17
Sorry, but as a former police officer from a family of former NYC police officers, I find the likelihood of this story, as it is told, to be quite unlikely. Or maybe my cynicism blinds me to the depth that a bit of creative embellishment may bring to this feature. In any event it is a charming tale.
8
@CF
"... like so many assault apologists..."
That's an abusive accusation, without basis or merit. There's nothing in Suzanne's post to indicate that she's an "assault apologist." Please stop your bullying.
15
I am sad to say this is the first time that I've read this column. Fortunately, it won't be the last. The articles are wonderful as are the comments.
32
Dear Louise,
Don’t be sad. The important thing is that you found this wonderful column and that you love it as so many of us do.
It you enter Metropolitan Diary in the search bar of the online New York Times you will come up with many past columns, all waiting for you to discover and enjoy.
May this be the first of many comments you pen. There is a lovely community of regular commenters here who will all make you feel welcome, as indeed you are.
See you again soon I hope.
Allen
34
I, born in Brooklyn, but had wonderful times and experiences living in various areas of Manhattan and finally Westchester, absolutely enjoy reading Metropolitan Diary. The entries are made even more special as I no longer reside in my favorite city. But yet, I feel connected, I visit frequently, I am still a New Yorker, in my heart and soul, and keeping in touch with family and many friends, sharing news and such is important and special to me. Also, reading Metropolitan Diary is another way to help me remain a New Yorker, forever!!!!
17
We're not from New York, in fact have never even visited, but -
We will celebrate our 60th anniversay next year. We had a nice do for our 50th, so on this year's anniversay I asked my wife whether she wanted a party next year. "No", she said.
"Do you want a prize?" I asked.
She laughed.
15
@Wolf Kirchmeir You should visit NY to celebrate! Congrats
As an ex-cab driver, I was both uplifted and infuriated by the sweet taxi tale.
I stopped driving just as that 19th Century-style company arrived, forcing its drivers to buy brand-new limos and dress in footman's livery to impress its wannabe millionaire techie clients.
I still don't get why all the liberals jumped on that bandwagon. Plouffe, Huffington, even Colbert had that robber baron Kalanick on his second show.
The name Uber alone smacks of Auschwitz.
38
@IRememberAmerica
There be wisdom. Yep.
4
@IRememberAmerica I see nothing in the piece that even remotely hinted at Uber. The writer specifically said "taxi." Was your comment just a way to segue into an unrelated grudge with ride share companies?
And "footman's livery"? Wondering where that came from.
11
@IRememberAmerica I recently was in NYC on a work trip and I made a point of always taking taxis instead of Uber. I felt it was a moral obligation!
19
I think this column exists just to remind us out in the heartland that NYC is truly the Greatest City in the World
37
@Bob
I think this column exists to remind the rest of the world that NYC is as banal as anyplace else.
11
@Bob as we say flip the begrudges... this diary reminds me living in NYC best city in the world... I look forward to reading it for years to come !
2
@Bob
Been there, done that, but ...
Give me Milan, Rome, Berlin, Paris, Shanghai, Sydney, Dublin, Bristol, Portland, Minneapolis, Ottawa, Zurich, and many others first. Sorry but NYC does not make my top ten. It's just too dirty. I feel should wear latex groves whenever I'm in the city or the surrounding area.
2
Re: the haircut and asking to be made "pretty": The end of that statement, "I am a barber, not a magician", in its' entirety involves holding up a scissor and saying..."and this is not a magic wand".
This was told to me by a friend and neighbor who cut my hair for many years...as his favorite reply to such requests.
24
@susan paul
Long ago my hairdresser had a sign on her booth that read, "I'm a beautician, not a magician."
I love these columns.
I always have the biggest grin by the time I get to the bottom.
Sometimes a tear.
One of the best things about reading the NYT is the contributions from it's readers.
Columns and comments.
Really, really nice.
66
The first thing I do on Monday (and today is sorta Mondayish after a 3 day weekend...) is get my coffee, turn on my iMac, login and go directly to Metropolitan Diary and settle in...
Thursdays I login and go directly to Real Estate with coffee. Usually just as interesting but with a completely different vibe.
15
as usual, five little gems
31
Shakespeare and music, dance and romance.
Just the perfect way to start the summer.
Elissa
47
Honestly, if you're not reading "Metropolitan Diary" on Monday then why do you even have an internet connection?
92
I agree. I lived there in the 70’s and moved to Vermont, which also has a population with their own unique personalities. But I so miss NYC and read Metro Diary every Monday without fail. I even submitted a story to MD and it was accepted a few years ago.
20
@Alice Trent
Alice, I can identify with your words. I was born in Brooklyn but had the opportunity to live on the Upper West Side and finally in Westchester. It was very challenging to relocate, eight years ago, from my favorite city on Earth!!! (I live in a lovely, beautiful area, and feel blessed.) I travel back to NY frequently, have family and friends there and reading The New York Times and almost everthing I can get my hands on about NY refreshers me. I miss the diversity, the eccentric, behaviors, one often see in NY, I fitted in nicely, and such. Where I live is so quiet, it took me awhile to adjust, because I missed NY sounds, fire engines, various languages and the noise oh the noise!!!!! , But life ad living is filled with transitions and compromises. I think it is called "maturing" , "growing up" I think you may know what I mean. I am ok, I made friends where I am, my life and living is rich. I have moved forward.
4
It is Monday morning. The Diary is here! I can get my usual Monday bounce before going on to the “real news.”
All five entries make me think, but “Turn It Down” by Melaney Mashburn really sparked my imagination. I’m probably not the only reader who wondered, “And what happened next?” Here are some possibilities:
Possibility: Melaney and the policeman dated for a year and then they were married. Their wedding story appeared in the Weddings Section of The New York Times in August 2000. They are still happily married. They live in Tarrytown, and they have three children.
Possibility: Melaney and the policeman were married in August 2000. The policeman went to the World Trade Towers on September 11, 2001. He never returned. His remains were never found.
Possibility: Melaney and the policeman dated for a year and were married. Five years later, in 2005, Melaney found out that he had used the same ruse to get into other parties. She discovered that he had three other wives and families living around the New York area. She filed for divorce.
Possibility: Melaney and the policeman dated for several months and then broke up. Melaney, inspired by his work, became a police officer. She was promoted, and she was put in charge of investigating homicides. She published a book in 2016 titled “My Life on the Line,” in which she described the grisly details of her murder investigations. That book is still on The New York Times Best Sellers list.
Oh, well. Back to the “real news.
89
@Dean
Dean, what a wonderful imagination you have!!
Of course, the "correct" answer, the one we are all hoping for is the first possibility.
The last smacks of reality because there is such a "grisly details" nyc former forensic Med Examiner who has been fantastically successful on the NYT Best Seller list.
And wasn't the third choice actually the major plot arc of first season of the wonderful Hill Street Blues?? -- the best television of the 1980s.
As for your grim choice 2 -- I suddenly find tears streaming down my cheeks into my coffee mug until I realize that this is NYC, where good outcomes are always possible because New Yorkers do sing and dance, do connect with and help others even in their darkest moments.
Best, Elissa
19
@Dean You need an outlet for your vivid imagination! Might I suggest a book of your own? Take a look at Sum: Forty Tales from the Afterlife by David Eagleman to see what I mean. Good luck!
18
Dear Dean,
Such an interesting array of possibilities for the rest of Melaney’s story. You do indeed have a vivid imagination, and your story arcs are far more pleasant to contemplate than what is in the headline news (except for the one about the World Trade Center catastrophe).
Your scenario of multiple families led me to think of the fascinating film Nathaniel Kahn crafted entitled “My Architect,” from 2003. The film emerged out of Nathaniel’s quest to learn more about his father, the brilliant architect Louis Kahn, who died in a rest room in Penn Station in 1974. After Kahn’s death it was revealed that he not only had a wife and family in Philadelphia but two other families in the same city. Nathaniel, who was only eleven when his father died and who grew up in one of those other families, became a filmmaker and undertook a search to find his father through his father’s work, traveling to Louis Kahn’s most important structures and interviewing his father’s associates, fellow architects, and his relatives (a number of whom Nathaniel had never before met). The resulting film is riveting and proof that truth can indeed be stranger than fiction.
So very many absorbing and thought provoking comments to the Diary from the members of our growing and good natured community this and every week! A deeply felt thank you and wishes for a good week to one and all.
Stay well Dean, and nurture those imaginative impulses that produced such great scenarios this week.
Allen
37
Just a thank you note for making my day.
23
Every one a winner!
17
Chaucer fell out of my saucer.
21
@SK
Hi SK,
Your comment just about sums up the exhilarated jolt these lovely 5 vignettes of nyc life seem to have given us all. It's my favorite!!
Then again, he (Chaucer) did claim "Amor vincit omnia!!" (even if spoken ironically by the flawed Prioress).
Elissa
8
A nice literary, musical and dating medley to kick off the summer...
15
What a great batch of stories to start the week!
15
As a concert percussionist, the In Rhythm entry put a big smile on my face.
The accompanying illustration shows the work happening in the back--which makes sense, he's fixing a set--between the timpani and cymbals!! With his location on stage and hammering in time, Neile might as well have been another percussionist. We have a wild time using the most ridiculous objects as instruments (hammers included) and he would've fit right in.
21
Mothers. I received a pair of 'Dark Side of the Moon' PJ bottoms sort of things, at least ten years ago, from my mother. Once, my brother was visiting over night and saw them and couldn't believe that I didn't just throw them away. Evidently, he had received a pair. I guess he is a sharp dresser, even when just lounging around the house. Moi? I am like my mother and as long as clean and functional then I am good to go.
While I certainly don't wear them every day, I am wearing them now. And thinking of her reminds me of the time that she asked me if I liked the Beatles around 1964. When I told her that I thought that they were OK, she confided that she thought the Rolling Stones were a better band. The Beatles are history. The Stones are still around. I wish that she was still around, too.
Memories. A large part of the Diary. Thanks, again.
60
I never owned a Brooks Brothers tie in my kidhood, but I do remember kids in my neighborhood getting as much as a buck for
the labels which they took off their father's old ties.
Terrible snobs we kids were back then.
21
@A. Stanton
Weird kids.
My niece suffered from heat exhaustion while too busy selling slime to the neighborhood (mostly) kids for a buck a handful.
I got a measly quarter for Kool-Aid mixed with sugar. Kind of homemade Fun Dip, but tangier.
So much for impartial justice.
1
Did she find the tie?
Did he give her a "singalong partner" discount?
Which style of Chinese opera was it? Peking? Sichuan? Yue?
Did the hostess go out with the policeman?
Did the date go well despite (or because of) his "interesting" face?
To be continued....
21
In these trying times, I would welcome the Metropolitan Diary every day!!!!!!!!!
34
@Thurman Munson
We used to have Metropolitan Diary every day, but the editors in their wisdom ( not!) decided to make it a weekly thing. I’m still very annoyed about it.
9
The tie story reminded me of a friend of my husband’s father who made hand painted ties. He could always get in back stage to see Louis Armstrong, who called him “Mr. Tie Man” and usually bought one.
23
I always love these snippets of life.
10
Dear Neile,
I hope the set of that musical theater production you were working on featured lyrics composed by the great Oscar Hammerstein. Such a good story and such a lovely memory for you—thank you!
Cheers,
Allen
15
@Allen J. Share
A clever pun always makes me smile - thanks for the Hammerstein one. Another great one elsewhere in the Times last week was the use of the word “spurious” to describe our president’s foot condition.
1
A delightful quintet of entries this week. I will keep this set close to hand to return to whenever I need relief from the headline news stories. Perhaps The Times could put a link to the Metropolitan Diary in all news stories.
James, you have a great sense of humor, which you share with Arthur’s barber. Arthur, I hope your date that night was a memorable one.
And Neile, your great story led me to wonder if by chance the orchestra was rehearsing Mahler’s 6th Symphony or perhaps Verdi’s “Anvil Chorus?” Your story called to mind The Weavers singing the now classic song which two of their original members, Pete Seeger and Lee Hays, wrote together: “If I Had a Hammer.”
I also wondered Melaney whether you ever saw your unanticipated dance partner/party attendee police officer after that memorable night?
Ah, all’s well that ends well, as somebody or other once said.
Enjoy a good week all, and thank you.
Allen
18
I’m on a roll this week! “Not Alone” reminded me of the time I was in a cab with my husband and “Sea of Heartbreak” came on, and the cabby and I sang a duet, to my husband’s bemusement. He thinks I sing like a screechy screen door, but not that time!
20
Heart's most famous song in my mind is "I Just Want To Make Lunch For You", seems she ate it all first though.
5
@Paulie. What a mean comment amongst all the lovely reminiscences.
12
All great as we go into June, and 'Turn it Down' with 'Splitting Hair', requiring no transportation, made this reader laugh. Bring on the music, and some of these metropolitan comments are laced with magic. Thank you for Sharing.
15
To go from the deliciously delightful vignettes to the comments section, where people ricochet words just like the diary, takes this holiday Monday’s feelings of a worry full week and gradually abates them. Thank you.
57
I Googled up the video of that “Alone” song. Oh, my goodness...the hair! I had a perm in the ‘80s, but not to rival that. It was a strange, hyper-materialistic decade, beyond the campy fashions. It was the decade that brought Trump into the public eye, remember. Many things to regret.
24
@Passion for Peaches
Haven't the Wilsons distanced themselves from the videos of that era in which they appeared, claiming they were ambivalent about them all along?
@Passion for Peaches -- Yes, in retrospect we were too complacent about where "Greed is good" would take us. That said, it -- like every decade -- wasn't a complete bust: It gave rise to some great music (New Wave in the early 80s) and literature (it was the decade in which Alice Munro began to blow the walls out of the short-story form).
And in London, the vise-grip of Thatcherism gave rise to the alternative-comedy scene, which brought us and still brings us phenomenal commentary and talents.
14
Monday's edition is the most important of the week--much more important than Sunday's. That's because Monday brings Metropolitan Diary.
Always a delight.
135
@JJM
so true
2
Loved all of these today, especially the Heart-filled taxi ride, as Annie and Nancy Wilson are from my home town, one of them an alumna of my own high school (the other went to our rival school). And while it's not in my beloved Metropolitan Diary, there is an article in today's Times about a young teacher finding the perfect, affordable apartment in Brooklyn (after some nightmare roommate situations) where the landlord happens to be a kind woman who lives downstairs. Something about that story, and many vignettes in M-Diary, make me feel close and connected to our collective humanity.
79
@Faith
Thanks for today. 3-31-19. Just jogged over from this to YouTube to find "Alone." I'm 82 and this has made my day. mh
2
Metropolitan Diary always makes me smile! I search for it every Monday.
88
I sing as I drive, very loudly and without shame. I usually play rhythm on the steering wheel too. Going down Broadway one day in denver, singing along to The mambo Kings Sing Songs of Love (I make up words too), I caught a movement in the corner of my eye. In the car next to me was a guy, big grin on his face and giving me the thumbs up sign. I could really go far with a guy like that, I thought.
68
@acuteangle Many years ago, my husband and I lived about an hour north of Detroit. I was driving to my job one day, listening to Pavarotti singing Nessun Dorma - volume up loud, windows down. A car pulled up next to me at a red light, windows down and rap blasting. The young men heard Pavarotti, turned down their music, listened for a bit, and gave me big smiles and thumbs up as we pulled away from the light. Great memory!
13
I sing along to songs in taxis all the time, usually under my breath. Sometimes the drivers sing along with me. My all-time favorite taxi singalong was in the early 2000s. It was December, and I was in a sort of shared taxi – something we have in Manila, basically a van or SUV that takes more than one party of passengers and plies a route, the way buses do. Mariah Carey’s “O Holy Night” came on. I happened to be the only passenger; I gave the song my all. So did the driver. We hit all the high notes.
73
@Faye
Oh, you mean a jeepney! I loved jeepneys when I lived in the Philippines while a Peace Corps Volunteer. I've always thought that they'd be great in US cities, at least in the summer . . .
And, now that I think of it, I remember catching a bus on the side of the cross town highway in Manila in 1978. It was 5:00. Everybody getting off work. Hot, tired, dusty . . . just wanting to be home.
In those days (still?) buses competed for passengers by the style of music and strength of its sound system. As I was standing there a bus came roaring in to a screeching halt, the driver slammed open the door and I got on. About the time I got seated "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida" by Iron Butterfly came on the roaring 8-track sound system. The driver started rocking the bus in time with the drumbeat by pumping the brakes and the the entire bus broke out in cheers. Best bus ride ever!
47
@Faye, and that was way before James Corden’s Car Karaoke! That is a great song to really let it all out. I remember going for it at midnight Mass on Christmas Eve, in my youth. Especially the “Fall on your knees” part. The night divine.
20
@Faye
Oh, you mean a jeepney! I loved jeepneys when I lived in the Philippines while a Peace Corps Volunteer. I've always thought that they'd be great in US cities, at least in the summer . . .
And, now that I think of it, I remember catching a bus on the side of the cross town highway in Manila in 1978. It was 5:00. Everybody getting off work. Hot, tired, dusty . . . just wanting to be home.
In those days (still?) buses competed for passengers by the style of music and strength of its sound system. As I was standing there a bus came roaring in to a screeching halt, with a maniacal grin the driver slammed open the door and I got on. About the time I got seated "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida" by Iron Butterfly came on the roaring 8-track sound system. The driver started rocking the bus in time with the drumbeat by pumping the brakes and the entire bus broke out in cheers. Best bus ride ever!
I've had a similar singing situation riding in a Via with three other people. Some song came on and one by one we all started singing..
29
Easily the best Diary Quintet of the now not so new Monday series. I smiled as I read them and have shared them with the lady I love.
74