A common question asked by tourist here on the Big Island of Hawaii is "What time will the volcano go off today?"
Aloha Y'all
9
I was in a tavern my first evening in Manhattan while on trip to the East coast early '70s; I'm from the other coast & had never been this far afield in the U.S. I asked the barkeep if he could recommend a place for the night and he pointed out "Maggie," a very attractive young woman a few seats down the bar. We talked briefly; she seemed a bit nervous, but I ended up spending a wonderful night with after an invitation. A few days later while still in the area, I tried to find her apartment again without success. It was in Queens; all the streets looked alike to me and I knocked on several possible doors but, alas, could not find her room again. I have never forgotten her after nearly five decades.
8
Such a delightful collection of stories tonight. Can I take a turn? why yes. yes you can
9
@Patricia H - remembering the Diana Ross song "It's my turn to see what iI can see" - those lines almost verbatim! (An incredible Jill Clayburgh star turn that in its day was truly all that and much more, though seems to be so of its time looking at it recently - but that song!)
Those drawings by Agnes Lee are gems! Wonderful!
21
As a native Staten Islander who has ridden the Staten Island ferry thousands upon thousands of times, and who still finds both sides (Jersey and Brooklyn) fascinating views, I love being able to direct tourists to the best seats for the SOL (Statue of Liberty) but also to advise them to check out Red Hook and Governor's Island on the way back. The city is nuts, but Staten Islanders always get to take a nice little pause during that 25 minute ride across the "harba." I remember the best time when I was able to name the bridges across the East River for some fascinated Dutch tourists (Brooklyn, Manhattan, Williamsburg, Queensborbo)...sort of poetic justice explaining this to descendants of the first Euro settlers of NYC...The ferry explains a lot of the powerful effect 9/11 had on Staten Islanders...
16
I always save bees too. I loved that diary entry the best, but they all are wonderful.
39
I really, really cracked up about "can we see Alcatraz?"
Wonderful stuff, as always.
27
@Pat
Why is the Golden Gate Bridge painted gray?
10
@Pat
Thanks for a laugh out loud moment. Really made my day.
1
@moondoggie - re "the Golden Gate bridge"
This was already in outrageous bad taste when it was done in the 1970s, introducing "Phyllis" every week with a non-PC Mame-Dolly spoof - but all the San Francisco sights are here.
"Who makes the fog surrounding the Golden Gate simply disappear? ... Phyllis! Phylllis!" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e8--8V7bVeI
then that priceless look on Ms. Leachman's face for "Phyllis! Phyllis! Phyllis! It sure isn't you!!!!" never got old the whole run of the show.
3
So wonderful to find this tucked away near the bottom of the page after reading about coronavirus and Democrats attacking each other. I loved the sweet tale about the bus driver who asked for a peek through the telescope, the funny one about the tourist on the Staten Island Ferry looking for Alcatraz and the man in the Fedora. As I read it I expected that the two would fall in love or he would offer her a rose or something romantic, but the real answer was priceless! So honest, so New York! I laughed out loud.
34
When I lived in San Antonio my uncle from Wisconsin came to visit, and of course we took him to the Alamo. He found it interesting but asked why they built it in the middle of the city! We never let him live that one down!
32
I save lighting bugs from the bathroom at the national Park I run at after work all summer. I have no idea of it matters but it can't hurt helping them get back outside and into the woods again.
41
@Monsp
I am sure it does help. I've read that lightning bugs are endangered. So good for you!
17
@anne There are over 100 different varieties of lightning bugs native to North America. None are considered endangered at present.
1
'The Man in the Fedora', or acquainted strangers in transit, brought to mind an amusing encounter, first at a large convenience store, with a sense that one is being looked at for no particular reason.
A tall man in a tweed cap, perhaps nearing his seventies, leaning against the counter next to the exit door, is smiling as if I were a pet hamster, trying not to burst out laughing. This is a novelty, and with lowered head I continue inspecting my shopping bag, slightly perplexed, with a hidden smile in return.
Not long afterward, while strolling in the traffic-jam street, on the way to meet a friend, lost in reflections, the same man in his tweed cap is coming in my direction, smiling, and looking again on the edge of a big laugh.
It has been said that if a man can make a woman laugh, it is a way to her heart. Perhaps it is a role reversal, and earlier when a family visited with their serious one-year old son, he also brightened up.
'You used to make him laugh tremendously', my parent once mentioned in passing, years ago. 'He was fascinated when you were eating dessert in a state of quiet concentrated bliss'. I do not remember these restaurant meetings. Priorities first for dessert after all at age seven, and it is only now that I am enjoying the art of Max Ernst.
Susan Brenner might enjoy being somebody's lucky star, because they are not always easy to find, even in the shiniest of moonlight eves.
17
I simply love this column. I don't live in New York, and know the city just well enough to recognize most of the locales. And the character of the characters...someday, this 60-something wants to grow up and go to college in New York!
43
I feel exactly the same way! Thanks for summing it up so eloquently and economically!
4
Susan Brenner should have saved the bee Adele found and released, and wagering passerby should have passed her a token of his appreciation to make that all come out like Hollywood--not San Francisco. I can't believe I still look forward to MetD after all these years. C'est la vie.
15
I save a bee everytime I plant a native pollinator species in my garden. If you have any planting space, you can too.
44
@Samantha Kelly Good for you. I happen to be a long-time member of local native plant societies and my large yard is ~95% populated with such spp.
8
"I had saved a bee, and I was thrilled."
Thank you Adele. Our little life saving story goes like this. My wife and I are out for a morning hike near our mountain cabin, it's a cold raw morning. My wife hears a little squeal, looks down and there on the gravel road is a baby mouse. Well, my beautiful wife says, we can't leave it there, it'll die.
Well our Stuart Little spent two years with us and Tasha our Maine Coon cat. Stuart went everywhere we did, mice have a short life span, but those 2 years were good ones.
We still remember him/her and have photos to remind us.
89
@cherrylog754, now I feel that I should light several candles and say a novena for the many mice I have trapped lately. :-(
In my defense, the darned critters have invaded my home. Legions of them. I think someone may have informed them that it is the Year of the Rat (or Year of the Iron Mouse, in Tibet). I’m invoking the Castle Doctrine.
10
CREATIVE REWRITING PROJECT 2/17
I was stargazing in the park at the rings of Saturn. A bus pulled up, the driver got out and asked if he could take a look. I pointed to the sky and he looked up. A well dressed older woman walked by and I tipped my hat, then a younger woman followed. It occurred to me they were mother and daughter. The daughter was wearing rubber gloves, holding a dirty whiskey bottle from which a drunk bee was trying to escape. They saw the driver and me looking at the sky and looked up too. The daughter said, she’d never had a burgundy truffle beignet and now she could check it off her alphabetical bucket list. Check off Saturn too said the mother. After a long silence the mother asked the driver if the bus stopped at Alcatraz. No, he answered, it goes straight to the Staten Island ferry.
64
The numbers winner should have bought you a rose, not threatening, offering a drink might have been, if he offered you money you would have said “no.” Amateur Mr. Manners
14
When my old cat, Roger, died, I was in the market for another to partner my tiny Siamese cat, Emily. Someone in Milwaukee had found a fabulous Persian stray and we flew him to NYC. He was a bust. Emily (four pounds) tried repeatedly to kill him. I found a good home for him and then found a youngish female cat who spent two weeks under my desk. Emily was hellbent on murdering her! Hired an animal psychic, who played New Age music, spoke sweetly to Emily and put a pink bow on her neck. This was ineffective, so I had to find a good home for the second one.
A few weeks later, in my vet’s office, I spotted a small notice for a free kitten. He had been found in a garbage can on 86th and Columbus. I went for a “look-see” and ended up taking the kitten home in a shoebox. Emily took one look at him and heaved a huge sigh. She accepted him instantly and they bonded intensely for the remainder of her life. I named the kitten Moses. A NY garbage can seemed pretty close to a basket in the bullrushes!
138
@Kathryn
I love this story! Thank you for sharing it.
16
“Do you think we will be able to see Alcatraz today?” she asked."
Heh! Of course you can if you go to Times Square and buy from one of the street hawkers a postcard with a picture of Alcatraz on it...quite possibly you could also get a T shirt with "Inmate number 00-000, Alcatraz."
15
Oh my; spare me from artisanal anything.
26
@ARTICULATUS STREICHEM
I laughed so hard I kept missing the "recommended" button.
2
@ARTICULATUS STREICHEM, the writer lost me at truffle beignets. Too precious by half.
7
RE all strange tourist comments and responses, etc., I am reminded of my dilemma from 1979. It was only my 3rd. day in the USA and looking for way back from 40 Worth St offices of NYCDOT back to a subway to Penn Station. I made a wrong turn and ended up on West Broadway (instead of Broadway). Walking north saw signs for Holland Tunnel and was totally lost. How come
I walked thousands of miles over water with a 30 minutes walk? After over 40 years I still don’t know why do we have a “ Holland Tunnel” in New York City.
17
KB,
The answer has never been too far away...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clifford_Milburn_Holland
14
@KB Wonder no more. The official Wikipedia explanation is: The Holland Tunnel was originally known as the Hudson River Vehicular Tunnel or the Canal Street Tunnel. It was renamed the Holland Tunnel in memory of Clifford Milburn Holland, the chief engineer, following his sudden death in 1924 before the tunnel was opened.
Rest easy.
7
One more take on Alcatraz: Many years ago I was working on a computer programming project with a leader who ran circles around the rest of us mortals. One day she and I were on a business trip to San Diego and finished our visit several hours early. She decided we'd visit the San Diego Zoo. "Where are the pandas?" she asked an attendant. "Washington" replied the attendant in a tone that made me certain he'd fielded this one before.
As for me I didn't even break stride.
41
@Barry
Several years ago at the American Museum of Natural History in NYC, as I entered the Hall of Gems I asked a security guard “where is the Hope Diamond?” I received the same answer as your friend…along with some eye rolling
6
It seems in recent years that Metro Diary entries are much blander than in the past. They are now merely anecdotes, without the former zing that reflected something unique to NY. I wonder why.
20
I enjoy the current version, but have to agree. Twenty years ago, the stories were a more eccentric and “New York-y.” Perhaps because the city itself has lost many of its sharp edges?
25
@Diana Bloom, change of editing staff, maybe? Choosing submissions that will appeal to a wider audience?
I think the content of MD had always varied in weight and mood. Some weeks it is amazing. Other times it’s just okay.
10
Good ones! The Alcatraz story reminded me of when I was on a tour of Hearst Castle and somebody asked how much it weighed...
23
@Matt Smith
Reminds me of the story writer Ed Abbey told about his formative years as a renger at Arches National Monument back in the fifties. He was manning the entrance kiosk when a tourist pulled up to ask: I know this is the Entrance but where is the Exit.
7
@Doc Morgan Come on now, that can't possibly be true!
3
The misguided tourist story reminded me of the 1960 film, “If It’s Tuesday, This Must Be Belgium.” Travel is discombobulating.
22
I thought "Her List" was unkind and snarky toward the older couple.
26
@PrairieFlax
Perhaps, but is "Can I show you my latest tiktok video" acceptable behavior? It is not.
29
The Alcatraz story reminded me a summer I worked in Grand Teton National Park. The tourists for the most part were great; a few got seriously hurt doing things like posing with Buffalo; and a few asked incredibly dumb questions like:
"Is a Moose a male Elk?"
"What do you do with the mountains in the winter?"
43
@M.K. Ward We native New Yorkers love an anecdote like the Alcatraz story . . . and your example of the dumb question about the mountains in Grand Teton Park. I heard of another almost like it. I was talking, many years ago, with a friend from South Dakota who told me there were New Yorkers at Mount Rushmore who asked "Where do you store it in the winter?"
4
The woman looking for Alcatraz reminded me of the tourist that once, on Amsterdam’s Dam Square, asked me the way to the Notre Dame. I politely pointed south and said ‘500 km that way’.
57
@Margot Riedstra
and I thought asking for Alcatraz in NY was funny! This made me laugh out loud. Thanks!
14
This column really sings.
26
@Steve - in the newspaper, especially since the drawings became part of the Diary, there are weeks where the Diary looks like a beautifully laid out work of art. This week is one of them. I have no idea whether the layout is carefully and meticulously planned out, or the layout team for the print edition working by instinct; either way, this is a weekend where the look of the column breaks and the way Agnes Lee's drawings play off each other in the Metropolitan section is art. (I admit I'm also partial to those weeks where there's one or two of the five stories that have a New York edge, because the mix is the real New York to me - and the edge of one or two also amplifies the sweetness of the others.)
15
If Sarah Palin could see Russia from her porch in Wasilla, AK, then it's altogether possible to see Alcatraz from the deck of the Staten Island Ferry. What universe was that woman living in, I wonder? Did she have any idea where she was?
28
@CKent, she was a tourist. Maybe she was from another country and English was not her first language.
21
@CKent Did she actually say that or was it Tina Fey on SNL? OMG, please tell me I'm not defending Sarah Palin!
19
@CKent
A Wise Man said that no one could go broke underestimating the intelligence of the American public...
31
I ignored my fitbit’s reminder to get some steps while reading this column. These stories and comments are better for my health (especially my mental health) than a few steps might be.
63
"Their choices mirrored our own, from the artisanal ham and Burgundy truffle beignets to the Parmesan crusted cod and steak au poivre..."
"I had saved a bee, and I was thrilled."
I miss Damon Runyon.
42
@Dan and Archie and
Mehitabel
8
@Diana Bloom That was Don Marquis, not Damon Runyon. Very different styles of writing, to put it mildly.,
1
Twenty years ago, for our 25th anniversary, our kids got us tix to a Bdway play (Mama Mia). We had fantastic seats (first row, center, loge). And a limo to drive us there and back (we lived in NJ). On the way back, the driver, who was a real sweet guy, asked us if we, who had grown up in NY, would like to see "the best view of the NY skyline at night?" Of course we said yes. He took us to a little spot on the water from which we could see the city lit up, the Statue of Liberty, and all that was beautiful about NY in the July night. But first we had to promise not to give away his secret spot. I love limo and taxi drivers!
125
Marlene, this reminded me of when I was living in Bangkok—in the era before smart phones—and a couple came up to me as I was exiting from the Skytrain platform to ask if I had any recommendations for a non-touristy spot of interest. I have no idea what caused to think I would be a person who would have this information, but it was their lucky day because I knew of a wonderful park on the other side of the Chao Priya River that was captivatingly charming, but I made them swear a solemn oath that they would NOT TELL ANYONE!
44
@Marlene - regarding "the Statue of Liberty, and all that was beautiful about NY in the July night."
I recall the first time I heard this song that my now-spouse had written, I felt "how patriotic and beautiful my spouses's thoughts are - but of course, what he wrote are the 18th century activist character's thoughts.
"Lady in the Harbor," here sung by Laura Benanti in 1999 or so -
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AY8wC69_T7E
who by chance, later in 2016, brilliantly played "Melania" on the Colbert show with both satire and empathy for the positions the First Lady found herself in about immigrants !!! (More irony - the comical dialogue of the nasty cynics making fun of her character's efforts to raise money for the Statue is written by Jack Viertel, who would in this decade, 2013, inexplicably become my human rights enemy. Yowza!)
6
@Marlene
Sweet memory!
It makes me think of my strategy in museums especially if my time is limited: I ask the guard in a particular gallery what her/his favorite piece is. It doesn't necessarily turn out to be mine, but it's a great way to connect with art and the people who spend the most time with it.
39
I have enjoyed reading the story “ Stargazing “. It’s very nice of the driver to move the bus to a safer place so that it didn’t obstruct stargazers view. It’s also so sweet of the driver to have a look at Saturn. Thanks for writing a wonderful story Jordyn Kaufman.
Sometime back I happened to read an article, I think in the New York Times, that stargazers are deprived of their pleasure on account of light pollution. Here in this case they appear lucky.
Our modern way of life has caused countless problems everywhere. We can’t but change our style of living even if slowly to protect our Mother Earth.
It’s hardly third week of February and it appears summer has already arrived in Hyderabad. I shudder to think what music we will have to face in the coming months.
For the past two decades I have followed no vehicle policy barring few months in Manhattan, Kansas. My son is also following suit for 15 years right from U.K to Bangalore. We use only energy efficient lamps at home and have a single Air Conditioner but use it when it’s extremely necessary. Small steps will go a long way in the reduction of global warming.
72
@Sivaram Pochiraju
Hi Sivaram. Thank you for practicing small, but important conservation measures - "it takes a village". Stay cool.
30
Adele, who knows what cosmic forces you set into play by releasing that bee from that bottle? The bee flew off to accomplish who knows what. The universe is on a different path because of your action.
170
Dear Susan,
When I reached the point in your Diary entry that the man in the fedora stopped and said “You are my lucky star” my classic-movie-lover’s imagination flashed to Gene Kelly’s Don Lockwood and Debbie Reynolds’s Kathy Selden singing the song of that title to each other as they embraced and finally kissed at the end of “Singin’ In The Rain.” When I read your concluding sentence I thought, especially as he said not that “he” had won big the night before but rather “You came in so big last night,” why didn’t he follow that with “Our winnings will treat us to a wonderful dinner tonight” and burst into the lyrics of that song. Dear me, perhaps for that sort of ending one needs to be somewhere a little closer to Alcatraz, like Hollywood.
Stay well Susan, and thank you for a fascinating “what if” Diary entry.
Allen
61
“'Would you mind if I had a turn?' the bus driver asked."
THAT is sweet.
119
@Rocky, if you ever want to meet nice people, set up a telescope in a likely place and wait. Whether you are looking at stars, birds, bears, mountain goats, or any other wildlife, people will be curious. Invite them to look. Answer their questions. Admire the world together. What you, and possibly they, will feel is joy.
Many years ago, at an indescribably difficult point in my life, I went for a long, solitary walk in an estuary reserve that is a stopover for a huge variety of migratory species, and nesting spot for many more. Birder heaven. I came across a young man who had a scope set up on a tripod, focused on a raptor nest. He invited me to look. He seemed to be tickled that I was so enraptured by the birds that thrilled him, and he was happy to fill me in on the birds’ details.
I think that young man may have saved my soul that day. I had been in a very dark place. He pulled me out of it with this simple kindness.
There is something enrapturing and even healing about people who exude a pure, unapologetic love for, and fascination with, the natural world. I think that may be the magic we recognize in charismatic naturalists and scientists who connect well with the public (David Attenborough, Jane Goodall and Carl Sagan come to mind). I have never met a pessimistic astronomer.
Remember to look up, when the sky is clear.
210
@Passion for Peaches Wow, thank you for this! This resonates so much for me. The same thing (different "thing," but the same idea) happened to me one day that may well have saved MY soul.
27
Lost bigger later, no doubt.
12
Re: In the Harbor
Oh, the joys of editing!
This is the original payoff to my story:
"Do you think we will be able to see Alcatraz today?"
I squinted my eyes and slowly scanned the horizon.
"Madame, I have been giving this tour for 8 years now and it has NEVER been that clear."
209
@Tom Ickert So happy I read the comments and found your original ending here! I live in the city, but maybe it'd be worthwhile to take a tour one day! :)
24
@Tom Ickert
I think she meant Sing Sing!
14
@Tom Ickert
Thank you for helping me to start the day with a good laugh!
22
Adele: As is written in the Talmud, "Whoever saves one life saves the world entire." You have saved the bee world. Bees are endangered and you are worthy of the very highest praise.
172
@Beef Eater Make that "entire world," not "world entire."
8
@Beef Eater - I just googled, and the saying actually sometimes uses "the world entire." https://cwla.com.au/whoever-saves-one-life-saves-the-world-entire/
On a much more basic level, I wonder if the construction relates to ordering a "bagel plain" or a "coffee black." On the page, it seems to me to call out for a comma (like:bagel, plain) but it's not said that way.
16
@Beef Eater
Perhaps "world entire" is more poetic!
39
The story about Alcatraz reminded me about that time a group of baseball players from the S.D. Padres, who were in town to play the Mets, rented a boat and headed out in the water so they could catch the sunset. File this story under: Unclear On The Concept.
26
@g. best 7
Well, if they went FAR enough, they could catch sunset over water :-)
11
@g. best 7
A few months ago some NY friends and I hiked in Sabino Canyon (in Tucson) to catch the full moon rise over the saguaro-studded desert landscape. Because of the terrain and the path we chose, we saw the moon rise four times!
35
@g. best 7
After awhile ALL cities look alike to MLB players. The Pads regularly play in three cities where an evening bay cruise could be at sunset...
5
I’m so happy the bus driver asked to look at Saturn too. We are all made from star dust which keeps us, most of the time, in harmony with one another.
47
Dear Adele,
That was a lovely gesture on your part to help liberate that little bee from its temporary confinement. I like to think that it flew off to the northeast and found flowers to pollinate in Central Park along with the other bees drawn to that beautiful urban oasis. The natural world needs all the help we can give it Adele.
Stay well and thank you for an uplifting Diary entry this day.
Allen
116
Hey Adele:
Thanks for saving that bee.
Most insects are marvellously complex little beings and I do my best to help them on their way if, for example, I find them in my home.
There are exceptions of course chief among them mosquitoes.
Last summer we had a wasp nest at the top of the space between our patio screen door and the sliding glass door. I came and went daily without incident and they never ventured into the house or bothered me.
My wife wasn’t so sanguine but put up with my desire not to disturb the interlopers.
When fall arrived they went wherever wasps go.
83
Bugs! We have friends in Bermuda, older folks like us, and the man is an entomologist, among other things. His wife and I were in the small back seat of their car with a wasp, which kept crawling up and around our legs. She looked at me and put her fingers to her lips in a “shhhh” move, and quietly and effectively removed the threat with her foot. She told me later her husband would never condone the killing! Well, I love bees and go out of my way to help them along their way when they land or come close, but yellow jacket wasps are another story!
5
Although I loved the lead story this week, several of the others had a note of condescension I find not in keeping with the spirit of this column. (Alcatraz and TikTok) I prefer to feel we recognize and share our personal foibles rather than distance ourselves from others. For the same reason, the story of the passing morning commuters made me sad.
Oh well, maybe it’s the mid-February blahs either making me cranky or the writers less forgiving.
24
@Allison
I thought Alcatraz was hilarious. As would most native New Yorkers (or San Franciscans).
54
@Allison The Alcatraz story is priceless!! It's not written in a mean spirited way and provides insight into how we can be confused when we travel. I had a story published in the Diary about 3 years ago where I described asking a policeman for directions to Wall St - he pointed out I was standing in it (and I laughed at myself quite happily). I think you are right about your mid-Feb blahs... But that's OK too.
50
@Jo People think the Alcatraz story is funny because they feel smart because they would never make that mistake.
10
The story “ In the Harbor “ has made me recollect our visit to the Statue Of Liberty twice. In one of the trips when we were waiting for the ferry, a musician asked us whether we were Indians and then played one melodious old Hindi song of Raj Kapoor. I think the movie was Awara. We profusely thanked him while giving him some tip. It was a very sweet gesture from that gentleman. The same thing happened in one restaurant in New York once by another musician. We thoroughly enjoyed our two trips to the Statue Of Liberty.
Thank you very much for the nice story Tom Ickert. I wonder why she has asked about Alcatraz in New York ?
Everything appeared to match with the writer’s future version as mentioned in the story “ Her List “ but for the mention of Tik Tok video. Thanks for writing a very interesting story Emily Heller. Hope she has found her soulmate.
Thank you very much for writing a very sweet story “ Rescue Mission “ Adele Mackintosh. Doesn’t matter who watched and what did they think. What matters is whether mission accomplished or not. The fact that you have done it successfully matters most. I am more than pleased that you have rescued a bee doesn’t matter from where.
Thanks for writing an interesting story “ The Man in the Fedora “ Susan Brenner. That man’s behaviour has somewhat puzzled me. Once he talked to her on his own and conveyed her a very happy news from his side. He should have at least offered her a cup of coffee.
18
@Sivaram Pochiraju - regarding "I wonder why she has asked about Alcatraz in New York ?"
If it's not a "Lydia the Tattooed lady" reference, maybe she really was thinking of Riker's Island?
This reminds me of "Bellevue" meaning something so different in New York vs. the Seattle area. I was amazed at that when I was in the well-off Seattle suburb Redmond last June when working on a show, and our associate producer lived in the gorgeous city Bellevue one town away, and she'd never even heard that Bellevue meant what it meant in New York. (Or at least she convincingly claimed that- theater folk are sometimes adept at making you believe something and if you believe them, that's show business, LOL.)
Getting into cabs in Redmond and seeing "Bellevue Magazine" in both seat pockets was a sight I never expected to find in a cab given the NY frame of reference. Our friends from Tacoma and Tumwater who came to the first performance suggested having "dinner in Bellevue since it's so close" like dining in Bellevue might be the most natural thing in the world - which it was there.
9
@Sivaram Pochiraju Maybe the next day he lost big. Or money makes people do funny things. (Cynical I know.)
1
Re: In the Harbor
I laughed out loud when I read about the woman looking around for Alcatraz from the Staten Island Ferry. If you can climb a tall ladder to the roof of my house, you can see the Golden Gate Bridge as well as Alcatraz! On the other hand, maybe you have an Alcatraz in the New York area?
19
@Alcatraz view -
When I first read that, I'd thought she was making a kidding reference to "on a clear day you can see Alcatraz" from the Groucho Marx version of "Lydia the Tattooed Lady." That's often part of visibility reports, maybe one of the best-known usages in that regard being "On a clear day you can see Catalina," but then was given that remarkable cultural twist when Lerner and Lane played on it with "On a Clear Day You Can See Forever."
Whatever Lerner may have been having to take from "Dr. Feelgood" or whoever, when they did that one-word change, it's so strange some addictions Lerner suffered helped him be so simple in bringing the ages such lasting beauty. (It's like when he reportedly agonized for days to come up with a second line for a triumphant Eliza song for "My Fair Lady," and he was excited when he came into work saying I've got the second line: first line is "I could have danced all night," isn't it perfect for the second line to be - also, "I could have danced all night.")
13
@Freddie "...with a view of Niagara that nobody has..."
3
I look forward to the Metropolitan Diary every week. And every week, at least one of the five entries sparks an immediate memory.
This week it is “Stargazing.” Last fall we spent several weeks with family in a small town in the mountains of Colorado. There were no city lights to blot out the stars at the Airbnb where we were staying.
The Big Dipper appeared big enough and close enough to fetch water. Cassiopeia was a huge capital letter W in the sky. And there was Orion, with the three stars in his belt and “old red” Betelgeuse at his shoulder.
As we gazed, our small planet Earth seemed insignificant among all of those stars. One of us said: “The Earth is our only home. If we could all just work together to save it.”
Let’s hope.
110
@Dean
Thank you, Dean, for this breath of silence and wonder, a cosmic "balm" in the midst of all our terrible national screaming, intolerant rants, and with a planet-wide torpedo in virus form headed our way.
Your glimpse of larger, eternal--or at least millenia-long--possibilities is calming and hopeful in what has become such a frightening world.
Elissa
16
@Dean, I live where there is little light pollution, so I can see stars and planets and even the milky way on any clear night when the moon is not outshining everything. But I am so used to it that I often forget to look. Sometimes you need to go to a new spot to get a fresh perspective. The Rockies are a good spot for that.
Years ago, I remember looking up at the stars from the southern hemisphere and thinking how strange is was that there was this whole new section of sky.
I once sat through a remarkable lunar eclipse, on a dead-clear, dry night. One of the planets was close to the moon at peak eclipse (Saturn?). At the point where the fully eclipsed moon turned orange, there was a sudden shift in perspective that blew my mind. For a few minutes I could see — perceive — the spatial perspective of earth, moon, planet. I could feel myself siting on this orb Earth, and hanging in front of me was this disturbingly three dimensional, rusty orange ball. And behind that was the planet. It frightening, in a way. It felt so tenuous.
41
The two people passing seems to be in strong contrast to the usual picture of friendly New Yorkers presented here. One could have imagined some "Good Mornings" perhaps escalating to whatever.
But for some reason, no...
And it took both of them to never speak again.
22
@J Fogarty -
"They" generally say be careful about forming either close friendships or romantic involvements with people you see every day, like working with them or living on the same floor of a building. The reason seemed to be that this kind of closeness can be 50-50 to end, very likely one wanting to end it before the other - and you still have to see the person every single day (or change the fact that you runinto them all the time).
I wonder if there's an analogy to someone you run into literally every day. It's interesting that the moment they passed each day had an importance in what he did (betting on those numbers) that was nothing more than a passing daily moment to her.
5
@Freddie Yes, an interesting point … but what if we turned it on its head? In this case, she looks forward to seeing him everyday as part of her commute; he simply sees her as a way to "feed" his betting habit.
I agree with J Fogarty, though: it does take two to say nothing. Maybe a missed opportunity for continued recognition of one another sharing the morning?
3
@Freddie I didn't see it as a possible romance, for some reason. It seemed more like she was young and he was a lot older. He might have become embarrassed after telling her he won big and that she was his lucky star. It was a good story, even if they didn't live happily ever after.
8
Liked the one about the Staten Island Ferry. Two of my maternal uncles, both brothers, were captains in the ferry's heyday. Wish I had spent more time with them when they visited, pretty sure they had some interesting and riveting tales to tell.
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